Meet Bilal & The Team

Richard Sun was more than a mentor to Bilal. Both met in 2017 when Bilal's EasyKale® was in its raw diamond state under the name Utopia Kale Shaker. It was at Innovate Mississippi, where Bilal asked for assistance to commercialize Bilal's EasyKale®, that he met Rich. After much research and verification of the product from verified personalities who were involved in Bilal’s cancer research and the drive for humanity with the product, Rich became highly fascinated by Bilal’s journey of producing Bilal's EasyKale® from his home production and making Kale’s bitter state tasteless. This fascination gave rise to Rich becoming Bilal’s first business partner.

He was an exceptional business partner who tripled as an investor, a mentor, and a dear friend to Bilal and the entirety of the team.

He was a great, focused businessman who exposed Bilal and Bilal's EasyKale® to new opportunities. He always cherished and valued the bond of friendship and business partnership with Bilal and Easy Kale in all of its phases of transition.

He titled Bilal "the King of Kale".

Richard was a co-founder of the Mississippi Coding Academies, whose prior careers included investment banking, emerging-markets private equity, and startup investing.

Co-founder Richard Sun, who has lived in Mississippi for 10 years, served on the Innovate Mississippi board and was named "Mississippian of the Year" by the Association of Information Technology Professionals for his work with Mississippi Coding Academies. Coding Academies

• He was with Sun & Co., investing in and advising early-stage companies.
• Since 2004, Sun & Co. has made eleven cash investments in early-stage companies and earned equity in four others. Industries included energy, cleantech, software, the Internet, telecom, biotech, fertilizers, and electronics.
• He monitored nine private equity investments.
• He was a board member (2007–2009) and investor in TerraCycle, which was named by Inc. magazine the "Coolest Little Start-up in America", its CEO "The Top Entrepreneur Under 30," and on the Inc. 500 for 2009 and 2010.
• Named "Angel Investor of the Year" in 2006 by New Vantage Group.
• He originated and led over 100 private financings and advisories, worth over $11  billion, many of which were "first of their kind", "largest," or "fastest," and required exceptional levels of creativity, intelligence, and tenacity.
• Best Tech Brands, LLC Best Tech Brands, LLC Feb 2011–May 2017 6 yrs
• Best Tech Brands markets a full line of Synergyn® fuel and oil additives that improve mileage by 10–20%, reduce emissions, and reduce fuel costs by 15–75 cents per gallon.
•  He has invested $230 million in four early-stage companies for institutional private equity investors and personally invested in thirteen others.
• He was the first Entrepreneur in Residence at Innovate Mississippi from 2017 to 2018.
• Two products were co-developed with NASA. Best Tech was founded and is led by Jim Scott, who took Slick 50 from $2 million to $138 million in three years. Linkedin

He passed away and is greatly missed by all.