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When was a young boy being raised by his single mother in inner-city Detroit, he was fascinated by all the entrepreneurs surrounding him鈥攆rom the barbershop owners to ice cream truck operators.

Recognizing his inherent curiosity about running a business, his Aunt Olivia gave him copies of Inc. magazine and a subscription to Forbes.

鈥淚 studied them, followed them, loved them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 read all the stories.鈥�

When growing up, Parnell鈥檚 aunt would also take him and his brother to other parts of the city across .

鈥淪he wanted to expose us to different ethnicities and restaurants, and neighborhoods,鈥� he told 附近上门 News. 鈥淪he told us, 鈥楲ook at these houses, they look nothing like those in our neighborhoods.鈥� That was extremely impactful in my life. Prior to that, when you鈥檙e a kid or even a teen, our neighborhood seems so big. You live in this bubble and forget there are other people in this world. But what she did was show me opportunity. It was really meaningful.鈥�

At 13, Parnell’s mother helped him get a summer job at a cell phone store spinning a sign. Parnell remembered it as being the most 鈥渆mbarrassing job I鈥檝e ever had.鈥� But that embarrassing job, a descriptor he said comes from 鈥渁 humble and grateful place,鈥� would serve as a stepping stone to business fundamentals. The owner of the cell phone store brought Parnell on full time, and taught him sales, the importance of business ownership, lessons about finance, and the key attributes to being a successful operator in that particular industry.

鈥淎ll those things ended up being skills I still use today,鈥� Parnell told 附近上门 News. 鈥淚 became really good at what I did there, and ultimately bought into some stores with a group of friends.鈥�

By the time he was 17, Parnell used the money he saved to buy three cell phone stores and joined the founding team of Executive Car Rental, which now has 16 locations across the metro Detroit area.

At that point, Parnell began to get 鈥渞eally fascinated by technology,鈥� in particular the story. It’s from here Parnell began exploring his startup ambitions.

Starting Up In Detroit

鈥淎s a kid, we didn鈥檛 have access to the Internet; I never spent time on it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut as I got older, I was inspired by how Groupon was using the internet to help brick and mortar businesses acquire customers. I loved the concept, and read every article, and watched every interview. That led me to falling in love with software-enabled businesses, and I decided I wanted to get into that space.鈥�

At the same time, Parnell noticed that Detroit didn鈥檛 have much of a startup scene. So, at the age of 20, he began inviting entrepreneurs to the area to speak at events he organized as part of what he described as 鈥渇ireside chats.鈥�

鈥淲e brought in people like , from ,鈥� he said, noting that he welcomed the opportunity to meet with the people he invited.

鈥淚t gave me access to pick their brains and hear their stories,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n the beginning, that鈥檚 what it really was all about.鈥�

Parnell was so passionate about the initiative he personally offered to pay for speakers to come to Detroit.

鈥淪ome of them let me, and some didn鈥檛,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ither way, I was appreciative of their time and believe the events helped the Detroit startup scene. I feel like they were the catalyst for the growth of a lot of cool stuff happening.鈥�

Over time, the initially free monthly events grew from 30 to over 1,500 attendees. Ultimately, he decided it had become 鈥渢oo much.鈥� However, he was still committed to boosting the area鈥檚 profile.

鈥淭he biggest benefit was that I became viewed as someone knowledgeable and resourceful that could bridge the gap between the coasts,鈥� he told 附近上门 News. 鈥淢idwestern startups don鈥檛 get that much credit. I enjoyed helping entrepreneurs and began looking for ways to monetize that. People told me I would make a good VC since I had such a great network to find good companies. Some people believed I could; some didn鈥檛. Some thought you had to be an MBA to work in VC. But times have changed.鈥�

Parnell talked to funds on both coasts and 鈥渉ad some offers.鈥� In the end, he decided to stay in Detroit and went to work for , a private venture firm focused on startup and seed-stage companies, in 2014. And just like he worked to bridge Detroit to the coasts, Parnell showed an aptitude for bridging founders to investors.

, director of business development at Livonia, Mich.-based , worked with Parnell at IncWell from 2014 to 2016.

He recalled the day Parnell came in for an interview, meeting with the firm鈥檚 founder and a managing partner.

