Female entrepreneurs will compete for nearly $20,000 in prizes Thursday in Tulsa.
Six teams will pitch their business ideas from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the McKeon Center for Creativity, 910 S. Boston Ave. The event is sponsored by the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation and hosted by Build in Tulsa, an initiative dedicated to amplifying and elevating underrepresented entrepreneurs and start-up leaders.
“Female founders receive less than three percent of venture capital for their start-up ideas,” Ashli Sims, Build in Tulsa’s managing director, said in a statement. “It’s even less if you are a minority woman. Build in Tulsa is dedicated to making sure female founders have the skills and confidence they need to walk into a room and pitch their ideas successfully.”
Build in Tulsa developed the Female Founders Pitch Nights to address the lack of female representation in the start-up community.
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Black women are the fastest-growing segment of entrepreneurs but are under-resourced. Build in Tulsa sought to change that in Tulsa by hosting quarterly pitch nights a year ago.
Since the organization started in December 2021, it has trained and showcased 46 women, provided 250 hours of training and awarded $55,000 in prizes.
Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation’s sponsorship allowed Build in Tulsa to double the prizes.
First, second and third places receive $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500, respectively, with all getting unlimited coaching from Build in Tulsa. The favorite pitch as voted on by the audience will be awarded $1,000, a $100 gift card and coaching from BIT.
The judges are Shagah Zakerion of LTFF, Lindsey Corbitt of the Black Wall Street Chamber and Tyrance Billingsley II of Black Tech Street.
The event is free and the public is welcome. People interested in attending are urged to visit the Build In Tulsa website at www.buildintulsa.com, click the events tab and register because seats are limited.
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