Chama Capital partner Founders First hosts Chicago Challenge Pitch Competition
On June 6th, Founders First CDC hosted the Chicago Challenge 2023 Pitch Competition at the Polsky Exchange in Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side.
The Pitch Competition represented the culmination of the 2023 Founders First Chicago Challenge program. 11 businesses from the cohort pitched their businesses, with a focus on their growth plans.
Chama Capital’s Founder and CEO, Christine Saffold, served as a distinguished judge of the pitch competition for the second year in a row, alongside representatives from Allies for Community Business, Bank of America, BMO, and Chase.
“It was a wonderful evening hearing pitches from Chicago business owners across industries from this year’s Challenge program and spending time with members and supporters of the Chicago small business community,” Christine said.
Christine with the judges panel & members of the Founders First team
“What a treat it was that all of the founders who pitched were women, given Chama Capital’s mission of increasing access to capital for women business owners,” Christine said. “Getting to do this work in collaboration with fantastic partners like Founders First is an honor.”
Congratulations are in order for the three Pitch Competition awardees:
Dominguez Legal Justice Center - 1st Place and Certificate of Excellence
Momentum Coffee - 2nd Place and Audience Choice
Tori Prince Beauty - 3rd Place
Each business took home a cash prize.
Essentials Creations Chicago, Smallwave Marketing, Flow Chiropractic, Optimal Learning Solutions, Velez Global Enterprises, Visions Outloud, and Soul Werk Cafe round out the businesses from the Chicago Challenge 2023 Cohort who pitched.
The night also included a keynote speech from the founder of the 2022 Chicago Challenge Pitch Competition winner, Kombuchade, and an update from the Executive Director of Founders First CDC.
As of March 2023, Founders First has served 796 companies and awarded $999K in grant and award money through the Job Creators Grant program and accelerator program prizes. Across 59 program cohorts, 75% of companies increased revenues within 12 months of graduation.
To learn more about Founders First’s funding and program offerings, please contact us so we can connect you.
