Meet Ryan Reed

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ryan Reed. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ryan below.

Hi Ryan , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from not being afraid to fail. I embrace the lessons in every setback and genuinely enjoy the process of growing on the way to my goals.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m Detroit born and raised, focused on breaking barriers as the CEO of Reed Companies LLC, which owns Reed & Associates Protection, the Detroit Cougars, and the Women’s Basketball League along with our WBL Involved nonprofit. I oversee day-to-day operations, and after 10 years on this journey, I’m proud that people from my community can see what’s possible. My goal is to inspire others while continuing to grow the WBL. We delivered a successful Detroit Shock vs. Cleveland Rockers showcase in August, and we’re excited to introduce two new teams in early 2026.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The most important quality that helped me on this journey is my refusal to quit. I’m committed to mastering my craft, staying focused, and never giving up. My advice to anyone following a similar path is to research your field, know what you’re getting into, and don’t quit.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

“My biggest obstacle has been building the Women’s Basketball League. It can be challenging to get partners and sponsors to believe in the vision, especially since many are surprised to see someone my age leading it. I’m overcoming that by proving the value of what we’re building—showing them better than I can tell them.”

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