Five Black-owned businesses recently received a share of a $100,000 investment from Elite Media, part of the company’s effort to encourage industry leaders to support creators who push the culture and community forward.
On Oct. 17, MADE, a verification system designed to safeguard Black creativity, won the inaugural “Keep It 100” Pitch Competition hosted by Elite Media. The announcement was made at The One Club’s “Where Are All the Black People” Conference in New York City.
Elite Media Founder and CEO Chris Crawford joined a panel of judges for the competition and took center stage to present $50,000 to Tommy Johnson, founder and CEO of MADE, along with $12,500 each to the four other finalists.
“The ‘Keep It 100’ pitch competition celebrates the power of attention, the power of purpose, the power of supporting one another,” Crawford said in a statement. “Today, the community won. Every contestant brought it. Their audacity and ambition was on full display. We’re proud to help this inaugural group of creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs bring their visionary ideas to life.”
MADE was chosen in part for its mission to uplift Black-owned businesses
and protect Black creativity. The platform stood out among pitches from Mec Zilla, founder of CrackedVC, a new system designed to replace traditional venture capital; Morgan Means, CEO and founder of Evental, a digital marketplace that helps suppliers monetize inventory and offer real-time pricing and booking; Adam Franklin of Twendi, a sports media platform highlighting African and diaspora athletes through cinematic short-form storytelling; and Ayo Abigail, director of Strategy and Outreach for Walk of Same, a brand pioneering “empowerment jewelry” that fuses fashion with purpose.Each finalist received financial support from Elite Media, a Black-owned, women-led advertising agency based in
Harlem committed to helping creators bring their visions to life. The $100,000 in prize money came directly from the company’s own agency funds, part of a larger challenge to advertisers, brands, and industry leaders to match Elite’s investment in creators, entrepreneurs, and ideas that move culture and community forward.“The time for disruption is now–our communities deserve action,“ Crawford said when announcing the pitch competition last month. “We are putting our money where our mouth is, already investing upwards of $2 million of our own agency dollars back into the Harlem community that nurtures us. We see the opportunity to
broaden that impact within the ad industry, intentionally in non-traditional spaces. We are now challenging the industry and convening spaces to move past the vanity metrics and create real-time domino effects of change that will transform communities.”RELATED CONTENT: Sharks And Business Leaders Feed Hungry Entrepreneurs At Inaugural Clover x Shark Tank Summit