[caption id="attachment_120531" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="CyberSynchs CEO Winbush"][/caption] CyberSynchs CEO and founder Amos Winbush III is a reluctant "television star†who did a lot of due diligence before deciding to be a part of the new season of ABC's Secret Millionaire. The show asks successful millionaires to spend a week in the country's poorest areas and then rewards several overlooked community heroes with a large sum of their own money. Although he fit the profile as one of the country's youngest and most successful self-made millionaires, he admits, "…it wasn't something I wanted to do initially.† Fortunately, his passion to inspire young people with his tale of success in technology prevailed. "I'm driven by responsibility and my passions are for family, literacy, and increasing access to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for everyone, but specifically for African Americans.  So my involvement had to let me remain true to those values,†says Winbush, who won the 2010 Black Enterprise Innovator of the Year Award. The head of CyberSynchs spoke with BlackEnterprise.com about his prime-time debut, giving up his beloved tech gadgets and his advice for the next generation of tech leaders. Catch Winbush on the season premiere of Secret Millionaire this fall on ABC. BlackEnterprise.com: What motivated you to participate in Secret Millionaire? Winbush: Secret Millionaire actually sought me out.  I was skeptical at first, but they spent two and half months with me working to find the perfect fit.  I'm driven by responsibility and my passions are for family, literacy, and increasing access to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for everyone, but specifically for African Americans.  So my involvement had to let me remain true to those values. Did you have any idea where the show would be sending you? I didn't receive any details on where I would be going.  I was told to pack for climates as diverse as the tropics or the Artic and I remained in the dark until they handed me a plane ticket to New Orleans. You had to relinquish all of your technology during your time on the show. As a tech guy, how hard was that for you? I wasn't allowed any form of communication other than an AM/FM radio, and it was disconcerting.  I couldn't talk with my wife or my employees. How did you feel about your experience on the show? It was a totally liberating experience. For eight days, I lived an alternate identity as a struggling musician moving back to New Orleans.  It was the most frightening thing I've ever done, and not for the reasons you might thing.  I'd never spent much time in self-reflection and the show gave me a lot of time to think. The experience wasn't just a show, but life changing and during those eight days I cried like a baby from pent-up emotions. It was very cathartic. [caption id="attachment_205614" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="(Image: ABC) "][/caption] Any suggestions for other would-be philanthropists? I believe that every person possesses the opportunity to give back.  It may not be $150,000, but we can affect change by just interacting with our neighbors. What can we expect to see from CyberSynchs in the near future? CyberSynchs is very focused on the global marketplace and we're doing that by moving from consumer-based sales to a B2B model.  Literally, we are moving from acquiring individual customers to acquiring millions of customers.  I began seeking out overseas partners in 2009, and we're poised to announce a partnership with a Texas-based telecommunications firm this August that will put us in front of 60 million consumers globally on every imaginable device - mobile, tablets, laptops, cameras, and camcorders.  It places us on a different level and I'm fortunate to have an amazing team that understands my vision and buys into it. What do you suggest as the best way to get more African Americans involved in creating and inventing technology? You don't have to be in technology to create something accessible and game changing.  Look around your everyday life at technologies or utilities and ask 'how can I make this better?' Then, research and find out how to bring that product to market.  It's not just about money; it's about how you can innovate because you need this tool. The question I ask myself is 'how can I create a product that is valuable and usable?' What efforts are you involved in to spread the gospel of technology within African-American communities? Last October I partnered with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to educate communities on how a focus on STEM can create tangible entrepreneurial opportunities.  It is mind boggling to think that someone created Nintendo, and we need to share that story so people can see this as an entrepreneurial path that they can access.  Entrepreneurs need tools that allow them to present their ideas and access funding.  This is what we're working on with the congresswoman. There is much more work to be done on the initiative and we were sometimes frustrated with the media's lukewarm response to the initiative. Who has served as a source of encouragement for you? I have great parents who encouraged me to do whatever was on my heart to do.  But, they cautioned, I also had to work really hard.  Having passion is great, but preparation is equally important.  I found a need in the market, something I could change, and went about making change happen.  Also, I have a survivor's mentality that helped me navigate New York City when I moved here at 20 with just $1,500. Who's the next Amos Winbush III? I don't see a "successorâ€; I believe that someone even better will come along. I want someone to come along who does more than I've ever thought of and I hope that they don't leave anything on the table.