Syedah Farrell stepped backstage and looked around at the entrepreneurs, guests and judges awaiting her speech at FirstEnergy Stadium’s Cardiac Club on Monday.
Farrell is the founder of the Marshmallow Month Club, a subscription-based gift box service where customers can receive or have monthly boxes of homemade artisan marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolates as a unique tasting experience. She represented one of seven small business services that participated in the show, which allowed them to pitch their business to a panel of three judges — similar to ABC’s “Shark Tank” television show — with the winner receiving $10,000 for their business.
In a 15-minute presentation, all participants informed the judges about how their businesses grew, the challenges they faced in their industries, and the stories that drove them to become successful owners. The judges asked them questions following their presentation.
“I was a little nervous before I got up there,” Farrell said. “For my numbers, I wasn’t sure how I was going to present them, but when I got up there, I was like, ‘Have fun, you got this.’
After a discussion by the judges – Vaughn Johnson, Deputy Director of Economic Development of Cuyahoga County, Tessa Jackson, Director of Economic Development of the City of Cleveland and Peter John-Baptiste, Senior Vice President of Communications of the Browns – Farrell received the award.
She had a smile on her face as she handed in her check for the all-night celebration and congratulations from each of the participants, all of whom received $2,500 for their businesses and those working in the JumpStart Small Business Impact Program.
“I’m pissed off,” Pharrell laughed. “Not just for the 10-grand, it’s a vindication of what I’ve done for the last 12 weeks.”
Each participant spent 12 weeks in the JumpStart program preparing for the show, the first of four events the Browns partner with JumpStart to accelerate the development of black and Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs in the Cleveland area. JumpStart is a nationally recognized venture development organization that provides capital, services, and connections to help entrepreneurs grow, researchers commercialize, and corporations form.
The Small Business Boot Camp (Sept. 7), First & Tech Networking Event (Oct. 11) and Second Showcase Event (Dec. 7) will all be held at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Other business participants include Monday Concession Stand, South of the City, Rhonda Crowder and Associates, Village Trends Boutique, CoCo D. Luxe Beauty and Cure Nail Gallery.
“Being aligned with the Browns, gaining visibility and being able to use the Browns brand is something that will make an impact for every graduate tonight,” said JumpStart Chief Services Officer Lorne Novick. “The Browns have directly allowed us to pay for a big event, promote the event a little bit more, and help us do events that we haven’t done before at FirstEnergy Stadium besides the Impact program.”
The Browns wanted to partner with JumpStart to highlight the large community of minority-owned small businesses in the Cleveland area.
“We’re always going through a strategic analysis of what we can do better, and we definitely see that as an opportunity to make a bigger impact for black and minority-owned businesses,” said Browns Vice President of Community Relations Jenner Tekancic. “When we met with Jumpstart and their representatives, we saw how much they love the local community and how they bring everyone together to show what they have to offer from the talent in our region.”
The experience was truly a win-win for all parties involved, and was just the first of many other opportunities for businesses to showcase their services, network with other entrepreneurs, and gain resources and expertise to dramatically grow their products and businesses. success.
“Even though we’re a small team, we all have different things to do for the city of Cleveland,” said Courtney Dorsey, founder of Coco D’Luxe Beauty. “I think it’s amazing that the Browns said, ‘Hey, let’s sponsor this,’ and let’s be a part of it.”
“It’s community involvement, and I think that’s great.”
