Fifty college students from Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) from all over the country traveled to Detroit in hopes of making their business dreams come true. The group of 50 participated in “Moguls in the Making,” an entrepreneurship competition created by Detroit-based Ally Financial in collaboration with rapper Big Sean, his Sean Anderson Foundation, and The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF).
Moguls in the Making is a program for students from HBCUs, with the goal of helping them become future entrepreneurs and members of the business community. Over 500 students applied to participate in the weekend-long event, with the team from Florida A&M University taking home the grand prize.
“We feel, particularly with kids that go to HBCUs, that they don’t get the opportunities that a lot of the other colleges and universities get,” said Andrea Brimmer, Ally’s Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer. “So many of these kids are first-generation college attendees and it’s really about all-around economic mobility, providing a better path forward.”
The students developed and pitched business plans that included solutions to economic issues facing various industries in Detroit, such as education, financial literacy, mental health, renewable energy, and even cannabis.
Big Sean was a judge, along with Brimmer, Anand Talwar, Deposit and Consumer Strategy Executive at Ally, Tommey Walker, Principal of Detroit vs. Everybody, and George Spencer, Executive Vice President of Business Development, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the TMCF.
The students from FAMU created an artificial intelligence system to better map the business layout of Detroit. They not only wanted to understand the needs of small businesses in the city but to empower them, in order for them to grow.
The group of five, Emmanuel Dawson, Earl Perry, Keishon Smith, Livie Grant, and Nalani Kelley-Marsh, used Detroit natives at FAMU to begin their research and were paired with mentors from Ally to help shape it. They each won a $5,000 scholarship, a MacBook Air, and an internship with Ally.
“We felt that economic inequality is faced by African Americans all over the country, but specifically in Detroit,” said Dawson team leader for FAMU. “There is so much culture that originated in Detroit and as a team coming from an HBCU, we wanted to have that same rebirth with our solution.”
Dawson and his team said it was a honor to meet young, successful African American entrepreneurs such as Big Sean and Walker, and to learn from them and be critiqued by them.
“My favorite quote Big Sean says is, ‘Collecting everything that’s overdue, for all the work that I overdid,’” Said Dawson. “Quite frankly, we feel that we’ve been blessed with certain opportunities in our lives that have set us up to grow. This weekend in Detroit was a turning point in our lives to see men in positions where we’d like to be someday.”
North Carolina A&T took home the second place prize, winning a $2,000 scholarship, Apple TV, and an interview for an internship with Ally. Their pitch was about bettering the educational system in Detroit.
Morgan State came in third place, winning $1,000 in scholarships, Beats by Dre headphones, and an interview for an internship with Ally. They pitched a program focused on better food and nutrition in the city.
“All the students did great,” said Big Sean. “If they keep that same hustle, mentality, and hunger, I see all successful CEOs and entrepreneurs in the room. It was an honor to meet them all and from what I witnessed today, their drive will take them to the top in 10 years.”
TMCF, the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the black college community, searched all 47 of its publicly-funded HBCU member-campuses nationwide to identify the top ten schools to compete in the weekend-long experience.
And while 13 percent of the American population is African American, only 1 percent of venture capital-backed startups have black founders. Brimmer said Ally Financial’s passion to support economic mobility and helping underserved communities gain tools to enhance their career opportunities and financial trajectory was the perfect partnership for what TMCF aims to provide for its students. This competition’s goal was to help prepare bright and talented black students to become future entrepreneurs and that was accomplished.
“Students who attend our schools are usually the first to attend from their families,” said Harry Williams, President and CEO of TMCF. “And when you’re the first in the family to go to college, you’re like a trailblazer. At TMCF, we create access for opportunities, working with fortune 500 companies so that students can gain exposure to these companies and the opportunities they have to offer.”
Big Sean said this year was so successful, they want to make it an annual competition.
“If I can help somebody, that gives my life way more purpose than just focusing on myself,” he said.
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