1. THE NEW MODEL FOR
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
IN URBAN AMERICA
100 Urban Entrepreneurs Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
2. The number of young urban Americans who
want to start their own business has never been
higher — yet their access to capital, education
and even basic startup information remains
limited. What is the best way to address this
problem, thereby creating jobs and increasing
wealth in urban America?
3. 100 Urban Entrepreneurs has created a unique
model to empower these young people — a
program we’ve designed to be approachable,
transparent and success-driven. More than 50
entrepreneurs have participated so far, reaching
thousands of others in the process, and our
program is now sufficiently scalable to offer
access to entire communities — for whom
entrepreneurship is the leading solution to
creating jobs and wealth.
4. 100UE GOALS
AND OBJECTIVES
100UE will ensure that every young person (age 18 to 35)
in urban communities across the country has access to
and understands the essentials of starting a business.
100UE will annually fund and mentor 100 urban entrepreneurs
as part of this initiative to serve as its leaders.
100UE will thereby empower urban communities by developing a
new generation of leaders, creating jobs and increasing wealth.
5. 100UE’S UNIQUE
APPROACH
Access to information, capital and professional networks is
the main obstacle blocking urban youth from successfully
starting businesses.
100UE removes this obstacle by making the startup process
transparent to this audience for the first time.
Pitching: See how entrepreneurs communicate
business ideas to investors.
Selection: See which entrepreneurs and companies
get funded, and why.
Funding: See how entrepreneurs raise and spend
money when starting a company.
L aunch: See the steps required to turn an idea into a
viable business.
6. 100UE’S Programs
100UE Live 60-Second Business-Pitch Events
One-, two- or three-day events designed to maximize community outreach.
Held regularly in urban communities across the country.
They provide firsthand insight into the pitching and selection processes.
Startup Program
Awards $10,000 grants to entrepreneurs whose pitches are deemed
the most successful. 100UE Funding Recipient
Also consists of an eight-week business-mentoring program. Charlie Fyffe
Provides insight into when financing is forthcoming, and why. Charlie’s Brownies, Los Angeles
“My passion for baking, coupled with my business
Startup Mentoring
experience, has put me in a perfect position.”
One-on-one guidance for funding recipients.
Charlie’s Brownies is a gourmet-brownie retailer and
Matches entrepreneurs with successful businesspeople by industry, catering service that operates locally in West Los
geography and need. Angeles, California. It uses no preservatives or artificial
flavors — just natural ingredients and home-baked love.
Documenting Entrepreneurs’ Journeys Before moving to Los Angeles, Charlie’s Brownies gained
prominence in the Bay Area as a student initiative at the
Follows all 100 entrepreneurs (during the eight-week program,
University of California, Berkeley, where it supplied baked
business launch and beyond).
goods to the Tully’s Coffee shop on campus. It currently
Provides insight into the process of actually launching a business. supplies coffee shops and caters events throughout the
greater Los Angeles area.
7. 100UE live EVENTS
Targeted to first-time entrepreneurs whose companies are either at the idea stage
or have been in business for less than one year.
Open to businesses in any industry.
Entrepreneurs submit their business ideas in advance via a detailed questionnaire
at the 100UE Web site (submitting a formal business plan is not mandatory).
They’re judged based on the overall business idea, the individual’s command of
his or her material and the quality of the pitch.
Two-round format:
Round 1: 60-second prepared pitch covering the overall business.
Round 2: 30-second pitch addressing the judges’ feedback from Round 1.
Other pitch-event activities include small-business training, financial-literacy Previous pitch-event partners:
education, advice from successful entrepreneurs and networking sessions. W hite House Urban Entrepreneurship Summits
The National Urban League Annual Conference
Black Enterprise Annual Entrepreneurs
Conference + Expo
HBCUs: Howard University, Florida AM University
8. PITCH-EVENT MULTIPLIER EFFECT
For every pitch winner, 100UE reachES more than 35,000 People. PLUS: All recipients amplify their message
by documenting their journey:
Blogging
1 Social
25,000+ 10,000+ 500+ 150+ 10+ PITCH- Media
Social-Media Media Audience PITCH PITCH-event event
hits views Members submissions Finalists winner
PR
AND media
outreach
This helps illustrate why complete transparency is the key to educating the entire
community of urban entrepreneurs nationwide.
MESSAGE
MULTIPLIED by a
factor of 100
9. STARTUP PROGRAM
Ten steps to go from idea to viable business (see right).
Each step is taught by an expert in that particular
discipline.
Program is online, on conference calls, in live meetings;
THE 10 STEPS THROUGH WHICH 100UE TAKES
switching to live incubator format.
ENTREPRENEURS FROM IDEA TO VIABLE BUSINESS
Ideas Identity
Created and developed by 100UE’s founders, all of whom Market Research
are successful entrepreneurs. Business Etiquette
Finance, Legal Office
Technology, Vendors Partners
Supplier Diversity Minority Certification
Marketing
Sales Distribution
Team
Funding
10. STARTUP
MENTORING
All 100UE recipients are individually paired with a mentor
to help guide them through the program.
