To celebrate and support entrepreneurs of color, The Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with The Office: Berkeley will be hosting the first-ever EPOC Pitch and Networking Event! We invite business owners and entrepreneurs of color to pitch their business ideas to a panel of local leaders. After considering each pitch, the panel will identify three businesses with outstanding potential, and award them with the following prizes:
- Grand Prize: One year free coworking office space for two provided by The Office: Berkeley ($7200 value).
- 2nd Place: 10 free hours of conference room use provided by The Office: Berkeley ($500 value).
- 3rd Place: Mentorship lunch with a woman leader from the panel.
A pitch party focused on people of color follows one of The Office’s core tenets: To foster inclusion in our own community. When it comes to funding, and pitch events, non-white business owners are often overlooked or underfunded. Despite that fact, minority businesses are on the rise, and incredibly important. During the 2008 recession, in the five year period from 2007-2012, non-white business owners added more than 72.3% of the jobs created by privately held companies! Our hope is to provide a place to celebrate entrepreneurs of color and foster a community where everyone can thrive.
Everyone is welcome to watch, eat, drink, and network, but pitch contestants must run, or be developing, a business that is at least 50% owned by a person of color.
So please mark your calendars for July 12th, 2018 and join us for a great night of networking, noshing, and celebrating entrepreneurs of color!
Enter the Quick-Pitch Competition
Each participant will be given three minutes to pitch their presentation. Pitch participants may use this form to register for the event by Thursday, July 5th, 2018. Guidelines for the pitch will be provided after registration and selection of applicants.
The main event begins at 7:15pm. A panel of amazing local people of color, including members of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce will choose the best 3-minute pitch. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the night.
Attend as a Guest
If you do not wish to pitch your idea, but you’d still like to network and show your support for local women entrepreneurs, please visit our Eventbrite page to register for the event.
EPOC Pitch Party
Thursday, August 12 from 6:30-8:30pm
The Office Berkeley @ 1935 Addison St, Suite A, Berkeley, CA 94704
Contact: [email protected]
Schedule
6:30pm – 7:15pm Enjoy refreshments while networking with like-minded entrepreneurs
7:15pm – 8:15pm Pitch Event, Judging, and Winner Announcements
8:15pm – 8:30pm Closing Remarks and Networking
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