Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Artist and entrepreneur Joe Cartegna, AKA Fat Joe, may not have taken the traditional founder’s path, but he knows exactly what it takes to build something from the ground up. After his 1993 hit single, Flow Joe, took off, he used his platform to launch Terror Squad — a collective of ’90s hip-hop heavyweights that included breakout stars like the late Big Pun.
“When I grew up, we didn’t have much opportunity,” the Bronx native says. “There were people who’d walk up to the playground when I was five or six years old and say, ‘He’s going to jail. He’s going to die young.'”
Instead of letting that define him, Cartegena used it as motivation to chase financial freedom — and now he’s helping others do the same through his latest venture, Policy Pulse Innovations.
Related: Inside The Montana Town Where Entrepreneurs Are Rebuilding the American Dream
Turning workers into owners
Co-founded with entrepreneur Matt Herman, the multi-channel insurance agency helps everyday people earn their insurance licenses, build financial literacy and start their own businesses in the insurance space. Through a partnership with Family First Life, Policy Pulse connects aspiring agents with mentorship, competitive products and client leads — helping them build sustainable careers rather than rely on unstable nine-to-fives.
“For a lot of people, there’s just nothing out there for them,” Cartegena says. “You work a nine-to-five, but the boss is the one making the real money. We’re giving people a chance to be their own boss — to control their time, their schedule and their future.”
Not everyone can have the kind of career Cartenga’s had, but he believes Policy Pulse can show everyday people that financial security doesn’t have to come from a nine-to-five — or a chart-topping single. “I always tell this story,” he says. “My wife’s aunt, Amalia, worked for the same company for 30 years. Every day, she’d show up early, make coffee for everyone and take care of people. She practically helped raise the kids of the people in charge — watched them in the summers, on weekends, everything.
Then one day, those same kids — now grown up and running the company — came to her and said, ‘Amalia, you’ve got to go.’ Just like that. She couldn’t believe it. She was depressed for months.”
... continue reading