At 15 years of age, Marcus Bullock and his friend carjacked a man in a shopping mall parking lot, a decision that changed the course of his life. He was arrested and sentenced to eight years in an adult maximum-security prison. Bullock, who conceived Flikshop while in prison, says, “I was in denial and became very depressed during those first two years. I couldn’t process and accept the fact that I would end up having to serve the entire eight-year sentence.”
While in prison, Bullock’s mother, during a visit, made a promise to her son that later impregnated him with the Flikshop idea. “Marcus, I’m going to write you a letter or send you a picture every day for the remaining six years of your sentence,” she told him.
“Those pictures, those letters, saved me. It was the small and big things she shared with me that gave me a clear vision of what my life would look like after prison. My life was far from over,” says Bullock crediting his saving grace to his mother.
Bullock and his friends in prison used the term “fliks” to refer to pictures, hence the name Flikshop. He founded Flikshop to help others in the same way that his mother had helped him: by keeping inmates in every cell connected to their loved ones and other community resources, so they too can envision their life after prison.
Flikshop users through its mobile app and website can send a photo and message to a loved one who is in prison, and Flikshop will print the message on a postcard and ship it to the prisoner on their behal costs only $0.99 (postage included).
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They can tear the message off the postcard and keep the note private because it is perforated. The picture can then be shared with others. Today, Flikshop has connected more than 170,000 families and sent postcards to all 50 states. John legend through his #FREEAMERICA organization, which he founded to assist in changing America’s criminal justice system, contributes financially to Flikshop.
“Pictures and letters are the one way for those in prison to know there are still people in the outside world who care for them,” Bullock says. “For me, those letters were a reminder of the life that was waiting for me.”
Building Flikshop has taught Marcus Bullock three lessons which he shared:
“I listened to every piece of advice along the way.”
Bullock launched Flikshop in 2012 because he wanted to keep his promise to his friends who were serving time in prison to send them pictures of his reentry journey.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” he says. “I never imagined that I would launch a tech company. I Googled ‘how to build a mobile app,’ and the journey began.”
Bullock attributes his success to his thirst for knowledge, as well as to being receptive to all advice given to him along the way. He recalled going to founders-only office hours held by a law firm in Washington, D.C. He showed up and kept asking questions, demonstrating that he was truly interested in all of the suggestions offered to him.
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He first learned about Techstars, a startup accelerator based in Boulder, Colorado, through attending those office hours. In 2018, I was able to devote all of my attention to growing Flikshop because of that funding and support, according to Bullock. Without all of the people that supported me and helped me along the way, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
“I realized doing a TED Talk would become my business card.”
“From a young age, I was always a talker,” Bullock says. “My family always said, ‘Marcus is always talking about something!’ And in many ways, I am that same Marcus today.”
He recalls how thrilled he was as a little lad to take part in the annual school fundraising. He was enthusiastic about talking to as many people as he could and selling as many candy bars as he could, which he did.
Bullock underestimated the role that his love of storytelling would play in his decision to found Flikshop. I didn’t think of myself as a public speaker, so when I was asked to do my first TED Talk, I was reluctant, Bullock admits. “Then I realized that it was a great opportunity for me to share my story on stage and build the Flikshop brand. My ultimate business card was that TED talk.”
Bullock recalls taking the stage and sharing his first-time prison experience in front of the crowd. He was also terrified. “I would advise entrepreneurs to overcome their fear. My opportunity to build empathy and understanding for a situation that most people don’t address in public — how to help loved ones who are incarcerated — came from that TED Talk.”
“I am building generational wealth.”
Bullock’s foray into entrepreneurship is not his first. When he was released from prison, he established a successful painting business before starting a construction company. In the beginning, he bootstrapped Flikshop by using money from his construction company to fund his mission. As a result of showing my family what I did with my businesses and how successful I was, I wanted to give them a chance to work with Flikshop, says Bullock. “I realized this was our chance to create wealth for future generations.”
Bullock recounts how he had several family members come to a meeting at his construction company. He discussed Flikshop’s vision and three-year strategic plan. He requested that they’d participate in this friends and family round and contribute at least $1,200 to financing the company. Then he set a deadline for them. Many of them returned with checks as he anxiously waited.
“As founders, we can build our vision with the support of our family and friends to help change their lives as well,” Bullock says. “It’s a vision made possible because a mother never stopped believing in her 15-year-old son who made one mistake that forever changed the trajectory of his life.”