We just hosted our first Selfmade Pitch Competition of the year and it was SO inspiring! From planet-friendly products to creator economy tech to BIPOC marketplaces, women are taking charge and building a better world for all of us through entrepreneurship. Selfmade is Brit + Co's community and training program for female founders. During the pitch competition, finalists receive expert feedback on their business models and opportunities, Shark-tank style.
With weekly workshops, on-demand courses, 1:1 mentor calls, peer-to-peer matching, templates, fireside chats, and more, Selfmade is designed to prep women for success in building and funding their business.
Finalists were chosen from a pool of hundreds of applicants to pitch live to our panel of judges. Alongside our Founding Partner, Office Depot OfficeMax, we awarded $10,000 in grants to our top 3 winners (meet them below!), and another $7,500 in gift cards to our top 15 founders.
Want to pitch your business idea to the Selfmade community for the chance to win cash prizes? Our next pitch competition is August 31. Register now to apply (you must be an active member of Selfmade to pitch, but the live virtual event is open to the public to attend too!)
Read on to find out who took home the big prizes this spring. Drumroll please...
Our Cash Grant Winners
1st Place winner, $5000
Amber T. Bogan, founder of Bright Light Books, an award-winning publisher of children’s books that normalize and celebrate black childhood , took home the big prize this spring. This multi passionate "mompreneuer" is leading one of the few independent #OwnVoices publishing houses created to increase diversity in children’s lit while helping to bridge the book accessibility gap.
2nd Place winner, $3000
Pallavi Pande, founder of Dtocs tableware, made from naturally fallen palm leaves, was the second prize winner. Pande’s motto: “Responsible living – toward mother nature, toward our kids and toward our community” – was her inspiration for DTOCS, which uses chemical-free manufacturing and creates compostable tableware. Pande, a mompreneur based in Portland, Oregon, recalls eating on banana leaves while growing up in India and loving how it connected her closer to nature.
3rd Place winner, $2000
Imani Schectman, founder of Open Market, a socially responsible marketplace featuring BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) and POC (People of Color) businesses, earned third prize in our spring pitch competition. Schectman is an artist, healer, and educator who believes in the power of community. She built Open Market for artisans and inventors like herself, and strives to make it easy for consumers to find BIPOC brands that align with the causes they care about, such as social justice, equity, sustainability, and livable wages.
Meet all of the 10 Pitch Day finalists, including our winners, below (in alphabetical order):
- Allison Ullo | Leaves of Leisure, luxury low-caffeine herbal teas and botanicals
- Amber T. Bogan | Bright Light Books, publisher of children's books celebrating Black joy
- Chrissy Fagerholt | EAP Toy and Games, board and party games for people of all ages
- Elayna Fernandez | The Positive MOM, a support community for moms
- Imani Schectman | Open Market, a marketplace for BIPOC and POC business owners
- Kara Kissell | Kara Kaufmann (musician), a children's music creator
- Maria Londono | Disrupt3rs, a financing platform for film and game creators
- Pallavi Pande | Dtocs LLC, tableware made from discarded palm leaves
- Sopi Mitil | The Sopi Mitil Co LLC, an eco-friendly fashion brand for curvy, petite women
- Tulsi Patel | Pet Clinic Pro, a marketplace for animal clinics
Congrats to our winners and all 10 finalists! Want to become a member of Selfmade? Start your free trial today!