Tag / #womenentrepreneurs

by Uprising Experience

“The Look” of an Entrepreneur

Kristi Love | Blogger                                                                                       2017

@uprisingexperience

Growing up, the only entrepreneurs I knew were folks selling Noni Juice, Mary Kay, and Avon. They were talking fast and inviting me to their life changing meetings.

Ok, I may be exaggerating a little, but you get my point.

The word or the thought of an entrepreneur was not used regularly in my household. I grew up knowing the word “work”. That’s what people did- they go to school, get that good education, and go to work. Make sure it is a good company where you can stay for 10 years or more and get that “good retirement plan”. I may be telling my age, because nowadays, people only stay in jobs for 3-8years (with the average being 5years).

So, what does an entrepreneur look like? Who is this person? What is their style, their race, age, and educational background? People in the media have shown us their version of an Entrepreneur. Just Google “Top Richest Entrepreneurs”. The same group of people will show up on any list. Want to guess who’s on that list?

Yes, you guessed it- Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, the co-founders of Google, and the list goes on? The common thread- they are all (usually) men…white men. Literally a list full of white males.

Funny thing is however; as an adult, I am surrounded around African American men and women entrepreneurs more than any other race/ethnicity. That is my reality. It doesn’t matter what images are portrayed in the media. We are all capable of creating the images of what an entrepreneur looks like. We are the look.

Non-Profit Organizations like Black Girl Vision in DC (where crowdfunding meets pitch competition) is a perfect example of creating the image of an entrepreneur. Black Girl Vision is a community of women for women of color entrepreneurs who receive networking opportunities, learning experiences, and crowd funding. Black Girl Vision is on a Mission to support Women of Color Entrepreneurs

There is no one look of an entrepreneur. We all come in different sizes, shades, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The media is wrong with their idea of a “successful entrepreneur”.

entrepreneur2

Now that it’s clear that “The Look of an Entrepreneur” doesn’t really exist, let’s discuss the qualities and characteristics needed to be an Entrepreneur.

*Stay tuned

by Uprising Experience

Black Girl Vision is on a Mission to support Women of Color Entrepreneurs

By: Kristi Love

Logo BGV

Black Girl Vision brings a twist to the typical pitch competition. They have created, ‘Pitch Competition meets Crowd Funding’. Women of color (and others) register for the monthly BGV event which generates funding for pitch competitors. On the day of the Eat, Pitch, Vote, event, 8 women of color pitch their idea. At the end, participants vote for their favorite business idea. The winner receives funding which allows them to grow their business.

As a business owner of 3 companies and entrepreneur herself, Shelly Bell knew that women of color start businesses at higher rates than everyone else, nonetheless lack the support needed to sustain a viable and profitable business. S. BellProviding access to capital for women of color business owners and entrepreneurs was Shelly’s vison when she created Black Girl Vision in August of 2016.  “With so many women of color entrepreneurs and all the Black Girl Magic happening, we also need support, networking, and funding to work,” Shelly told Uprising.

After attending a few BGV events, the members of DICE were eager to participate in BGV’s Pitch Completion. They won on March 18th and that was the first time founders of DICE pitched their idea and they pitched their way to winning 1st Place!

The founders of DICE, Amber Watson, Tasha Lo Port, and Michaela Hall first connected with Black Girl Vision (BGV) via Instagram (@blackgirlvision). They founded DICE (Diversity, Inclusion, and Collaborative Engagement Leadership Group) to create a better world by celebrating the differences of all people through conversation and collaboration.  “We develop workplaces where discussions and problem-solving are more inclusive, collaborative, and successful in discovering collective solutions that work,” founders tell Uprising Experience.

As winners of the pitch competition, DICE members received $500 in funding, T-shirts for their business, an accounting consultation, a legal consultation, a network of supporters, and business coaching.

“As a successful entrepreneur, Shelly Bell’s guidance has been instrumental in helping us take advantage of opportunities and avoid pitfalls. Having an experienced mentor pushed our business to the next level. We are more competitive, more strategic, and more equipped with the knowledge needed to be successful,” said DICE founders.

DICE women

The seed funding helped DICE advance their goals in several ways, “We created a community of practice around diversity and inclusion engagements, we updated our products to provide better training experiences for our customers, and we secured advertising that increased our social media following and produced client leads,” says, Ms. Hall of DICE.

Since the Black Girl Vision Pitch Competition win, members of DICE have advanced to the second level of the DC EBay Startup Cup and they were chosen as one of the top 26 companies from among 100. “The support we’ve received from Black Girl Vision undoubtedly gave us the competitive edge,” DICE tells Uprising.