100UE recruits mentors who have a specialty in each step
of the program to deliver their expertise to the entire group.
SOME OF 100UE’S INDUSTRY MENTORS
We also recruit industry experts to provide additional Michael “Blue” Williams, music-industry manager:
marketing, management and public outreach
insights to funding recipients whose businesses are in
Aerial Ellis, founder of Urbane Imagery: PR
those industries.
Michael Seibel, founder and CEO, Justin.tv:
new media and broadcast technology
Rachel Rodgers, founder of the Rachel Rodgers
Law Office: small-business law
A ngela Benton, CEO of Black Web Media: technology
and new media
W illiam T. Rolack Sr., director at Adecco Group
North America: marketplace diversity and inclusion
11. DOCUMENTING
ENTREPRENEURS’
JOURNEYS
All 100UE-funded entrepreneurs are contractually responsible for documenting
their startup journey via:
Online video
Blog posts 100UE Funding Recipient
Social media Lameka Weeks
Press Height Goddess, Dallas
O ther media outlets
“Through fashion, I inspire women to love their height,
and spread that confidence to others.”
This documentation takes place on: Height Goddess, based in Dallas, offers stylish clothing
100UE platforms for tall women. It’s designed with height in mind — fit for
the tall frame, yet still stylish. Historically, tall women
Recipients’ personal and business platforms
in search of flattering clothes have been subjected to
Partner platforms
constant disappointment, ending up with a wardrobe
Platforms of third-party media outlets that just isn’t long enough, age-appropriate or flattering.
Height Goddess, operating strictly online and in boutiques,
hopes to inspire tall women to embrace their uniqueness
and spread that same confidence to others.
12. Urban Entrepreneurship Stages
and Development
Without a ready network of “friends-and-family” investors or other capital sources, urban entrepreneurs are often at a distinct
disadvantage during the crucial early days of their startup. 100UE supports urban entrepreneurs at this stage. 100UE then prepares entrepreneurs
to take their business through the development cycle by introducing them to those capable of providing the next level of funding; we are therefore forming
significant relationships with higher-tier funding sources.
Funding timeline for urban entrepreneurs
AMOUNT Free $10K $25K–$75K $50K–$250K $250K–$500K Millions Millions
STAGE Idea Seed Funding Proof of Concept Cashflow Growth Expansion Capital Markets
100 URBAN
SOURCE Angel Investor Bank Venture Capital Private Equity Investment Bank
ENTREPRENEURS
Most business ideas fail due
to a lack of seed funding
the urban Community
Participation of
1% of VC $ goes to
African-Americans
13. GEOGRAPHIC
REACH: 100UE
TARGET CITIES
100UE’s nationwide plan has a targeted local impact designed
to reach the greatest concentration of African-Americans,
Latinos and other minorities in underserved communities.
Potential Incubator Cities
Our city-specific incubators will consist of a physical location,
Atlanta Los Angeles
100UE program implementation and operational partnerships.
We’ve selected these cities based on demographics, location 100UE Empowerment Cities
and their high rate of entrepreneurship. Chicago Detroit
Houston Miami
New Orleans New York
100UE will host events and programs, and conduct other
Tallahassee Washington, D.C.
outreach, in additional markets based on need and
partnerships formed.
14. 100UE Demographics
NUMBER OF 100UE FUNDEES WHO ARE BASED IN . . . # Company Founders Race/Ethnicity/Nationality OF FOUNDERS
Atlanta 17 81%
Tallahassee, Fl
New York 10% 5% 5%
Birmingham, Al African-American African-American/Caucasian Ethiopian Bahamian
Los Angeles
INDUSTRY
Chicago
Technology/Online
8
Dallas Professional Services
Fashion/Apparel
Detroit Food/Culinary
Cosmetics/Beauty
Raleigh, NC 3 Marketing/PR/Consulting
San Francisco Packaged Goods
Education
Springfield, Ma Physical Fitness/Health
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5
age YEARS IN BUSINESS FIRST-TIME COLLEGE gender of
8 76%
BUSINESS DEGREE principals
22% 18%
4
NO
NO 24 17
19% 78% 82%
MALE FEMALE
2 YES YES
5%
20-25 26-30 31-35 OVER 35 0–1 years 1–2 years 2+ years
* Rounded percentages may not add up
to 100%.
15. OPERATIONAL NEEDS
Use of proceeds:
Funding for 100 entrepreneurs
Incubator programs
Tour events and travel
Meetups
Video pitch booth
Content creation and documentation
of entrepreneurs’ journeys
Research
Staffing and operations
16. New York
Detroit
Chicago
Washington, D.C.
Incubator City
Los Angeles
Incubator City
Atlanta
New
Houston Orleans
Tallahassee
Miami
In order to extend our programs to 100 urban entrepreneurs each year —
and reach thousands of others in the process — 100UE is seeking to raise
$4 million annually for our foundation. This funding will be allocated across A
NETWORK OF core cities, creating a national movement with strong local impact.
