Today we’d like to introduce you to Phillip Yates.
Hi Phillip, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey began in corporate America. With a business background and an MBA, I started my career on the traditional path—working hard, climbing the ladder, and learning how organizations operate from the inside out. But after the loss of a close family member, everything changed. My boss asked me to return to work just four days after the funeral. That moment forced me to reflect deeply on life, purpose, and priorities—and I made the decision to resign. That choice became the turning point that launched my entrepreneurial journey.
Soon after, I started a Farmers Insurance franchise, where I learned what it truly takes to build a business from the ground up. Around that same time, I launched a nonprofit organization to give back to the community that raised me—Alief, Texas. To this day, I credit my parents and the village that surrounded me for shaping my values and helping me get to where I am today.
My experiences as both a business owner and community advocate eventually led me to law school. I wanted to better serve the people and communities I cared about. Before and during that time, I “cut my teeth” working for the Houston Area Urban League, assisting their leadership team in launching and growing the Houston Area Urban League Entrepreneurship Center—an initiative that, to date, has served over 15,000 clients. Although I no longer serve there as a full-time employee, I still support the Center as a contractor and collaborator to this day.
After earning my law degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, I joined my mentor, Nelson M. Jones III, who taught me how to run a small firm, practice bankruptcy law, and serve as general counsel for growing businesses. When he retired, I took the leap and founded my own firm — The Law Office of Yates & Associates.
For more than eight years, my firm has provided legal services built on three core principles: accessibility, affordability, and integrity. In that time, I’ve had the privilege to serve as general counsel to companies at every stage — from idea and startup to established corporations, including publicly traded and technology companies. Some of my most rewarding experiences as an attorney have been helping clients keep their homes, restructure their businesses, protect their liberty, and build generational wealth.
But even as I practiced law, I realized my calling extended beyond the courtroom. That realization gave birth to Equiliberty.
Although I officially launched Equiliberty in 2019, the idea first took shape in 2008. Around that time, I was introduced by my cousin to the writings of Louis Kelso, an economist and attorney best known as the father of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Kelso’s concept of binary economics—the belief that broad-based ownership of capital is the key to a healthy economy—became a foundational principle for Equiliberty.
Before that vision could take root, however, my greatest blessing arrived. In 2015, I made the best decision of my life — I married my beautiful wife, Chelsi Yates. By the time this is published, we’ll be celebrating 10 years of marriage on November 7th. A few years later, we welcomed our daughter, Harper, and then our son, Phillip, completing our family. And I can’t forget our dog, Jax, who’s been with us from the very beginning. Having that stability — a loving family and a solid foundation — gave me the clarity, focus, and strength to finally pursue the vision that had been in my heart for years. That’s when the Equiliberty journey truly began.
Together with my co-founders, Rachel Howard and Kodi Bailey, we built Equiliberty as a financial technology company focused on accelerating the wealth-building process in undercapitalized communities. Since then, we’ve also launched a nonprofit arm — the Equiliberty Community Impact Foundation — which partners with banks, financial institutions, and other nonprofits to deliver programs and resources for financial wellness and economic dignity.
Today, Equiliberty continues to grow through the support of incredible community and corporate partners — including JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, Plaid, and many others. With an exceptional development team and a clear mission, we’re preparing to release our next-generation fintech platform designed to empower individuals and communities to create, preserve, and share wealth on their own terms.
The journey from corporate America to entrepreneurship, law, and technology hasn’t been easy, but it has been meaningful. Every step — from Alief to the Urban League, from law school to launching Equiliberty — has been about service, empowerment, and building systems that give people the freedom and tools to live with economic dignity. And through it all, the constant has been my family — their love, support, and belief that together, we can build something lasting for generations to come.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t always been an easy road — but anything worth having rarely is. I’ve learned that struggle is part of growth, and when you’re taught hard work and discipline early in life, you don’t run from it — you embrace it.
Sports taught me that lesson long before business ever did. I grew up playing basketball in Alief, and by high school, I was competing against All-Americans and future NBA players. Later, I walked on to a Division I college team — at five-foot-nine and barely 150 pounds — and still earned my spot through grit, perseverance, and discipline. That experience shaped my mindset and carried over into every part of my academic and professional life.
