Meet BPC contestant Melanin Minded

Melanin Minded is one of the 52 semi-finalists in the 2024 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, presented by the Wisconsin Technology Council.

The story of this emerging company began 18  years ago when company founder Dr. Bashir Easter drove his mother to the hospital for surgery on her feet. What happened next altered the path of his life and inspired his business.

When his mother returned from the operating room, she no longer had the ability to speak. Her doctor dismissed the problem, thinking it was a side effect of anesthesia. When the problem persisted long after the effects of the drug should have worn off, the doctor made a devastating diagnosis.

Easter’s mother had dementia.  

The devastated family left the hospital with a mother who now needed full-time care, and no idea what to do next. Easter and his siblings struggled for six years on their own before discovering there was support available for dementia patients and their families.

Easter wants to ensure no other family experiences the same difficult journey.

“I understood that there are people of color who are not getting this information, and the only reason I found out about it is I became the Dementia Care Specialist for Milwaukee County five years later,” he explained.

“That’s when I learned that the prevalence rate (of dementia related diseases) in African Americans is two times higher (than in Caucasian patients). In Latin Americans it’s one-and-a-half times higher, and they’re at the bottom of the resources,” he said.  Easter attributes untreated co-morbidities, like heart disease and diabetes, coupled with high stress levels experienced by BIPOC citizens for the disparity in diagnoses.  

“I heard the data, and I was living the life. I knew what that felt like after six years of not knowing about resources or supports for this disease,” he continued.

He began Melanin Minded LLC with the goal of connecting communities of color with resources to support Alzheimer’s Disease and other related dementias. While working with these families, he discovered that access to transportation was a significant barrier to gaining support.

Easter decided to tackle the problem by launching Navigator Transportation, a ridesharing app that goes beyond door-to-door service for riders.

“They(patients) were not going to grocery stores or barber shops. They were not going back to church because the stigma is so thick that they basically step away from the community instead of leaning into the community, and the community had no idea that these individuals were living through this,” Easter said.

“I started Navigator Transportation with an LLC and a mindset to be able to serve individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia, seniors, and people with limiting disabilities. But, the model was really a nonprofit piece because I didn’t want those individuals to pay for their ride,” he said.

Easter has bridged this gap by offering the ridesharing service to anyone with the app. Those who pay for their rides are providing support for the program, which allows the company to offer the service for free to those who need it.

Riders are treated to personalized playlists during their ride, and drivers participate in hours of training to ensure they are able to serve the specific needs of patients using the service. Riders are not simply dropped off at a desired location; drivers confirm that all passengers are safely escorted from the vehicle and into the hands of a responsible party.

Launched in 2021, the revenue-generating company is primarily self-financed, with additional support from a grant won on season 7 of Project Pitch It and grants from Direct Supply and the Milwaukee County Department on Aging. Easter reports the company has 10 employees, in addition to the contractors who serve as drivers.

Easter hopes the company’s participation on the BPC will provide the support Melanin Minded needs to grow.

“We are being looked at in the Texas area, Atlanta, and Ohio. They are looking at what we are doing in Milwaukee, and I have to be able to show that this is a viable business,” he said.

The company generated revenue in 2023 and is eager to see that growth continue. Easter hopes the contest will help the company connect to investors interested in supporting the company’s mission.

To learn more about Melanin Minded, connect with the company here.