The Charlotte Hornets Foundation on Friday named Brandi Long, a South Carolina-based chemist and fashion entrepreneur, the winner of its inaugural Innovation Summit.
Charlotte Hornets Foundation announced the launch of the virtual innovation summit in January. The summit was created to help empower minority entrepreneurs in Charlotte by giving them access to social and financial capital, professional resources and skill development, said Betsy Mack, CHF senior director of corporate social responsibility and executive director.
Mack said the summit is part of a larger social justice initiative the foundation launched late last year.
"When we first started this initiative, we weren't sure what to expect because we'd never done anything in this realm. Innovation is somewhat out of our typical focus area," she said. "From the very beginning of the event, from execution to the end, we saw complete engagement and excitement."
After receiving 150 applications, the pool was narrowed down to 20, then to five finalists — three of whom were chosen by fan votes and two who were picked by the foundation's internal committee, Mack said.
The five finalists — The Jurse, Fortika Coffee Co., Framework, Let's Diversify and Melanin Enterprises — pitched last month to a five-person panel. That panel consisted of Michael Dermer, The Lonely Entrepreneur founder and chief executive officer; Ric Elias, Red Ventures co-founder and CEO; James R. Jordan, Hornets sports and entertainment executive vice president and chief operating officer; Grace Nystrum, Bank of America senior vice president and strategic marketing executive; and Shante Williams, Black Pearl Global Investments CEO.
Long's venture, The Jurse, was announced on Friday at halftime of the Hornets' game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. Long, a chemist by trade, created The Jurse in 2017 shortly after founding her company B.Long Fashion. The Jurse is a product that transitions from a jacket to a purse to meet the wearer's needs. It contains pockets for essentials like keys, a cellphone and credit or debit cards that keep items in place when transitioning from one use to another.
Long received a $15,000 investment from the foundation.
"No matter who was chosen, we were so proud of what the five finalists were doing and how they were representing the program," Mack said. "Just in getting to know Brandi and her story, we're so thrilled that she was the winner and we're able to work with her on this."
Mack added, "She's so appreciative, and looking at everything she's created, she encompasses all the values we're excited to promote and be a part of."
Every Innovation Summit applicant received one year of complimentary resources from The Lonely Entrepreneur, a national nonprofit that provides current and aspiring entrepreneurs with knowledge, tools and support to grow businesses. The 20 second-round entrepreneurs also received access to Bank of America’s Better Money Habits, which aims to help people make sense of their money and take action to improve with free, easy-to-understand tools and resources.
The five finalists also received one year of resources from The Boost Pad, which provides resources to underrepresented entrepreneurs to help them create solutions, build impactful businesses and increase Charlotte’s economic mobility.
