1st Place and Audience Choice in New Venture Competition - Placing in an Academic Competition (Gold 6 Points) Class of 2028

 This past spring semester, I was chosen as a finalist in the Center for Black Entrepreneurships New Venture Competition. After working on my startup, Granted Reading for months and entering my first two pitch competitions, I was excited to hear this news! I had wanted to participate in the new venture competition since my freshman year, so I finally achieved a goal of mine. The next step was to place. As part of my application process, I had to articulate aspects of my business I hadn’t before. I had to research competitors, explain what differentiated me from them, and quantify my target adressible market, service adressible market, and service obtainable market. It challenged me to poke holes in my own business and address them in ways that made me competitive. I even added the aspect of the worksheets being culturally responsive, because no other competitor considered the background of students as a factor in generating diverse content. I revised and practiced my pitch meticulously, and when it was time, I prayed that the Lord would speak through me, as he did at the NSBE national pitch competition where I placed second. I trusted that no matter what, there is no one who knows by business better than myself.  When I stepped onstage, it all flowed out. I answered every question easily and communicated my story with grace. I was surprised to see so many people come up to me afterward telling me it was moving, or that they identified with it themselves. Once it was time for awards, I won $1,000 as the audience choice and $5,000 as the 1st place prize winner. Not only did I accomplish a goal, I challenged myself to improve my business even if it  meant admitting it wasn’t perfect to begin with. This is a valuable skill as a founder. It’s more important to be able to swallow your pride and change than to hang onto your original ideas and stay stagnant as the world changes.