What happens when three visionary education founders team up to redefine youth empowerment, college access, and wellness in New York City? Magic.

In Episode 9 of Communitas of New York, host Monique T. Marshall sits down with "business besties" Andrea Augustus (Poetic Black Gurl LLC), Amber Peters (On Track With Mizz P.), and Ibrahima "Ibro" Badji (Good Vibes). Together, they pull back the curtain on how to navigate complex education systems, unlock debt-free college pathways for students, break down business gatekeepers, and leverage strategic collaboration to scale local impact.

🔥 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• The "Robin Hood" College Access Strategy: How Ibrahima Badji’s program (Good Vibes) gets 90% of its students into college completely debt-free using HEOP hacks and federal financial aid models.
• Culturally Relevant Healing in Schools: How Andrea Augustus transitioned from creative writing to delivering transformative arts and wellness workshops that prevent teacher and student burnout.
• Simplifying College Planning: Amber Peters' practical approach to connecting college majors directly to future career earnings for first-generation families.
• Beating Business Gatekeepers: Why networking across (not just up) creates instant capacity expansion, subcontracting wins, and joint revenue opportunities.
• Operationalizing Your Time: The exact daily time-blocking strategies, AI workflow hacks (like training ChatGPT), and automated CRMs these founders use to manage multi-passionate schedules.
• The "5 Cs" Framework for Success: Ibrahima’s blueprint for founders: Coaching, Connection, Community, Certifications (MWBE), and Capital.

⏰ Chapter Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Intro: The Power of Collaborative Spaces for Entrepreneurs
• 02:15 – Meet the Founders: Amber Peters, Ibrahima Badji & Andrea Augustus
• 05:00 – Addressing Gaps in NYC Public Education & Testing Structures
• 10:45 – Bridging Education & Business: Transitioning from Passion to Consulting
• 16:30 – Lessons in Scaling: Pricing, Offers, & Overcoming the Scarcity Mindset
• 21:00 – The "5 Cs" Strategy for Securing City Contracts & Grants
• 26:40 – Business Besties in Action: Joint FAFSA Workshops & Community Book Releases
• 37:20 – Time Management, Boundary Setting, & Leveraging AI / Automations
• 42:10 – Subcontracting, Profit-Sharing & Formalizing Collaboration Agreements