1 Million Cups Preview: Entrepreneur-Artist Epiphany Morrow Presents

Epiphany Morrow is a very popular local hip hop artist and Stanford graduate. Big Piph, as friends call him, is an entrepreneur who has spent time using his artistic abilities in other countries while extending goodwill as well as launching Global Kids in Arkansas.

Morrow has recently launched a new endeavor via Kickstarter called “I am Not Them: The Legacy Project.”

Big Piph is presenting at 1 Million Cups this week. 1 Million Cups is the weekly programming event held on Wednesdays at 9 a.m. at The Arkansas Venture Center, located downtown at 107 E. Markham, catty-corner from the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Participants hear from entrepreneurs and have the opportunity to network and engage with like-minded business people. It’s easy to participate: just show up, drink coffee, ask questions and talk business for an hour.

Talk Business & Politics’ Todd Jones caught up with him to get more information about his upcoming presentation.

TB&P: How did you come up with the idea for an “app based album?”

Big Piph: It was a balance between the artistic and analytical. I tend to approach things artistically first and I just thought about certain things I would enjoy seeing, hearing, and all around experiencing as a consumer of entertainment. I then thought about the current problems that albums have to me, such as shortened life spans (due to the “internet age”) and lack of cohesion. Much of this idea, came from that.

TB&P: How is crowdfunding this project different versus more traditional funding of projects?

Big Piph: So…normally I just come straight from my pocket. Of course, the obvious benefit of crowdfunding is that the supporters help carry that cost (as I’m still financially invested in much of this project’s load). However, another lesser-talked about aspect of crowdfunding is that the method itself helps create anticipation and interest. It essentially helps market the project before release.

TB&P: What is one thing you want 1 Million Cups attendees to learn aside from promotion for your project?

Big Piph: That you don’t always have to have it all the way figured out to begin rolling with your passion project. I don’t have the long-term business plan figured out for this project and honestly, I’m unsure if I’ll be the one who comes up with it. However, I do think this project will be a standard for future industry endeavors in many ways and I’m glad to be a pioneer. That’s a payoff in itself many-a-times. I hope the attendees will note that sometimes this is alright…and then we can talk about ideas on how to greater monetize this thing.