Will Lucas (2025)

29/08/2025

Newark, let's connect! AfroTech Executive is back in the Tri-State next Friday and we're bringing the leaders shaping tomorrow’s tech, business, and culture straight to your city. (New York, you can come too!)

I’ll be hosting, and also sitting down with Brandon Blackwood Founder of for a conversation about building, disrupting, and owning your lane.

23/07/2025

Highside at@tolhouseclub is now open for the summer functions. This project has been another one a chapter in a one-day book on how I survived entrepreneurship! But for real, I'm excited for our Members to enjoy this new lakefront outdoor space.

I'll see you at the House.

22/07/2025

Why I Don’t Always Say Yes—Even to Great Ideas

Across all of our companies—, most specifically TolHouse, I get a lot of ideas from my team. “Can we do X instead of Y?”, or “It would be sweet if we [insert awesome thing here]!” And, that I get these inbound ideas reflects the kind of environment we aim to cultivate. We want people on our teams who are invested, who notice opportunities, and who care enough to speak up. Ideas are oxygen for creative companies.

But I’ve learned something over the years: we can’t say yes to every good idea.

Not because the ideas aren’t smart or well-intentioned. But because leadership means holding the whole in view—balancing daily realities with long-term vision, and understanding how each decision affects every other part of the system.

That’s why I don’t ask for agreement across our teams. But I do require alignment.

I’m ok with us not all thinking the same way, or approaching things the same way. But it is necessary that we are all committed to the same purpose. We’re a mission-driven organization, and having a separate vision other than our north star is disruptive, no matter how we might try to rationalize it.

I aim to be welcoming of ideas from the team – and hope they always feel heard. But, not every idea is going to be implemented. What the team may not see is that sometimes a great suggestion for one part of the business would create friction somewhere else. A team member who works in the coffeehouse may not realize how a change in operations might affect the kitchen. A requested change in the kitchen might be obvious to the cooks, but it could be disastrous to the bar. Sometimes its that the timing simply isn’t right.

But they are always heard, and my door is always open. The kind of buy-in that keeps them ideating only lasts when there’s trust. Trust that leadership is thinking beyond the moment. Trust that their input is still welcome, even if the they came up with idea doesn’t move forward. Trust that speaking up won’t backfire, and that what we’re building together is still worth showing up for.

I want my team to keep bringing the ideas. To keep raising their hands. And, I’m clear with them that what we’re building across our brands isn’t about everyone getting their way. It’s about building things that matter, and building this vision with people who are willing to move together, even when we don’t agree on every step.

That’s what makes our companies different.

24/06/2025

Today, we celebrate 5 years of ! The first episode of BTGM dropped on June 23, 2020, exactly 5 years ago today, and I'm so thankful for the journey so far. This podcast has been such a big part of my life, and the mission remains the same as we amplify not only the success stories in our community of Black tech and wealth, but also provide strategies and guidance to help you find your way to success and legacy also.

Black Tech Green Money has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award (2023) and boasts hundreds of thousands of downloads. Our community has embraced the podcast and these stories in so many ways, and its humbling to be able to join you on your workouts, car and train rides, and in the kitchen each week.

There have been so many great guests on the podcast, and I'm sure some were missed from the collage (putting those together is harder than it looks!) but THANK YOU to each founder, entrepreneur, investor, engineer, executive, and dreamer who has joined me on the podcast.

Yes, its been 5 great years, but it still feels like the beginning! THANK YOU to my family, my .tech family, my and
fam and so many more.

Specific thank you's to , , , and for all the support and for the platform.

And the squad, , , , and others who make this podcast happen each week! Jawara, Ihaku, Shanelle, Taylor, Nicole and so many more!

If you're not subscribed, now is a GREAT time to do so! Find the podcast anywhere you get your podcasts!

21/03/2025

This one’s for the culture.

I'm proud to introduce our first apparel collab: x . Two Toledo-born brands that know what it means to come together to make something bigger than we could by ourselves.

