Influencer

JuVan Langford ’10 made Influencive’s “30 under 30” list. But it’s not just about success, the magazine notes; it’s about young entrepreneurs who are “creating life on their own terms.” 

Along with considering stats like income and market growth, author Jeremy Slate points to “that ‘X Factor’—that bit of an attitude or ‘gusto.’” He explains, “Society has told them to walk left so they choose to walk right, basically flipping conventional wisdom ‘The Bird.’ The idea is that they grasped life, took an idea or an opportunity and ran with it; like an artist or a sculptor, they made it their creation.” The winners include a 17-year-old Shark Tank contestant whose Nohbo shampoo is now a big success, a co-founder of the Teami Blends natural tea company that she initially ran out of her bedroom, and the creator of the entrepreneurs’ digital magazine Foundr.

Langford is Influencive’s #13. His profile says he had “every disadvantage growing up” in a neighborhood rife with drug crime and violence, but he rose above it and has now “dedicated his life to helping other men of all ages to become the best version of themselves.” As his website puts it, “JuVan creates content, community and conversations that support men in breaking through their greatest challenges so they can live their legacy now.” Influencive declares, “JuVan Langford is a man on a mission. If you haven’t noticed yet, then it’s time to pay attention.”  

Coming from Worcester, Mass., Langford enrolled through Skidmore’s Opportunity Program, majored in business, was a Thoroughbreds basketball player, and studied in Alcala, Spain, as a junior. Recently, while fine-tuning his mission and initiatives for carrying it out, he was mentored by Bill Ladd ’83, a filmmaker, philanthropist, and Skidmore trustee in Los Angeles.

Now, for a wide range of men across the US and beyond, Langford is, in his website’s words, “building a global digital brotherhood.”