MIAMI (February 24, 2016) — PowerMoves, a national initiative to increase the number of venture-backed, high-growth and high-tech companies led by entrepreneurs of color, launched in Miami last week, with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Miami extension of the organization will include a permanent office space and year-round programming to support typically underrepresented groups in Miami, including African-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. The three-day launch activation, which kicked off Miami’s Black Tech Week, gathered a national network of investors, advisors, and entrepreneurs for a series of pitch competitions, panels, and a bootcamp.
“We are thrilled with the success of the PowerMoves Miami activation, which was made possible through the generous support of our partners, Knight Foundation, Morgan Stanley, the Case Foundation, the Minority Business Development Agency, and many others,” said Earl Robinson, the CEO of PowerMoves. “We sourced some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs of color from across the country for this activation, and they proved that an abundance of world-class talent is out there and ready to be tapped.”
PowerMoves Miami is being made possible with a $1.2 million investment from Knight Foundation. Support for PowerMoves Miami is part of Knight Foundation’s efforts to invest in Miami’s emerging innovators and entrepreneurs as a tool to build community, while fostering talent and expanding economic opportunity. Over the past three years, Knight has made more than 100 investments in entrepreneurship in South Florida.
“The launch of PowerMoves in Miami opens new avenues to leverage Miami’s great assets of diversity and entrepreneurship to continue the momentum of growth our startup community has seen in the last few years,” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami.
Morgan Stanley sponsored the PowerMoves Miami launch activation and hosted panels featuring Morgan Stanley Wealth Management experts discussing key financial considerations for business owners and technology investment bankers from the Firm sharing insights on IPOs, sales, and exits. The leading global financial services firm is also the Presenting Sponsor of PowerMoves and has supported activations in New Orleans and Detroit.
”Morgan Stanley is proud to continue its partnership with PowerMoves and help bring this unique forum for emerging entrepreneurs of color to Miami,” said Carla Harris, Vice Chairman, Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley. “PowerMoves always leaves me awe struck at the caliber of ideas presented and Miami was no different. As a leader in providing clients with access to business-crucial capital, we are thrilled to be part of this event and connect the diverse entrepreneurs behind these innovative ideas with the capital and resources they need to bring their businesses to market.”
Representatives from the Case Foundation, a partner and supporter of PowerMoves, also participated in the activation as part of the foundation’s efforts to promote inclusive entrepreneurship.
“We are especially proud to partner with PowerMoves as they source, strengthen, and launch high-growth potential entrepreneurs of color,” said Sheila Herrling, senior vice president of social innovation at the Case Foundation. “We are committed to catalyzing an inclusive entrepreneurship movement across the nation, led by fearless change makers like Earl Robinson, dedicated to putting the full potential of America’s entrepreneurial talent to work on solving the world’s greatest challenges.
PowerMoves sourced and helped prepare 29 startup companies led by entrepreneurs of color from across the United States to participate in pitch competitions during the activation.
Virgil, a career navigation platform, won a $25,000 cash prize in Knight Foundation Angel Round Pitch Competition. Virgil allows job seekers to assess their competitiveness for any career in less than 90 seconds. The other startups participating in the competition included Court Buddy, an online system that matches people with attorneys; KUDZOO, a student benefit program that rewards good grades; and Unshrinkit, a product that restores shrunken wool clothing.
Better Weekdays, a mobile job-matching platform for universities, won $25,000 in the Morgan Stanley Series A Round Pitch Competition. Better Weekdays helps universities measure and improve the job placement rate of its graduates. The other startups participating in the competition included CyberReef, a mobile to mobile networking and management company; Kweak, a pure play video messaging platform; and Zoobean, a company that helps public libraries and schools encourage reading.
Six weeks of a virtual bootcamp for concluded with two days of sessions during PowerMoves Miami 2016. The intense training helped 16 early stage companies develop viable and fundable business models with advice from successful entrepreneur and investor mentors. The bootcamp entrepreneurs went on to compete in Knight Foundation & Morgan Stanley Demo Day Pitch Competition. Radifit Athletics, a manufacturer of orthopedic products and accessories, won the competition and a $15,000 cash prize. Other startups selected to participate in the bootcamp included Airfordable, Beapp, Cognitive, Daddy Knows Too, Flyscan, Idias, Jurnid, Konveau, Kurator, Lifecycle, LiloE Labs, Octavia’s Natural Hair, Pretty Smart Homes, Renal TRKRR, Squire, and Tasqr.
“PowerMoves Miami will be a bridge connecting entrepreneurs of color with the resources they need to succeed, including PowerMoves’ national network of peers, advisors, and investors,” said Janelle Alexander, the Managing Director of PowerMoves Miami.
PowerMoves Miami will hosting monthly meetups across the city that will be open to the public. In addition, PowerMoves Miami bootcamps will include up to six weeks of virtual classroom participation with advisors and entrepreneurs, and including three days of intensive in-person classroom development. Six high-growth entrepreneurs will be selected to participate in a 12-month PowerMoves Miami Fellowship. The fellowship includes free-rent at a local co-working space, ongoing mentoring and coaching, connections to potential customers and advisors, investment capital and in-kind legal, marketing and financial services.
About PowerMoves
PowerMoves is an initiative to increase the number of venture-backed, high-growth and high-tech companies in the United States launched and led by entrepreneurs of color. PowerMoves is deploying innovative ideas, fresh approaches, and an overall commitment to equity and diversity as a growth strategy to address the generational obstacles that prevent inclusive entrepreneurship. PowerMoves has helped some 100 companies from across the country secure more than $27 million in capital commitments. For more information, please visit powermovesnola.org.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more information, please visit knightfoundation.org.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 43 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
About the Case Foundation
Established by digital pioneers Jean and Steve Case, the Case Foundation invests in people and ideas that can change the world. For nearly two decades we have focused on creating programs and investing in people and organizations that harness the best impulses of entrepreneurship, innovation, technology and collaboration to address urgent social challenges. Our work is focused on three key pillars: revolutionizing the philanthropic sector, unleashing the power of entrepreneurship to create social change and igniting civic engagement through citizen-driven solutions. For more information, visit www.casefoundation.org.
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