We’re proud to announce that DeliverEnd Founder & CEO Nick Turner was named the winner of our first ever Black Founder Pitch Competition! 

Our panel of business leaders and VC’s selected Nick from a competitive group of five founders during our finalist event on April 27, 2021. The judges had an incredibly difficult decision, but they were particularly blown away by Nick’s pitch, plan, and business idea to make online marketplace deliveries safe, secure, and convenient. In addition to the $10K cash prize, Nick also took home an additional $10K from Corazon Capital, $10K from LOUD Capital, and $5K from OCA Ventures for a total of $35K in total equity funding! 

In addition to our grand prize winner, our judges handed out additional equity funding to a number of the finalists, with $20K going to Cyber Pop-up Founder & CEO Christine Izuakor, $15K to LeagueSwype Founder & CEO Darius Grandberry, and $5K to QuirkChat Founder, CEO & Head of Product Bee Law. Our five finalists will also receive 6-months free virtual membership to 1871. 

While our finalists quickly got down to business, there was also plenty of time for some virtual fun, with our MC Trey White of of iHeartRadio and DJ Marcus setting the tone (and tunes) for the afternoon. Attendees were even treated to a special guest performance from the talented Montell Jordan, who had the entire Zoom room up on their feet and dancing to both his new music and the classic song “This Is How We Do It!”

The Black Founder Pitch Competition wouldn’t be possible without the help from our wonderful team of sponsors, so a special shoutout to Food  FoundryMolson CoorsWeber ShandwickWipfliShipBobCorazon CapitalHyde Park Venture PartnersLOUD CapitalOCA Ventures, and 7wireVentures for all of their support. 

Thank you again to our five incredible finalists and to everyone who joined us in cheering them on during their pitches! 

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