- 4 weeks ago
Cheer on local founders on Saturday and national founders on Sunday as they compete in two distinct POWER PITCH! competitions for a chance to win a share of $100,000 in funding. Discover innovative brands, hear inspiring entrepreneurial journeys, and watch bold ideas take center stage.
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00:01All right, Essence Fest. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Give yourself some love for joining us right here
00:07at the Power Pitch. Now, if you are curious, you are officially at the We Love Us stage,
00:13and we are very excited about the next section that we are going to explore. I am just curious,
00:20how many of you here are already entrepreneurs? You're an entrepreneur? How many of you are
00:25interested in starting a business one day? All right. Well, you want to tune into this because
00:29one of the biggest barriers to growing a business is access to capital, funding, money,
00:36moolah, however you want to describe it. And why I'm excited about this is because we are going to
00:41have several founders pitch their business for a chance for a cash infusion. So I want to warmly
00:48welcome you. This is not the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh,
00:53or the eighth. This is the ninth annual New Voices 100,000 Power Pitch Competition right here at Essence
01:03Fest. Can we give it up for nine years of pitching? Now, here's a little bit of background that you
01:10should know. This started back in 2018. The New Voices Foundation had one mission, to help
01:16entrepreneurs build, grow, and scale their business with purpose. And this is all through our powerful
01:24PACE model. Purpose, access, capital, and expertise. Now, through pitch competitions like this, along with
01:32accelerators and boot camps, coaching, mentoring, and masterclasses, New Voices is proud to provide
01:39flexible, non-diluted funding, and unmatched opportunities to connect and learn. But now, let's
01:47get ready for why you are all here. How many of you here are supporting someone who is about to
01:52pitch?
01:52All right. Well, this time is now. So here's how it's going to go. We have three fabulous founders,
02:02entrepreneurs, and business owners who are going to share their journey and their big vision with you
02:08right here at the We Love Us stage at Essence Fest 2026. Now, here are the rules of engagement. Each
02:15founder who hits the stage, they have five minutes to pitch. How much time do they have? Five minutes,
02:22all right? After that five minutes, there are going to be followed up with questions from three
02:29wonderful, amazing business owners who are going to ask them questions about their business. And those
02:34are our judges. Now, let's get to the money, okay? The first place prize wins $25,000. The second place
02:46prize is $15,000 grant. And one person is going to win a $10,000 grant, along with valuable business
02:55coaching and support for the New Voices Foundation. Can we give it up for all of those grants?
03:01Now, in order for us to make this pitch competition worth your while, we have some amazing judges who are
03:07entrepreneurs themselves who are going to ask some questions after each of the pitch. So I need your
03:13help, right? I want to make sure we make sure the judges as well as the pitch participants get some
03:19love as
03:19they make their way to the stage. Y'all going to help me give them some love? All right. Up
03:23first as a judge is the
03:24one and only Ms. Enza Huger of NF Capital.
03:32All right. As she is making her way to the stage, she is joined by another judge, Ms. Kelly Saucony
03:39of Corridor
03:40Ventures. And last but certainly not least, our third judge is Laney Smith from Actively Black.
03:55Okay, y'all. So I'm going to be very honest with you. It's one thing to have a business. It's
04:00another
04:00thing to present your business live in front of almost 500,000 people at Essence Fest. So each time
04:07I introduce one of the founders, I want you to give them love and energy as they share their vision
04:12with
04:12us. Okay. So that's how we're going to do it. Now, again, cheer on your finalists and make sure that
04:17you give them a round of applause. And if you are pitching, just know the time starts when you start
04:23talking and it's right down here. So our very first business pitch contestant is Alexandria Ali of FNW Style.
04:41Hi. Let's get started. Hi. I'm Alexandra Ali. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Oh, hi. I'm Alexandra Ali,
04:54designer and founder of FNW Style. I started my brand because I believe women should not have to choose
05:03between functional and stylish. And as I've continued my luxury leather handbag brand,
05:11we have evolved into much more. We are an ecosystem for building wealth and generating income for brands.
