Idea Pitch Competition
Brains, Brands & Bourbon was a monthly meetup group I helped conceptualize with a co-founder to refine and scale tech ideas while connecting thought leaders. We believe there are rising stars, talented problem-solvers, and worthwhile opportunities in geographic areas that do not have proximity to coastal cities or technological hubs like Silicon Valley. The concept behind Brains, Brands & Bourbon was to prepare the smartest Midwestern minds to pitch their ideas to incubators, angel investors, and venture capitalists to accelerate funding.
Resources
Pitching Your Idea to Investors
Negotiation Templates
Crowdfunding
I enjoy crowdfunding startups and organizations that support my mission and values. Here are some organizations that are helping with one (or more) of the following: building wealth and equity among Black-owned and/or woman-owned businesses; supporting digital nomads, location independence, and the #Unvalley movement; supporting innovation in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM), and improving work cultures, especially among remote & geographically-dispersed companies.
A documentary about the journalists who shaped hip-hop, revealing stories penned by your favorite emcees’ favorite writers.
In Japan, Bonsai is a well-respected and valuable culture and has been for over 1,000 years. Powered by magnets, Air Bonsai is a "floating star" Bonsai inspired by planet Earth.
Lightsail solar sail by Planetary Society
Unlimited free energy from the sun provides CubeSat propulsion, revolutionizing access to space for low-cost citizen projects.
Hotels By Day allows travelers to book unused rooms at hotels for specific blocks of time in the morning or afternoon, generating convenience for travelers and increased profits for hoteliers.
3 Some Chocolates' desire is to create an experience that you can share with others. We name our Chocolate 3 Some because we give you three different chocolates; dark, milk and white in one bar.
TEMPLE I: The Tech Mansion is the first “live-in accelerator” where residents (Temple U students) receive mentorship and tools to become entrepreneurs, executives, creators, and influencers.
Wefunder is an online service that allows individual investors to crowdfund startup companies. It is predicated upon the idea that anyone, regardless of wealth, should be able to invest in a company.
Unitonomy is an employee engagement and culture management software. It provides paths for organizations anywhere to generate engagement across roles, teams, and departments.
Board of Advisors
An Egyptian woman-owned EdTech startup with roots in both Africa and Kentucky, Edulga is a social educational platform powered by generative AI. In December 2023, I joined Edulga's Board of Advisors, serving as a business strategy consultant and advising the international team as they pitch Edulga to investors and business partners. At the forefront of a revolutionary transformation in generative curriculum design, Edulga's team of instructional designers, software engineers, and learning engineers harnesses the power of machine learning and human-centered algorithms to facilitate the evolution of students into lifelong learners. The upcoming app will empower teachers as content creators and curators, transform schools into dynamic learning environments, and enable all participating institutions to collectively shape a global knowledge repository.
