Twenty years of building
the infrastructure the industry
refused to build for itself.

Before Marcus Graham,
there was Bill Sharp.

In 1967, advertising pioneer William “Bill” Sharp launched the Basic Advertising Course — a program designed to open doors for young Black creatives at a time when the industry had made it clear those doors weren't meant for them. He didn't wait for the industry to change. He built the change himself.

Decades later, Lincoln Stephens discovered Sharp's legacy in Jason Chambers' book, Madison Avenue and the Color Line. It planted a seed. A young professional who often found himself as the only Black man in agency rooms, Lincoln recognized something: the gap Sharp had identified in 1967 was still there.

A vision becomes
a movement.

In 2007, two advertising professionals who kept finding themselves as the only people of color in agency rooms decided they were done waiting. Lincoln Stephens and Larry Yarrell shared the same conviction: the talent was everywhere — it just had nowhere to go. Lincoln put pen to paper and outlined what would become MGP. Larry helped shape the vision from the ground up.

With early support from Larry Yarrell, Jamil Buie, Cheeraz Gormon, Jeffrey Tate, Courtney Hill, John Casmon, and a growing network of industry peers, the vision gained shape. In November 2008, after a powerful moment of prayer and reflection, Lincoln left his job, moved back to Dallas, and made the leap. Larry packed up from NYC and made the commitment.

In the summer of 2009, MGP ran its first iCR8 Boot Camp with seven participants. Not a pilot. Not a test. A beginning.

Why Marcus Graham.
Why iCR8.

Every element of MGP's identity is intentional. The name. The brand. The methodology. Nothing is arbitrary — everything points back to the founding belief that bold, culturally fluent talent exists everywhere.

iCR8 is not just a name. It is a declaration. I create. You create. We create — at the intersection of culture, commerce, technology, and storytelling.