Friends of the Good

A successful investor, philanthropist, and leading wellness CEO provides a practical, thoughtful testimony on the impact of deep friendships in our personal and professional lives, illustrating how all relationships help us show up and strengthen our communities.

A successful entrepreneur, Harvard Business School graduate, and devoted husband and parent, Demond Martin is, by all accounts, a self-made man. But when Demond stumbled across Aristotle’s theory on friendship—friends of the good—he learned about the three types of companionship at the center of our orbits: convenience, pleasure, and virtue. As Demond considers his past and his present, he realizes how much goodness has helped him along a path of intention.

In Friends of the Good, Demond reflects on how it wasn’t simply by luck, or chance, that he found the courage to leave a violent environment as a preteen; it was thanks to a supportive teacher who taught him to lean into his gifts. His “Chosen Family” immersed Demond in the importance of service and kinship as part of Alpha Phi Alpha. Being raised by “Givers” such as his beloved Grannie, surrounded Demond in foundational love for himself and others. And the “Second Fathers” and “Guiding Lights” helped Demond build his entrepreneurial and industrial spirit, fast tracking him to roles in The White House, a major investment firm, and later to co-found a company delivering wellness solutions to underserved communities.