Hip-hop continues to grow and it encourages others to do the same! According to CNBC, Hakeem “Chamillionaire” Seriki is holding a $100,000 competition to assist a minority-founded startup company.
The pitch competition has already started and will continue until Dec. 6, 2019. To enter, startups should download the Convoz app for iOS or Android and click on the banner at the top of the home feed to see the contest details and rules. The Texas rapper has also enlisted the help of West Coast rapper and investor Earl T. “E-40” Stevens and FUBU’s Daymond John, along with the equity investing platform, Republic, to assist with the selection of the winner.
Chamillionaire appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Alley this week to discuss the latest competition. “Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, but it’s even harder for minority and women-led companies,” he said. “These people are solving new and unique problems and I think the only thing in their way is capital.”
“When people say they can’t find African American startups to invest in, it just sounds a little crazy to me,” Chamillionaire said. “At one point I was getting 30 candidates a month, but when I said I only wanted to invest in women or minorities, I started getting just two candidates a month.”
Daymond John adds, “I am so excited to be one of the judges in the $100,000 pitch competition,” he said. “If you feel that you are ready to pitch and knock it out of the park, I cannot wait.”
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Earlier this year, Chamillionaire, launched a contest for Black-founded startups and invested $10,000 in the winner. Then, for round two, he, along with Earl “E-40” Stevens, and the equity investing platform Republic, teamed up to award a minority and/or women-founded startup with a $25,000 investment. The contest was announced on Convoz, an app and social video conversation platform that Chamillionaire launched last year.
This article originally appeared in Black Enterprise.