05:21They were fighting.
05:22There's two problems here. Consumers want products that are beautiful, but still functional. And if
05:31they're functional, you still want them to look good. And there's not a lot of brands that do that.
05:39And creators and brands want to be able to provide products for their fans without having to deal with
05:48the fulfillment, the manufacturing, and the creation design of the product. And that's where FNW Style
05:57comes in. We create beautiful handbags that are stylish and functional and take the woman from day to night.
06:08We also collaborate with your favorite actresses like Melinda Williams, with your favorite TV shows like
06:17Beyond the Gates, Beyond the Gates on CBS, and providing handbags for them to be able to give to their
06:26fans.
06:27We do the manufacturing. We do the design and the fulfillment. We also manufacture bags for brands and companies such
06:39as sororities as well.
06:42And we are the brand to do this. We have over $300,000 in sales year to date, with the
06:50goal of reaching a million dollars this year.
06:53We've had over 2,000 clients this year, and a customer acquisition cost of just $8, where the industry average
07:03is $45.
07:04We have over 54,000 following through our social media. You've seen us on the pages of your favorite magazines
07:14like Essence, Vogue,
07:16InStyle, and we collaborate with amazing companies like UPS, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and more.
07:26Our business model is easy. We provide our handbags through direct-to-customer, through our website, and also through our
07:35retail partners.
07:37We also collaborate and license our products to your favorite influencers, creators, and brands.
07:46We manufacture and develop these products as well.
07:51The luxury handbag industry is a $78 billion, with a B, industry, and it's growing year by year.
08:02The creator economy, this is huge. It's $250 billion industry.
08:09And these creators are looking for products to be able to offer the fans that want product from them.
08:19And brands are looking to license their products to entrepreneurs that can create and manufacture it for them.
08:27Our vision is easy. We create, collaborate, and empower.
08:32We're not just a handbag brand. We are providing wealth and ownership to our brand partners.
08:42Our ask is for $25,000 that we will use for, one, production and inventory of our F&W products
08:52that are in demand.
08:53We will use it for marketing and acquisition for ads and Facebook ads and things like that.
09:01And we will also be using it to develop our platform for partnerships and collaboration.
09:10F&W Style is that ecosystem that's bringing brands, creators, and entrepreneurs together and generating wealth.
09:20Thank you for your time, and I'm open for questions.
09:27That was an amazing pitch. I have one question.
09:31For Actively Black, one of the biggest parts of growing our brand has been our collaborations.
09:36It's really helped the visibility of our brand.
09:38How has that collaboration aspect impacted your business, and how much would you say has that been for collaborations versus
09:48your D2C, your direct-to-consumer?
09:50Do you have a percentage of what that's been for the collaborations versus your direct-to-consumer?
09:55What does that look like for you?
09:57So I'll tell you, collaborations has grown our business by 30%.
10:01So prior to COVID, we were selling to consumers, and then COVID hit, and we were thinking, you know, how
10:08do we stand out?
10:09How do we market our businesses?
10:12And that's when we started collaborations.
10:14And this has really taken our brand to the next level because you're bringing their fans to our brand.
10:21And what happens is not only are they shopping the collaboration handbag, they are now shopping our brand and becoming
10:28our customers as well.
10:29And just to clarify, are you creating custom collections for those creators so it's under their brand name, or is
10:38it your brand that they're representing as ambassadors for your brand?
10:43Yes.
10:43For example, actress Melinda Williams, this is part of her collection.
10:47So it's F&W style times Melinda Williams.
10:51Okay.
10:52And we're bringing it out to market.
10:54Amazing.
10:54I have one more follow-up question.
10:56Yes.
10:57First of all, amazing pitch.
10:59I want to understand, between the two business models that you're exploring, the actual product production for F&W and
11:05the behind-the-scenes support of other brands, which one do you see growing more and why?
11:11I actually see them growing simultaneously because what's happening is it's becoming a whole ecosystem.
11:18People are looking and seeing F&W style, the brand, the growth in that, even though they're shopping from the
11:25Bruce Glenn collection, the CBS collection.
