Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition Demo Day to award $1 million to diverse entrepreneurs in Miami | Business

Do you have an idea for a new product or service that will knock consumers’ socks off?

You might want to familiarize yourself with Black Ambition, a nonprofit that invests capital and resources in startups founded by underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Black Ambition was founded five years ago by Pharrell Williams (yes, that Pharrell Williams) to support diverse entrepreneurs across the United States through a prize competition, learning labs, access to capital, high-level mentorship, and coaching.

Winners for this year’s competition will be announced at Black Ambition’s 5th Annual Demo Day Nov. 14 at The Sacred Space in Miami. Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to receive mentorship and up to $1 million in funding.

It’s understandably an exciting time for Black Ambition CEO Felecia Hatcher. 

“We have a massive weekend. Not only is it our fifth year anniversary of the organization, but just a really amazing slate of people that will be joining Pharrell to do the big check presentation to these entrepreneurs here in Miami,” Hatcher said.

Speakers will include Williams, as well as business giants Mellody Hobson, Steve Stoute, and Nancy Twine.

Hatcher touted the nonprofit’s success.

“We’ve invested in 131 companies in tech, healthcare, consumer goods, media, entertainment and AI,” she said. “By next week, we’ll hit 150 companies that we’ve invested in in those areas, and those companies have gone on to raise over $280 million in capital.” 

The weekend will be split in two parts: Demo Day on Friday, then the Founders Forum — a day of master classes, networking and talks — on Saturday.

Hatcher described Demo Day as a showcase to “demonstrate what these companies have built, what they will do, what they’ll continue to do as a result of the initial investments that we’re putting to those companies.”

“This is the big day that has culminated a 10-month journey,” she explained. “We usually get about 3,000 applications all across the nation at the beginning of the year.”

These applicants are trimmed down to 250 semi-finalists who go through a mentorship program, and that leads to 30 winners who will receive awards totaling more than $1 million in funding.

“It’s a bit of a rocket ship that they get put on after after Demo Day.”

One of the entrepreneurs who rode that rocket was 2023 winner Barbara Jacques, the South Florida-based founder of JACQ’S Skincare, which she describes as “the first and only vegan and sustainable skincare line specifically formulated for women of color by women of color.”

She said she first came upon Black Ambition while scrolling social media.

She first felt skeptical, but what pushed her was Hatcher’s involvement and her reputation as a homegrown entrepreneur.

“If Felecia is behind this,” Jacques said she thought, “let me go ahead and put my hat in this raffle and see if I’ll be picked to pitch.”

And she did.

“We went through a three-month accelerator program where we went through a series of mentorship workshops, just learning about who, what, where, and how to market a business,” she said. “Understanding the behind-the-scenes, the financials, the marketing, the hiring process — it was an awesome experience because we got to work with celebrity pitch coaches that sat us down and taught us how to properly pitch our business.”

Hatcher sees Black Ambition playing an important role.

“There’s no way in which entrepreneurs will stop needing support,” she said. “And then we also know that certain populations need very specific support and making sure that doors open for them.”

Black Ambition’s 5th Annual Demo Day will be held Friday, Nov. 14. The Founders Forum will be held Saturday, Nov. 15. The event will take place at The Sacred Space Miami, 105 NE 24th St. Miami, Florida.

For more information, visit blackambitionprize.com.