This year, I had the honor of returning as emcee of PitchBlack, the pitch event for Black founders. Like a live Shark Tank, PitchBlack awards funding to people with business ideas.
But unlike Shark Tank, these awards are grants, not investment. That means that these founders keep ownership of their businesses and their ideas. And they don’t waste valuable time keeping investors happy; their primary focus can remain on their most important investors: their customers.
PitchBlack is the brainchild of Stephen Green, a Portland-based “recovering banker” who I call our unofficial mayor of small business. He’s been COO to visionaries like Jelani Memory of A Kids’ Co and Dr. D’Wayne Edwards of Pensole in addition to leading WeWork Portland and being Board Chair of Built Oregon – just to name a few. But Stephen’s primary pursuit is boosting local, Black- and brown-owned businesses, the inspiration for creating PitchBlack.
2023’s event was the biggest yet, with sold-out audience of over 500 people at the sparkling new Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton, OR, just a stone’s throw away from Nike World HQ.
First Place went to Creative Homies ($30K); Second Place was CardCraft ($20K), and Third Place was Heart & Hustle Productions ($10K). In addition to the top prizes, Albina Vision Trust, Black Earth United, The Corporate Strategist, Beaverton Black Parent Union, Fridie Outdoors, Black In Beaverton and We Out Here Magazine were all awarded $2800.
PitchBlack is a perfect Pregame profile because it aligns with our #1 value: Everybody wins. All founders get exposure to new audiences and cash for their effort.
More importantly, PitchBlack is a fantastic example of what DEI in action looks like when it’s not focused on making white people feel better. Yeah, I said that. The products pitched may or may not be for a white audience. And best of all, the sponsors are invited to participate based on it being the right thing to do; they barely get a shout out in the PR surrounding the event.
Still, the sponsors could do much better. Global brands have hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions, to make win-win investments in DEI, like contracting these up and coming businesses as vendors or bringing these visionaries in as consultants on their brands.
I’ll write more about that soon, but for now, enjoy this Black joy from PitchBlack. Photos by the talented Dustin Tolman.
