Local start-up firms compete for cash prizes at LISC event.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Boston hosted their third annual pitch contest for early-stage startups owned by women and minority entrepreneurs last week in Dorchester, awarding up to $12,500 in cash prizes sponsored by Citizens Bank.
The first-place prize of $7,500 went to Zainab Sumu Primitive Modern, a local fashion business owned by Zainab Sumu and nominated by the Center for Women and Enterprise. The second-place prize of $2,500 was awarded to Sanaa With Friends, owned by Victoria Downes and Taneekah Johnson and nominated by The Urban Labs; and the remaining $2,500 was awarded to Express Cuts 10.18, founded by Marcelous T. Atmore and nominated by the Fairmount Innovation Lab.
The other two contestants who pitched their businesses to a panel of judges and an auditorium full of people were food startup Vita Pura, founded by Vanessa Vajara and nominated by Commonwealth Kitchen; as well as software solutions business Langston Corporation, founded by Adam Taylor and nominated by Smarter in the City.
The panel of judges were: Lakshmi Balachandra, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College; Rica Elysee, CEO of BeautyLynk; Biplaw Rai, co-owner of Dudley Cafe; and Glynn Lloyd, executive director of Eastern Bank’s Foundation for Business Equity.
Click here for the full article on the Bay State Banner, written by Karen Morales