11:27It's still under F&W style, our packaging.
11:31So they are really growing simultaneously.
11:34Thank you so much.
11:38Yes.
11:38Go ahead.
11:39Go ahead.
11:39That's it?
11:40Okay.
11:40Thank you so much.
11:50Right.
11:51Can we give her one more round of applause?
11:55Now, if you are looking for her after the pitch competition, she does have a boost.
12:01Again, the name of her business is F&W style.
12:05You just heard from Alexandria Ali.
12:07She is a founder, creator, genius behind that brand.
12:12Now, are y'all ready for the next person to pitch her business?
12:16Okay, I got two people in the front who said yes.
12:19It's a whole bunch of y'all.
12:21Y'all got to understand, public speaking is the number one fear of all entrepreneurs and Americans.
12:28So the fact that these individuals are up here sharing their business with you, we want to make sure that
12:32we give them love, we give them energy, and we make sure they are warmly welcome.
12:36Can I count on you for that?
12:38All right, awesome.
12:40Up next, coming to the stage, is our very next participant who will participate in the business pitch competition.
12:47Her name is Javon Kashif, and she is the owner and the founder of Abstract Nail Art Press-Ons.
12:54Can we give Javon a round of applause as she makes her way to the stage?
13:06Hello, hello.
13:09All right, so I need everyone to look at your hands.
13:14What they look like?
13:17Some of y'all probably needed to go to a salon, get your nails done before you came, and that's
13:22okay because I'm not judging.
13:24But that's exactly why Abstract Nails exist.
13:29Hi, I'm Javon, the creator and founder of Abstract Nail Art Press-Ons, a salon-based nail art press-on.
13:37Everything we do came directly from our salon in Washington, D.C.
13:45Abstracts offers on-demand, in-trend nail art press-ons and nail care.
13:51Everything was created right at our salon.
13:53It's size-inclusive, multiple wear.
13:57It provides a multiple wear, as well as 32 pieces come in every pack.
14:02We offer a variety of shapes, sizes, and lengths.
14:07Now, this is a proven product.
14:39Why?
14:40Why?
14:54Why?
14:56Why?
14:56Why?
14:57Why?
15:09Why?
15:11Why?
15:23Why?
15:27Why?
15:33Why?
15:37Why?
15:39Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40Why?
15:40now I know I asked you all to look at your hands and I know that some of you
15:44all were like yes I needed to get to the salon or I need to get down there to
15:48Beautycon but just understand that we are bringing something to the market
15:53that is for you it is created by you you have led the brand we've designed these
15:58nails in real time and we're ready to grow and scale thank you so much Javon
16:06thank you so much that was an amazing pitch I have a question about your
16:11customer acquisition cost can you give us a little insight of what your customer
16:14acquisition cost is right now yes so our customer acquisition cost has been about
16:19$21 primarily because we're using the feedback that we receive at the table to
16:25develop and we don't have any we don't have a robust CRM system so this money
16:31will actually help us to get the marketing strategy out so that we can
16:35lower the cat cost sorry customer acquisition cost and be a little more
16:40forward with client retention so not only will you just purchase one pack of
16:45abstract snails but you'll be a repeat customer because we'll have the tools to
16:50continue to market to you great presentation I just have a question I
16:56want to talk more about getting you from behind yeah administration I get it we
17:03all get it as founders so my question to you is just if you if you have funding
17:08what would be like your first hire or what are your first automations just talk to
17:14me about more about what do you need yes in terms of leaving you from some of the
17:19day-to-day administrative things so you can focus more on the front of the business yes
17:25absolutely so this money will absolutely be used to invest in a robust marketing
17:32system utilizing and taking advantage of some of the AI opportunities that we've
17:38been presented with and as well as enhancing our marketing so right now we
17:42do we are direct to consumer so we have the opportunity to we need more
17:48opportunity to market and present to retailers that are banging down our doors but
17:54we just don't have the wherewithal to get the product to them thank you thank
18:00you great presentation you said that you're I see that the retailer
18:06activation that you've been doing but you say you've been doing DTC so you've
18:09been able to sell e-commerce with your own website yes abstract snails is live and
18:14well first of all let them know the website so it's live and well you see my
18:20face there scan that QR code I know I had big hair but now I got the Bob okay okay
18:25and how have you been able to utilize social media to drive that traffic to the