From earning my MBA to completing my Juris Doctorate, passing the bar exam, and launching multiple businesses — there were challenges at every step. Each stage came with a learning curve, long nights, and moments of doubt. And as every entrepreneur knows, running a small business comes with its own set of obstacles. You don’t always have the same resources or staff as larger firms. You have to wear multiple hats, operate lean, and still deliver excellence to your clients and community. It forces you to be creative, resilient, and transparent about your journey.
A few years ago, my colleagues and I launched Diversity Fund Houston, a venture capital fund designed to help founders — especially women, African American, and Latino entrepreneurs — who traditionally lacked access to capital for high-growth, technology-driven businesses. None of us were experienced fund managers at the time; we were first-time founders learning venture capital from the ground up. We enrolled in programs like the Berkeley Law Venture Capital Executive Program, spent countless late nights studying, and learned what it meant to pitch investors, manage due diligence, and navigate the complex world of fundraising.
After a lot of persistence, we secured Bank of America as our lead limited partner and lined up other investors to deploy capital by the end of the year. Unfortunately, the market shifted, and amid the economic downturn and the collapse of institutions like Silicon Valley Bank, our main investor pulled back to avoid risk during that storm. While the fund didn’t launch as planned, the lessons from that experience were invaluable — they taught me how to build, communicate, and persevere under pressure.
All of those lessons translated directly into the work I’m doing now with Equiliberty — particularly in how we approach access to capital and wealth-building in undercapitalized communities. Every setback has become a setup for what’s next. Struggle, when viewed the right way, is simply the price of growth — and I’ve learned to appreciate it as part of the journey.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Law Office of Yates & Associates, PLLC.?
I’m the Managing Attorney at the Law Office of Yates & Associates, a Houston-based boutique law firm committed to providing high-quality, accessible, and community-driven legal services. While we are a small practice, we’re proud to partner with a network of attorneys who come from what I like to call the same family tree — many of whom were trained or influenced by my mentor, Nelson M. Jones III. Mr. Jones practiced law into his mid-70s and, over more than 40 years, helped shape a generation of attorneys who are not only skilled practitioners but deeply committed to service.
Through those relationships and shared experiences, our firm has built an incredible foundation of knowledge — particularly in bankruptcy law, where we collectively bring over 40 years of experience to the table. That depth of expertise allows us to take a unique, personalized approach with every client we serve. Whether it’s helping a family navigate financial hardship or assisting a small business owner with restructuring, our goal is always the same: to deliver results with excellence, integrity, and compassion.
In addition to bankruptcy, we also provide general counsel and business advisory services to clients ranging from startups and small businesses to established corporations — including those preparing for mergers, acquisitions, and even founder exits. I’ve been fortunate to gain experience that allows me to guide clients through some of their most complex legal and business decisions.
What sets us apart is our ability to offer big-firm experience and quality at a small-firm price point — without losing the personal touch that clients deserve. We’re proud of the reputation we’ve built as a trusted community resource, and we hope to continue expanding our capacity to serve individuals, families, and entrepreneurs who need honest, affordable, and effective legal representation.
At the end of the day, our success is measured not just by cases won, but by the impact we make — helping people find relief, rebuild, and move forward with confidence.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My advice to anyone just starting out would be simple: go get a job. And I say that with a laugh, but I truly mean it. Before you jump out there to launch your own business, you should first get a job in the field, profession, or industry you hope to one day build in. You’ve got to gain real experience — understand how systems work, how to navigate them, and how to work with people within those systems.
In today’s world, where so much is driven by technology, automation, and artificial intelligence, experience is what gives you the edge. It’s one thing to read about how to lead or manage — it’s another to see it done, to make mistakes, and to learn under someone else’s leadership (and on someone else’s dime).
My second piece of advice is to learn how to budget. Research the true cost of starting and running a business — not just the financial cost, but the emotional and time investment as well. Every business operates within an economic ecosystem, and you have to plan for both the expected and the unexpected.
And finally, make sure you build a team. You do not want to travel this journey alone. You need advisors — your banker, accountant, and attorney — as well as teammates who can help you drive your vision forward. And always have a mentor. At each stage of your journey, or in each season of growth, find people you can counsel with and learn from along the way. The right people will challenge you, sharpen you, and help you reach your full potential.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @pjy_equiliberty
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillipyates/
