"The Visionary’s Playbook: LaRian Finney Talks Business, Balance & Black Fatherhood"
- Michael Davenport
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 1
When you talk about marketing heavyweights, real visionaries who shape the game, LaRian Finney’s name rings bells. A boss in branding, a master of the culture, and a man who’s as dedicated to his community as he is to his business, Finney’s legacy runs deeper than corporate success—it’s about impact.
I caught up with him on Black Daddy Country Club to chop it up about his journey from Cherry Hill, Baltimore, to CEO status, fatherhood, and breaking the generational cycles that hold Black men back.
From Cherry Hill to Big Moves
Finney’s story starts in Cherry Hill, one of Baltimore’s toughest neighborhoods. Raised by a single mom with three sisters, he saw firsthand the struggles of mental health in Black households.
“I had to be the parent, and the brother, the protector,” he told me. “That shaped me early, but it also made me sensitive to mental health issues that a lot of us don’t talk about.”
Despite his circumstances, Finney wasn’t about to be another statistic. He put in work, landed a basketball scholarship at Mount St. Mary’s University, and graduated with a chemistry degree. But the lab wasn’t where he was meant to be. The real game was in branding, marketing, and storytelling.
From working with the Washington Bullets (before they became the Wizards) to Eastman Kodak and Johnson & Johnson, Finney learned the business from the inside. But in 2000, he flipped the script—he built his own empire, launching Visionary Marketing Group, now The Finn Group, specializing in marketing, branding, and pushing positive images of Black culture in media.
Fatherhood Ain’t for the Weak
Beyond the boardroom, Finney is a dedicated father to two dope kids. His daughter, Rachael, is a cybersecurity expert and author in Atlanta. His son, Rian , is about to graduate from St. John’s University, stepping into social policy with a mission to help Black men battling mental health struggles.
LaRian’s blueprint for raising his kids? Lead by example.
“I always wanted them to look at me and see the kind of person they should be—accountable, honest, and putting in work,” he said. “Ain’t no handouts in this life, and as Black parents, we gotta make sure our kids are prepared for that.”
He was intentional about keeping his son close, bringing him to major events, festivals, and high-stakes meetings, so he could see the grind up close.
“He wasn’t just watching me work—he was right there with me, meeting athletes, artists, and business leaders. I wanted him to see the real hustle behind success.”
The Co-Parenting Hustle
But it wasn’t always smooth. LaRian was honest about the challenges of co-parenting. While his son grew up in a two-parent household, his daughter didn’t have that same experience, and he had to navigate that reality.
“My daughter didn’t have me there every day like my son did. That’s just real,” he admitted. “Not because I loved her any less, but because presence matters. And as fathers, we wrestle with that guilt when we’re not there 24/7.”
He kept it a buck—co-parenting works best when both parents are on the same page.
“My son’s mom and I made sure he never had to choose sides. We were locked in on the messaging. He knew he had two parents who loved him and had his back.”
Breaking the Mental Health Cycle
One of the realest parts of our convo? The mental health talk. Black men, especially those raised in old-school, tough-love households, are conditioned to suck it up and keep it moving. LaRian is breaking that cycle.
“I’m a big advocate for therapy,” he said. “We don’t communicate enough. We bottle stuff up, and it comes out in the worst ways. If we don’t know how to express what we need emotionally, we set ourselves up for failure.”
His take? Every relationship—whether it’s your partner, your kids, or your homies—needs emotional deposits just like bank accounts. You can’t keep making withdrawals without putting something back in.
“We gotta stop normalizing struggle,” he said. “People see us working hard and think it’s effortless, but it’s not. We gotta make sure our families, our partners, and our kids understand that.”
Live in Abundance, Not in Stress
I asked him about his personal mantra—something he lives by every day. His answer hit different:
“I live a life of abundance,” he said. “And that don’t mean material stuff. It means that whatever I have today is enough.”
He broke it down—if you wake up every day with gratitude, knowing you have what you need, you move different. You’re not chasing, you’re not stressing, and you’re not letting the outside world dictate your worth.
“On your worst day, you’re still better off than most people. Keep that perspective, and watch how your energy shifts.”
Final Word
LaRian Finney is the real deal. A visionary in business, a dedicated father, and a man who understands that true wealth isn’t just in dollars—it’s in impact.
His legacy isn’t just in the brands he’s built, but in the people he’s uplifted—his kids, his community, and the young Black men who will follow in his footsteps.
And that’s what real success looks like.
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