Battle of the Brands 2018On June 10th 2018, we launched the Inaugural Battle of the Brands Shark Tank Pitch Competition and Small Business Expo for young aspiring entrepreneurs in Orlando. Young entrepreneurs aged 13 - 25 spent 6 months battling behind the scenes for their chance to pitch their business idea to local industry leaders to win start up funding raised by local sponsors. In addition, those who had already established businesses had a chance to showcase them to the local community.
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The founder of Battle of the Brands, Dr. Lakisha Ross is on a mission to give back to the next generation. As an entrepreneur, she believes that it is imperative we help our youth not only tap into their passion and purpose but also provide them with the support, mentorship and funding they need to assist them along the journey to success. As leaders we must pave the way.
For our inaugural event, we teamed up with local non-profit organization NIYC (New Image Youth Center) who are dedicated to helping the youth in the Parramore Community. A portion of all profits received from the event tickets sales were donated to NIYC to help them on their mission as another way for us to give back. In addition, the support from the Orlando community was outstanding. Many local leaders and businesses in Orlando came together to donate their time, services, finances and/or equipment to help invest in our youths. This event would not have been possible without our sponsors, contestants and vendors.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Free Pitch Training by Starter Studio
We also teamed up with Starter Studio (formerly CANVS). They not only sponsored our event but provided free pitch training to all the contestants to assist in preparation for the pitch competition.
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Thank You to Our Vendors
This competition would not have been successful without ALL of the support of the community and we are truly grateful to the City of the Orlando! It takes a village and the village most definitely showed up to support the youth in our community. We can't wait to do it all again in 2019!
View BOB 2018 Gallery
Huge thank you to our sponsors MISS BLACK WALL STREET & IPOSE Media for providing photography and videography services!