18:30website I know for us that's been a big that's been a big plus for us it's
18:35utilizing that you UGC that that user generated content taking the content from
18:40your customers who are happy with your product and promoting it on your social
18:43media have you been able to get into any of that to drive that revenue we have
18:48but utilizing the free access that we have so that is another reason why our
18:53customer acquisition cost is very high because we haven't had the opportunity
18:58to invest more in UGC or user content so anything anytime someone posts we just
19:05communicate to them hey make sure you tagging us make sure that you are
19:09sharing our brand so this these funds will go directly to helping us invest
19:15more in user content and marketing utilizing the social platforms to do so
19:22thank you thank you
19:36all right can we give her one more round of applause you just heard from Javon
19:42Kashif of abstract nail and art press-ons and I love how she was able to explain her
19:49business and can we also give it up for the judges who are asking quality
19:53questions and the reason why I'm pointing out the judges is because if
19:57you're an entrepreneur a founder or a business owner I want you to pay
20:01attention to the pitch but pay attention to the questions so when you're
20:05running and operating your business you can keep these things in mind as well
20:09all right new voices are you ready for the last pitch participant okay we got to
20:14give them some love okay it's always hard to go first and last so I want to make
20:19sure that our very next pitch participant receives just as much love as pitch
20:24participant number one and two so the next person who's gonna take the stage to
20:29pitch their business is the one and only miss Shamika Stevenson Davison of
20:35pre-college solution let's give her a round of applause hello everyone I want
20:55you guys to meet Brandi Sapp Brandi Sapp is the reason why I started pre-college
21:01solutions years ago I was a college prep coach with a nonprofit organization and
21:08she was the first student that I was assigned to when I met her there in her
21:13high school year her senior year the beginning the fall of it we had our first
21:19initial meeting and what she told me was if I don't get any scholarships I'm not
21:25going to go to college I can't afford it and so I promised her that if she
21:30followed me and the advice I gave that she would be able to go to college and so
21:35once she graduated from from high school she received over fifty three thousand
21:39dollars in scholarships and that funded her entire bachelor's degree and as me
21:48and Brandi continue to be mentoring mentee I watched her at the age of 25
21:53purchase her first home and she was only able to do that because she didn't have
21:59any student debt and that's when I decided that's what I wanted for every
22:03student I wanted everybody to be able to be financially free and not have to deal
22:08with any student debt hi my name is Shamika Stevenson Davidson and I am the
22:15founder of pre-college solutions a college readiness coaching and consulting
22:19company and what we do is we help families not only get their child ready for
22:23college but also prepare them to be able to figure out how they're going to pay
22:28for college through the six years that I've been with free college solutions we've
22:35been able to provide over a million dollar scholarship opportunities for our
22:41clients with a collective of our clients receiving over 80 million dollars in
22:48scholarship funding a hundred percent of our clients have college acceptance 70 I'm
22:54sorry 87% of them end up enrolling in college 74% of them continue to go to
23:01college our college retention rate and 69% of them graduate from college with a
23:08minimum of twenty thousand dollars in student debt now in all the years that I've
23:15been doing this and following along with the media and things like that I've
23:20realized we don't we have one simple problem how do families and students
23:25graduate from college with minimum or no student debt at pre-college solutions we
23:30feel like we found that solution we work with our parents one-on-one with
23:36financial literacy college planning and scholarship strategies our help goes beyond
23:42high school graduation because we want to see students graduate from college our
23:48business model is both business-to-consumer and business-to-business so we
23:54work with families but we also work with nonprofit organizations and school
23:58districts our services range from being workshop providers to providing
24:05individual coaching and consulting for schools for nonprofit organizations and
24:10families and providing professional development our ask is that we receive
24:19$25,000 in strategic funding and partnership partnerships to number one
