Built by a family, for our community.
We're raising two boys in a world that doesn't always make room for them. BLKAF is how we make sure the businesses that look like us actually get seen.
How we got here.
I'm Ben. I've spent the last ten-plus years in growth marketing — everything from Fortune 500 brands to startups nobody's heard of yet. I build digital stuff that actually works. My wife is a cardiologist. She saves lives during the week and somehow still puts up with me on weekends.
I grew up in Connecticut. She's from Jersey. We got married in Baltimore and ended up staying there for fifteen years. It's a city with its flaws, but also a city that knows how to show up for its people. That stuck with us.
We have two sons. They're young, they're loud, and they're watching everything. We want them to grow up knowing it's normal to support people who look like them. Not as a charity thing — just as a habit.
BLKAF started because we got tired of directories that felt like afterthoughts. We wanted a place where Black-owned businesses weren't buried on page four, and where "support" wasn't just a hashtag. So we built it ourselves.
No paid games
Too many directories let businesses buy their way to the top. We don't do that. Every listing here is reviewed. If it made the cut, it earned it.
Built with care
My wife's a doctor. I work in tech. We both know what it's like to be the only one in the room. We built this because we actually give a damn about the community — not because it sounded good in a pitch deck.
Make finding Black-owned businesses as easy as it should be.
This isn't a movement. It's a directory. But a good directory matters. When you know where to find us, you spend with us. That's the whole point.
I'm donating my time and skills to help these businesses grow. No consulting fees, no hidden costs. Just work.
Help us celebrate what we have built.
Whether you are a business owner ready to be seen or a community member looking to support, you belong here.