鈥淚n the middle of it, the founder walked out and said to me and another partner, 鈥榊ou guys have got to come see this guy. He鈥檚 going through a powerpoint telling us what types of deals we should go after, how to brand the firm, and all the opportunities we鈥檙e missing.鈥欌��

鈥淚t was an amazing sight to see,鈥� Dr. Jaber told 附近上门 News. 鈥淗e blew all the other candidates out of the water with that presentation and interview.鈥�

Dr. Jaber also believed Parnell could expose investment opportunities outside of the often-white male bubble VCs exist in. Just three percent of venture capitalists are black, according to a by , a partner at .

That鈥檚 why sourcing companies was one of his biggest roles at IncWell, Jaber surmised.

鈥淚t came so naturally to him, and he鈥檇 been building that network over time,鈥� Jaber said. 鈥淪o he already knew who to reach out to. We ended up getting into quite a few deals and talking to quite a few companies that, without him, I don鈥檛 think we would have been connected to.鈥�

From Parnell鈥檚 perspective, the firm鈥檚 partners had 鈥渋ncredible legacies in automotive鈥� but needed someone with more startup experience to increase their deal flow. Parnell ended up joining the fund at the age of 21.

鈥淗ere were 20-plus extremely wealth guys and a kid from the inner city,鈥� Parnell recalled. 鈥淢y goal was to get as rich as possible and as quick as possible in a legal way. I wanted to pick their brains. Plus, I could do things that nobody else on their team could do.鈥�

From Investor To Esports Operator

After Parnell鈥檚 stint at IncWell, he went on to work at , a Detroit-based internet company. It was at this stage of Parnell鈥檚 career that he was exposed to esports, and as an avid gamer, he was naturally intrigued by the new industry.

鈥淭eams would reach out, needing a strong internet,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was nominated by the CEO, , to evaluate those opportunities.鈥�

Rocket Fiber went on. Feeling the startup bug himself, Parnell founded Rush Esports in 2015, which was acquired by , an esports giant, less than a year later.

Building on the momentum of a successful exit, Parnell then went on to form Los Angeles-based , a startup that builds infrastructure for high school esports, in 2018. On Nov. 20, the company announced it had closed on a $30.5 million Series B. The round came just five months after the company鈥檚 , bringing its total raised to $46 million.

Parnell said his motivation for starting PlayVS was simple: 鈥淏esides being extremely passionate about the space, I recognized that the demographics most important to the space had been outcasted in some way.鈥�

鈥淗igh school kids and teens 鈥� who have historically been the best players 鈥� were no longer able to compete due to age limits,鈥� Parnell explained. 鈥淪o I began to look for ways for kids to get involved and be able to compete while still in high school. I wanted to introduce video games in high schools so they would be no different than, say, football and basketball in terms of recognition and validation.鈥�

Parnell鈥檚 pioneering work in the esports space has resulted in accolades. He was recently named to 鈥� list alongside and others. He was also on list earlier this month.

All the while, Parnell has handled the attention with humility, while still acknowledging the barriers that African-Americans often encounter in tech. Only around one percent of America鈥檚 venture capital-backed startups are led by black Americans, according to a 2015 White House . A recent Brookings Institution also found that black representation in tech employment is moving in the wrong direction, sliding to 7.9 percent in 2016 compared with 8.1 percent of the field in 2002.

As a black man in a predominantly white industry, Parnell said racism is more common 鈥渢han any of us would like it to be.鈥� One of the impacts that has had on tech is a lack of diverse faces at industry functions. Parnell recalled going to an esports event and seeing no black speakers.

鈥淭here just weren鈥檛 a lot of people who look like me,鈥� he told 附近上门 News. 鈥淢y goal over time is to be able to change that narrative, and even more so, to be able to allow kids of all races and backgrounds to feel validated and recognized.鈥�

Over the years, Parnell hasn鈥檛 forgotten his home. He frequently visits the Detroit area, and still aims to draw attention to the region鈥檚 startup community.

鈥淗e stays true to his roots, and is very authentic,鈥� Dr. Jaber said. 鈥淗is going away party when he decided to move to California was at his mom鈥檚 house with people playing basketball on the street with the neighborhood kids. And his putting on that speaker series brought in huge crowds and did a lot for the community. He鈥檚 been back to speak to his success. So he鈥檚 not forgetting about this area, and I think the community can learn a lot from him.鈥