GoKawiilWhile most kids have their faces buried in video games at age nine, Early Walker was founding companies. He never grew out of that entrepreneurial mindset, and since then, the Chicagoan built a towing company into a full-blown enterprise, walking away with a private equity exit that made him a self-made millionaire. Now he’s handing out his playbook — and capital — through his initiative, No Business Left Behind, to help others find extraordinary success.
Here, he breaks down his incredible career and why he feels it is important to give back.
Give us the elevator pitch of No Business Left Behind.
No Business Left Behind provides direct mentorship, capital access, and operational support to small business owners in underserved communities. Our mission is to help struggling small businesses survive and grow to become the cornerstone of their communities.
We identify businesses with potential, work with them to improve their operations, marketing, finances and leadership, and document their progression story for other entrepreneurs to learn from. By building up small businesses, we directly strengthen local communities as well.
What inspired you to create it?
It came from my own journey as a small business owner. I’ve personally experienced the financial instability and stress that comes with owning a business and being unsure if it’s going to survive. I grew my company from trying to figure out how to make payroll to one of the largest towing companies in the state before eventually selling it.
In many ways, I now feel it’s my responsibility to help someone else experience that same opportunity. There are thousands of good business owners who don’t need a handout — they need someone to believe in them and guide them to open their own doors. That’s why No Business Left Behind exists.
Have you always been entrepreneurial-minded? What was your first business?
Yes, from a young age I was always working to find another way. I watched my parents work hard, which I respected, but I felt the need to create something bigger than a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. I realized the key to more financial opportunity is creating solutions for a problem. If I could solve people’s problems better than anyone else, the money would eventually follow.
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