24:25expand our business-to-business clientele what we realize is in order to impact and
24:32to reach more families we need to be able to be where they are they're in the
24:38schools they're at work there are in the community so we want to be able to
24:42expand that we also want to purchase and outsource our business and marketing
24:48operations because that kind of holds us back from staying focused on our
24:53overall goal and second and third we want to license a trademark our college prep is
24:59financial literacy curriculum in hopes of producing online curriculum so we don't
25:05just stop at getting to people face to face we're able to meet people where they
25:10are so that they are able to take advantage of our services now I want you
25:15guys to imagine this what if there was a world where every college-bound student
25:22had a clear roadmap to getting to college and a plan on how they were going to pay for
25:29college wouldn't that just stop a lot of the financial aid and student debt that
25:36we have well that's what I want for our students thank you for your time
25:45congratulations we could clearly you have something great so congratulations on
25:49your working impact I have a question as you can continue to grow how much of the
25:54business is gonna have to stay kind of high touchpoint versus how much what you
25:59need do you think you can automate particularly as you're going to your B2B
26:02model okay what I think that I could I think that I'm eventually going to have
26:11to hire staff at some point and that's what we're trying to grow to but as for
26:16right now we are able to use consultants at will to be able to help us so that we
26:22can reach the demand of if we do go more B2B we are able to you know expand using
26:32kind of that as our like I want to say using at that as our kind of like our
26:38direct services while I prefer to stay on the high end of making sure that we
26:44are over the business operations and we are continuing to reach our goal just so
26:50just for clarity the consultants these are like your contract workers but you
26:54eventually see yourself hiring someone for all right all right thank you in the
26:58next hopefully three years awesome I love hearing about this is so exciting I
27:04think all of us have had a conversation if not about ourselves but a family
27:08member having to figure out how to get through college right so I think we can all
27:12relate to that my question is about something you mentioned about
27:15trademarking and proprietary products where are you in that process now what's
27:20the timeline what's the cost in your mind to get you to a place where you have
27:24a product that is protected that you can start to release to the marketplace okay
27:29so right now we've already written the college prep is financial literacy
27:33curriculum it just hasn't been licensed and trademarked and that's one of the
27:38things we want to do before we start getting more into school working with
27:42school districts and producing online curriculum so that's our first step and
27:46we hope to have that done within the next two years and then after that we plan on
27:51once we have that license and trademark and then we plan on moving into the next
27:57step of getting it out there to the masses how do you make sure that the
28:03content that you're producing doesn't become stale like that the curriculum stays up
28:07to date what's your process around that now I know it's got to be a lot it is a
28:11lot because our curriculum basically goes with the what's going on with the
28:17Department of Education so us staying connected to that attending attending
28:23their national conferences staying connected to school districts can't
28:27basically keeping our foot to the ground on any changes that may happen
28:32that's how we plan on staying current that is how we stand on excuse me stand on
28:37staying current and that's how we stand on making sure that our curriculum is
28:40always updated and one thing we always listen to our clients our clients provide
28:45the best feedback of what's going on with them and why they're not
28:49understanding certain things thank you so much great pitch I love the fact that
28:55it's purpose-driven entrepreneurship is hard and a lot of people jump into this
29:01thinking I'm gonna go make a bunch of money but if you're not led by purpose
29:05and passion it's gonna be hard to get back up after those times you get
29:09knocked down so I'm happy to hear that this is a purpose-driven thing I really I
29:14don't know if I have a question but more one to piggyback off what answer said the
29:18licensing of the curriculum and the content I think that's that's a space
29:23where your your focus should definitely go into because a lot of these
29:27students a lot of us come from backgrounds where we may not even be
29:31able to afford the tutoring or or that one-on-one direct attention that we need
