DURHAM, N.C. — Tobias Rose chose to open Kompleks Creative on Parrish Street as a nod to history.


What You Need To Know

  • Tobias Rose started Kompleks Creative with a friend while he was in college at N.C. Central

  • His team has worked with clients like Duke University, hip-hop duo Little Brother, and local schools and leaders in the Triangle and beyond

  • One of Rose's passion projects was helping create Black Wall Street Homecoming to help new entrepreneurs

Parrish Street is also know as "Black Wall Street." The name was first coined in the 1900s when the area started booming with Black enterprise.

That included businesses like Mechanics and Farmers Bank and N.C. Mutual Insurance Company, among others.

Rose's grandfather worked for an N.C. Mutual branch in Kannapolis.

"It was an opportunity for us to be a part of history, and we had to jump on it,” Rose says about choosing this as his location.

Rose is part of the team that helped create Black Wall Street Homecoming. The conference was started by Jesica Averhart, Tobias Rose, Talib Graves-Manns, and Dee McDougal. It brings together entrepreneurs at various levels to connect them with resources.

“We like to say it's a business conference for founders,” Rose says. “What do you do in these situations as a Black founder? How do you extend your network? How do you get funding when you know things are stacked up against you?”

Black Wall Street Homecoming didn't happen in 2020 because of the pandemic. Now, Rose is figuring out new ways he can serve the community.