On Friday, February 26th, Start Co. was happy to host the National Black MBA Association Scale Up Accelerator Virtual Demo Day. Ten Black-owned startups pitched to Start Co. President, Andre Fowlkes and Tim Smith, a venture capitalist with Bee Partners for $15,000 of cash prizes. While the Demo Day handed out some money the main goal was further investment for all businesses, which was supported by a large audience of investors present during the event.
The Importance of this Work
Paula Fontana, the Vice President of Strategic Programming Initiatives at NBMBAA, kicked things off speaking to the importance of Black-owned businesses in addressing the wealth gap in America. She cited this Demo Day as one method to grow opportunities for Black-owned businesses. Following Paula, Andre Fowlkes spoke to the partnership with NBMBAA facilitating Black business growth by finding the capital and mentorship support to persevere through the necessary failure that startups must endure. Tim Smith is a native Memphian who now lives in California. His company, Bee Partners, is a seed venture capital firm in San Francisco that listens to approximately 2000 pitches a year and works to increase funding exposure to the entrepreneurship scene in California for all businesses. Recently, Tim led an investment into SoundCredit, a black owned and led tech startup in Memphis, TN.
10 Great Startups
The panel and the audience heard pitches from 10 great black owned and led startup businesses. They were:
- RxInteractive
- Bon AppeSweet
- InovCares
- Black Girls Do Engineer Corporation
- Hair Scout
- Sympliant
- GABA
- Just Like Me Book Box
- LiveEquipd
- Vive Guide
Each team was given five minutes to present their business followed by a Q/A session where Andre and Tim were able to dive deeper into the core business. Those in attendance on the zoom were able to participate in real time by filling out feedback forms to comment on the businesses and their pitches.
Cash Handed Out
GABA, InovCares, and RxInteractive came in first, second, and third place respectively. Along with immediate feedback and questions from the judges after their pitches, over 100 feedback forms were filled out, providing the participating founders with beneficial insight.
We look forward to continuing to promote a culture of entrepreneurship with our wonderful partners like NBMBAA. Be sure to stay informed with us through social media in order to apply to our programs and attend future events.
#NeverStop