Black Girl Ventures’s Pitch Competition Is Coming to Philly This Month
The DC-based organization is making its way to the City of Sisterly Affection to help black women entrepreneurs access more capital.
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Black Girl Ventures will make its way to Philadelphia this month to host its signature pitch competition. The DC-based organization is known for its commitment to creating access to capital for black women entrepreneurs and wants to reverse the harmful trends in capital that have made it harder for these women to launch and sustain enterprises.
And because the organization is all about flipping the script, its Philly pitch competition will be unlike any other pitch competition you’ve been to before. “Our mission is to use entrepreneurship support and training as a vehicle for poverty alleviation and wealth building,” the organizers wrote. “Black women founders are underserved, unbanked and underfunded. It’s time to change that!”
To attend, you’ll have to purchase a ticket or pay a fee at the door. And proceeds — what they call donations — don’t go back into the organization. Instead, they’ll go toward creating the organization’s “vision” fund, the pool of money the entrepreneurs have a chance to win.
The group has also eliminated the panel of judges you’re likely to find at the average pitch competition. Once entrepreneurs pitch, the community in the room will have the opportunity to ask questions, comment and eventually vote on first and second place winners.
Two women will receive seed funding and/or resources for their businesses. And the first place winner will receive $1,000 in cash and prizes including the vision fund, 12 free t-shirts for her business, a meeting with an investor and more.
According to Black Girl Ventures, since launching in August 2016, event attendance for the competition has grown to over 100 people per event and the number of applications received has skyrocketed to more than 50, on average.
The Philadelphia pitch competition will be held on Thursday, July 19 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Pipeline Philly. Tickets for the event, which you can purchase here, range in price. “Vision Supporters” pay $20 to get in and “Dream Pushers” pay $75. You’re also encouraged to really show your support for black women by paying $200 as an “EmpowerHer” donor or $500 as a “Magic Funder.” And even if you can’t attend, the organization says you’re still more than welcome to make a donation to support the vision fund.
Entrepreneurs interested in pitching at the event must submit an application by Sunday, July 8. Learn more about the Black Girl Ventures and the pitch competition here.