29:38but if you can license that content and then you're taking that to the school
29:41districts and they're licensing and buying that from you I think that's kind of
29:45how you get to scale so congratulations on everything you've done so far thank
29:49thank you thank you judges
29:56all right we're gonna step away for a moment and deliberate we'll be right back
30:16all right let's give Shamika one more round of applause okay so here is what's
30:22going to happen I want to remind you we just heard three fabulous founders pitch
30:27their business now the judges are gonna go back into the green room and they're
30:30gonna have a conversation and let me tell you what's gonna happen they're gonna
30:34talk about each of the businesses and then when they come back on this stage we
30:38got one person who's going to receive $10,000 we have another founder who is
30:44going to receive a $15,000 grant and then we have one grand prize winner who's
30:50going to receive a $25,000 grant and this is all courtesy from the new voices
30:59foundation so if you haven't already done so you're thinking about starting a
31:03business you want to grow your business and you need support you need a mentor you
31:08need coaching I want you to make your way over to the new voices village right
31:12over here when we are done so you can learn a little bit more about how to grow
31:16and expand your business now I am just curious right how many of you here this
31:22is your very first time at Essence Festival all right y'all having a good
31:26time okay how many of you been coming back it's your second year your third
31:31year matter of fact you lost count this is what you do every July 4th you come
31:35here and you spend time with your cousins that you meet immediately all right so
31:40here's what I want to know right we are officially at the we love us stage right
31:45here at Essence Fest 2026 and I know that some of you have been grabbing all
31:49types of goodies I see you with those three four five six seven bags some of
31:54y'all been listening but I want to hear from you I want to come down into the
31:58audience and I want to hear your favorite Essence Fest moment now don't be
32:03afraid don't be shy I just want to know what are you liking so far what are you
32:07loving what are you just like I've gone to a couple different times but
32:12something special about 2026 so do we have any brave souls who want to share
32:17it all right I'm coming down to the audience now as I wake my way down I want
32:22to ask you what your name is and then tell us your Essence Fest highlight moment so
32:28my name is Danielle Bertrand I'm the preventative burnout specialist and I was
32:32here for the pivoting session and it was phenomenal I see her it was phenomenal and
32:38sometimes you just have to know when to pivot and when God is saying hey leave
32:42that alone and go do something else so this is where I plan to be next year I'm
32:46just putting it out there at new voices oh I know that's right give it up give it
32:50up one more time I love that because sometimes we gotta know when to pivot and
32:54when it's time to hang it up I'm coming over to use this come on up here let's take a
32:58fabulous look at this skirt is it skirt is it pants either way it's fabulous let's
33:04give it up for fabulousness in this skirt all right so tell me what is your
33:08highlight for Essence Fest 2026 my highlight for Essence Fest 2026 was that I
33:15got chosen to speak at the new voices entrepreneurial hub tomorrow at 10 a.m.
33:20I'm the first and only black female Chilean wine owner in the world and I am a
33:25wholesaler importer and distributor so we will be talking about from product to
33:30placement we just got approved to be in 31 airports and we're looking to scale
33:34come on 31 airports I know that's right I love it we celebrate you we honor you and
33:41we see you that is a magnificent highlight and tomorrow at 10 o'clock is that when
33:46you'll be speaking okay awesome make sure y'all check her out tomorrow at 10 o'clock
33:51anybody else have an amazing highlight all right I'm going to come on over here
33:54hey I know you listen it's love here good to see you oh my goodness all right so
34:03it's your highlight hi my name is Shauna Stepp Jones I'm a hardware engineer and
34:08inventor of a wig and weave dryer and my highlight was having Richard Lou Dennis
34:14himself and Tiana come over and look at my no heat wig and weave hair dryer so the
34:22access that new voices is providing to black founders like me has been really
34:27really really really incredible thank you yeah did you hear she said Tiana
34:31Taylor came over to her to see her product no all right we're gonna plug you
34:36real quick all right because this is a business pitch competition tell us a
34:40little bit more about where they can find about your product or you can find out
