Our Founder

Jonathan Quarles has had a longstanding passion for building businesses and creating change. As a serial entrepreneur, he started his first business as the top-selling paperboy in his neighborhood at the age of 8. Thirty years later, Jonathan has created and developed more than 10 businesses, ranging from a custom T-Shirt operation to a creative printing company. He is an avid angel investor, focusing on fast-growing, disruptive companies with a social impact component.

In 2003, Jonathan fused his unparalleled ability to build bridges between people and ideas with his business acumen to launch The BTL Group. As Founder and CEO, he has transformed private and public organizations by helping them connect the dots on critical resources, important community dynamics, and lucrative partnerships. Jonathan’s work has unlocked more than $400M of value, earning him a place as a highly sought-after advisor for identifying business growth opportunities and as one of the world’s most well-known connectors. Today, The BTL Group continues its journey as a thriving strategic consulting business and has now expanded its geographic footprint to several countries outside of the United States.

Through his interactions with government officials, advocacy experts, scholars, and diplomats, Jonathan has successfully gained public diplomacy skills, while serving as a spokesperson for the United States of America.  In 2018, Jonathan developed a strategic partnership with Meridian International (U.S. Department of State Program) to form ENVEST (Entrepreneurs Investing in Change).  ENVEST benefits marginalized populations, targeting women and youth in developing markets. Through ENVEST, local entrepreneurs are equipped to develop and deploy customized training in the fundamentals of entrepreneurism and finance for remote communities.  ENVEST beneficiaries are encouraged to use the training to launch and grow their own businesses. Jonathan also serves on the IsraAID Advisory Council and on the Board of Directors for Global Ties U.S.

As a native of Flint, Michigan, Jonathan couldn’t sit on the sidelines as a devastating water crisis plagued his hometown. Quickly, he realized that Flint was the U.S. epicenter for what was actually a global crisis – 1 in 3 people around the world don’t have access to clean drinking water. Jonathan knew that a challenge of this magnitude called for an unprecedented solution – with that, he founded Quartz Water Source. Quartz is committed to expanding global access to clean water. Quartz has pledged to donate a portion of its proceeds to water-related projects in underserved areas around the U.S. via a donor-advised fund. Jonathan was selected to receive Crain’s Business Detroit 2020 40 Under 40 Award and as a SOCAP 2020 Game-Changing Founder of Color.

Jonathan is also a best-selling author. His book, Making Dollars While Making Change, is a storytelling platform about his most formative experiences and a playbook for entrepreneurs who strive to build socially impactful businesses. Making Dollars While Making Change is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.