![Copy of YEOC Pitch Competition [5]](https://media.bizj.us/view/img/12104689/copy-of-yeoc-pitch-competition-5*540xx12000-6750-0-0.jpg)
A new pitch competition for young entrepreneurs of color wrapped its inaugural event last week, and three Cincinnati high schoolers took home the event’s top prize for their startup that aims to address food insecurity.
Saniah Calvin, 16, from Alan B. Shepard High School; Leilah Betts, 15, from Walnut Hills High School; and LeShawn Huckleby, 15, from Withrow University High School, placed first in the Young Entrepreneurs of Color pitch competition, held virtually Sept. 14, for their business Urban Green
Urban Green is building a variety of solutions including urban greenhouses, meal kits, classes and apps to address food insecurity. The three earned a $1,000 per person cash award that can be used as scholarships or seed money for their business.
The Abercrumbie Group, a Cincinnati-based event management firm, created the Young Entrepreneurs of Color pitch competition. In 2019, only 1% of venture capital went to Black entrepreneurs and only 4% to Latinx founders, Abercrumbie said, and the goal of the competition was to provide training, resources and mentorship to support high school students of color building sustainable, scalable businesses.
Over the summer, the students attended six virtual master classes and worked with instructors and mentors from collegiate entrepreneurship programs, venture capital firms and startup companies to prepare for the competition. Thirty-six students participated.
Besides the first place cash award of $1,000 per person, the second place team was awarded $750 per person, the third place team $500 per person, and the fourth place team won $250 per person.
Students on those teams included:
Second place ($750 per person)
- Savion Cornett Hubbard, Withrow High School
- Micah Roberts, Walnut Hills High School
- Ja’Nyla White, DePaul Cristo Rey High School
Third place ($500 per person)
- Ayriel Huckleby, Princeton High School
- Cherish Stephens, Lakota West High School
- Xander Wynn, Colerain High School
Fourth place ($250 per person)
- Justin Chan, Walnut Hills High School
- Tatiauna Hardy, Colerain High School
- Dachia Palmer, Shroder High School
The contest was judged by four local executives, including:
- Valerie Hardcastle, St. Elizabeth Healthcare executive director, Institute for Health Innovation at Northern Kentucky University
- Cynthia Booth, president and CEO, COBCO Enterprises, McDonald’s
- Kala Gibson, executive VP, head of business banking and chief enterprise corporate responsibility officer, Fifth Third Bank
- Barbara Turner, president and CEO, Ohio National Financial Services
Claudia Abercrumbie told me Abercrumbie is in the process of collecting feedback from the competition’s corporate partners and attendees. The firm plans to present the event again in 2022 with some revisions based on learnings from this year.