34:44about your new best friend the no heat dryer for wigs and weaves at meets bundle
34:49dot com again that's m-e-e-t-s-p-u-n-d-l-e it is the first ever
34:55no heat wig and
34:56weave dryer drying wigs and weaves in 15 minutes or less no longer you hanging them
35:01up to dry or waiting this is why you got to come to the we love us stage you
35:06don't know who you're going to meet thank you so much for sharing your
35:09business with us and if you are an entrepreneur or a founder I want you to
35:13pay attention to what she just did I'm gonna call her 31 airports because I just
35:17forgot your name that quickly but also you as well you have to be ready to pitch
35:22at any point in time and talk about your business it's not just enough to start a
35:26business you have to be ready to raise your hand and literally say I can talk
35:31about my business on a cup all right so are y'all ready to figure out who won
35:34this money $10,000 $15,000 $25,000 all right so as we get ready to announce
35:43these winners I want to make sure you understand this as you continue to
35:47navigate Essence Fest 2026 make sure you return here to the we love us stage we
35:52definitely have some more programming and don't forget to go over to the new voices
35:56village and check out all the resources that we have for entrepreneurs okay so
36:02without further ado I don't want to make you wait any longer I am going to bring
36:06back up to the stage Miss Enza Huger who is a part of NVF Capital to announce each of
36:14our winners can we give Enza some love
36:33let's give them a round of applause for pitching again because we know how hard
36:37it is to stand up here and pitch and talk about your business and talk about
36:40yourself I am actually going to start with Lanny announcing our first winner yes
36:46so again when each one of them come up here y'all give them all a real big round
36:52of applause it's extremely hard like you said one to just start a business but to
36:58get up here and talk about it so the winner of the $10,000 check is drumroll
37:06so
37:08Javon Kashif of abstract nails
37:13congratulations queen
37:15yes yes
37:16thank you
37:16thank you
37:17thank you
37:20thank you
37:20thank you
37:26and the prize the next winner which will get the $15,000 grand prize is
37:34come up here Shamika with college
37:36wow
37:39congratulations
37:40congratulations
37:40thank you
37:48and that means last and certainly not least Miss Alexandria Ali with the $25,000 check
37:56with F&W
37:57thank you
37:58congratulations
37:59congratulations
37:59congratulations
38:09let's go ahead and give all of our pitch participants one more round of applause
38:15now please don't go too far because we want you to come right back up on this stage and get
38:19some pictures with the judges
38:20So come on back onto the stage.
38:23Give them some love as they make their way.
38:25We got $10,000, $15,000, $25,000 to these amazing founders.
38:37And thank you so much to the judges for their insight and their feedback.
38:41I'm sure that was not an easy decision, but you did it.
38:44Yes, judges, please join them and take some pictures.
38:48Come on, family and friends.
38:49If you're supporting somebody, this is where you get your content.
39:02All right.
39:04They say get in, squeeze in, act like y'all like each other.
39:15All right.
39:16So listen, I think that the founders and the judges are going to hang out for a second.
39:19So if you have any questions or comments, or if you just want to love up on them, say congratulations.
39:25This is the time to do it.
39:26So as they are exiting the stage, make sure you give out their hugs and just thank them for sharing
39:31their business.
39:32And here is a couple of highlights.
39:34But before we do that, can we give the panelists one more round of applause?
39:38The judges, one more round of applause?
39:42So to the founders, I want to say this.
39:44You've inspired us, you've challenged us, and you've reminded us what's possible when purpose meets power.
39:50We also want to send a special thank you to the New Voices Foundation, New Voices Fund, Essence Festival of
39:57Culture, presented by Coca-Cola.
39:59Our judges, our coaches, and everyone who has helped make today's competition possible.
40:05So to everyone who is still out here in the crowd, make sure you stay locked in.
40:10Follow the founders on the social channels.
40:12Buy their products.
40:14Don't ask for a discount.
40:15Okay?
40:16Pay full price.
40:17And as you do that, support them.
40:19Their journey doesn't stop here.
40:21And again, if you want more insight to grow your business, definitely check out New Voices right over here.
40:27Congratulations again to all of the finalists and again to everyone here.
40:32Keep enjoying Essence Festival.
40:34We'll see you in just a second.
40:38I'm trying to see what's up with that banana.
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