Commons is Toledo's first Black-owned pizza company, based inside TolHouse and open to the public. Mud Made means to come from the bottom and prevail through it all. This collab is a love letter to our roots: Hip Hop, soul, flavor, and style.

This is just the beginning. At , we're collaborating with the best artists, designers, and brands around.

Come celebrate the Commons Pizza & Cinnamon Rolls grand opening with us tomorrow at TolHouse from 11-4. 1447 N. Summit St., in Toledo.

27/12/2024

Tonight, we’re celebrating three incredible years of bringing jazz, blues, and soul to life at . Our jazz lounge, , was built to honor our community’s rich jazz history and create a space where the music always comes first—and we’ve been blessed to see that vision come to life.

Every performance, connection, and moment so far in this room is, to me, proof of how powerful this music and this community really are.

To the amazing artists who’ve brought their gifts to our stage, every member of the audience who’s made Lucille’s a home, and my team that works hard to make it all happen—you’ve each made this place what it is: Toledo's premiere live music venue.

Here’s to keeping jazz alive, inspiring the next generation, and building something real for our city. Toledo’s always been a jazz town, and we’re just getting started. 🎷❤️

Tonight, we celebrate with Keller, Kocher, and Company. Let’s toast to the music, the memories, and what’s still ahead. 🥂

With gratitude,
Will

15/11/2024

Will Lucas is Brand Manager at .tech and host & producer of . Check out the behind the scenes of the 2024 AfroTech conference. AfroTech is the largest gathering of Black technologies, engineers, scientists, investors, and founders in the world. 🎥 for

11/09/2024

You can usually find me fighting a strong desire to respond with *you’re* when people text me ‘your welcome’.

06/08/2024

Invest Fest is Back for Year Four! It's about to be UP!

I'm thrilled to be a part of it! Join us in Atlanta this summer , where business, culture, investing, and entertainment converge in a spectacular way. This year's impact will be BIGGER than ever, with more information and more instruction!

Don't miss out on the incredible plans in store. Be there to witness and participate in the most transformative event of the year. See you in Atlanta!

Visit the link in bio to purchase your tickets now!

30/07/2024

I'm excited to announce that I’ve joined .tech Insider as a Founding Member! AfroTech Insider is the first platform dedicated to exclusive events, coaching, PR consideration, and more; aimed to develop members personally and professionally.

Learn more about Insider at afrotech.com/insider, and get in community with other amazing founders and entrepreneurs as we work to reach new heights individually and collectively!

17/07/2024

It’s rare sitting on the other side of the interview. I’m used to being the host, but I knew one day I’d get to be the guest. And, to be the guest on stage in LA no less, makes it even more special. I grew up dreaming about being on a stage in this town - that people would show up to see me. And it feels better than I imagined. They treated me well, too. The crew was attentive, the green room was stocked, and the seats were full. 75 tickets available, but 300 people wanting them. A waiting list. To say it’s humbling doesn’t say enough. But, I’m very thankful.

I’m a kid from Toledo, Ohio who started podcasting in my basement (I still record there occasionally). I have incredible teams at Creadio and TolHouse - both growing enterprises which I founded, get to be part of an amazing team at Blavity, Afrotech and produce + host Black Tech Green Money, and wanted to hear my story.

All this and more is possible, I’m a witness.

Check out the episode of Mind the Business: Small Business Success Stories from QuickBooks, wherever you get your podcasts. The link is in my bio.

Thank you Yo Quiero Dinero: Personal Finance For Latinas and Austin Hankwitz for being gracious hosts who do their research!

Video work by Elijah Breedlove and Jedah McGee.

28/06/2024

My team killed it this week. The new TolHouse app was redeveloped, from the ground up, in just a couple weeks after initial launch. I'm so excited about this!

Now, Members can enjoy improved space booking features, enhanced Member profiles, Groups, a Member Directory, and so much more. Kudos to my team for their stellar work on this! Members download or update now for iOS or Android! 🤳🏾📱📈

Will Lucas