Inspired by the interest to create more opportunities for female entrepreneurs in the region and modeled after the recent success of the TechPint/Flashstarts “Pitcher” competition, Blackstone LaunchPad and Bad Girl Ventures are teaming up to present an evening of female mentoring and networking by offering the first-ever #GirlPower Pitch Night for collegiate female entrepreneurs on Nov. 19.
The four Northeast Ohio Blackstone LaunchPad programs—Baldwin Wallace University, Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University and Lorain County Community College—will each have two female entrepreneurs presenting in the competition. Each finalist will have three minutes to pitch her business followed by two minutes of questions from the judges. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three presenters.
“We are excited to partner with Bad Girl Ventures and host this inaugural event on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day during Global Entrepreneurship Week,” said Kate Harmon, associate director of Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad. “This is a great opportunity for our collective programs to highlight female entrepreneurship in the region.”
“At our Blackstone LaunchPad program, we promote female entrepreneurship because it’s good for our students – both in terms of education and opportunity, and because Northeast Ohio would benefit tremendously from an increase in women in leadership roles, specifically running businesses and non-profits,” said Mike Nock, director of Baldwin Wallace’s Blackstone LaunchPad.
Sponsored by Jumpstart, #GirlPower Pitch Night will be held at Toast, a Cleveland restaurant founded by Bad Girl Ventures alumna Jillian Davis, who also will serve as one of the competition judges. Other event judges include Bad Girl Ventures alums Apryl Beverly, founder, BAAB Writing and Marketing Services; Natalie Bauman, founder of The Digital Mosaic; and Elizabeth and Maggie Pryor, founders of Chill Pop Shop.
“The pitch event is a fantastic opportunity to introduce female student entrepreneurs to inspirational role models in the community and create connections for them,” said Réka Barbarás, director of Bad Girl Ventures Cleveland. “The judges are eager to give back and reach out to the presenting entrepreneurs.”
The #GirlPower Pitch Night event is free and open to the public and will run from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 at Toast, located at 1365 West 65th St. in Cleveland. Advanced registration is required, and those interested can find details at http://girlpowerpitchnight.strikingly.com.
About Blackstone LaunchPad
Blackstone LaunchPad is a co-curricular, experiential campus program designed to introduce entrepreneurship as a viable career path and develop entrepreneurial skills and mindsets through individualized coaching, ideation and venture creation support. Based on a model started at the University of Miami and developed as part of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, the program is currently available to more than 350,000 students on 15 campuses in six regions across the country. Through mentoring, workshops and events, and connecting entrepreneurs to resources, LaunchPad helps Northeast Ohio students, faculty, staff and alumni at Baldwin Wallace University, Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University and Lorain County Community College to create new startups or grow existing businesses in Northeast Ohio. For more information about the Blackstone LaunchPad program, go to www.bdmorganfdn.org/blackstone-launchpad.
About Bad Girl Ventures
The mission of Bad Girl Ventures is to create a culture that lifts up women and builds their great ideas into solid, sustainable and profitable enterprises that provide valuable return for investors and the community. Bad Girl Ventures enables women to compete in the difficult startup arena by providing competitive advantage through education, mentoring and micro-loans. For more information about Bad Girl Ventures Cleveland, go to www.badgirlventures.com.
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Media Contacts:
Kate Harmon, kharmon9@kent.edu, 330-672-6783
Mike Nock, mnock@bw.edu, 440-826-2472
Réka Barbarás, reka@badgirlventures.com, 216-759-4575