Female Entrepreneurs Sweep CONNECT ALL @ the Jacobs Center’s Start-Up Pitch Competition

THE JACOBS CENTER’S START-UP PITCH COMPETITION: Four San Diego startups in education, child care, afro-mixed hair care, and baking win big

Voice & Viewpoint Newswire

Monday, March 21 CONNECT ALL @ the Jacobs Center and Union Bank announced the winners of the fifth Union Bank Start-Up Pitch Competition providing local entrepreneurs with $26,000 in business grants. New this year, additional funding from Union Bank provided larger business grants, a fourthplace winner to the competition, as well as additional funds for all participants.

The virtual pitch competition featured nine local entrepreneurs – all participants in CON- NECT ALL @ the Jacobs Center’s business accelerator program, the only one of its kind in the region focused on serving low-to moderate-income and diverse founders in partnership with the City of San Diego.

The CONNECT ALL @ the Jacobs Center workspace

The business accelerator’s fifth cohort consisted of 63% women-owned businesses in industries including wellness, culinary and baking, education technology, interior design and personal care services. The pitch competition is the final component of the program after four months of free business development and mentorship.

During the live winner’s announcement event, San Diego Regional President at Union Bank Isai Amaya shared how grateful and excited Union Bank is to help and guide the founders in the business accelerator program.

"This is not the first and certainly not the last cohort that will go through this program and every single time I have the honor of participating, I walk away inspired and truly impressed by the ideas these entrepreneurs come up with and how dedicated and committed they are to their communities. It's not just about their business but it's about strengthening the local San Diego community and that is something we too care deeply about at Union Bank," said Amaya.

The first-place winner of the competition is elevatEd Classrooms, a startup owned by Jaclyn Sarnese and focused on educational consulting and professional development services to K-12 schools, districts and other youth-serving organizations – taking them from “surviving to thriving.” elevatEd Classrooms received a $10,000 cash prize from Union Bank to support its business.

Jaclyn Sarnese, elevatEd Classrooms

The second-place award went to Village Kids Early Childhood Community, a company that provides high-quality child care environment, grounded in principles of social justice and inclusion, focused on the child care needs of Southeast San Diego, led by Michelle DeJohnette. The startup won $5,000.

Michelle DeJohnette, Village Kids Early Childhood Community

Braid Street, which specializes in protective hairstyle services, hair care courses and styling products for the Afro-mixed population in San Diego under the leadership of Soely Sanchez, was awarded the third-place prize, including $2,500.

Soely Sanchez, Braid Street

For the first time this year, a fourth-place business grant of $1,500 was given to founder Amaya Ford for Mya’s Catering Company, a classic bakery that makes homemade desserts with a touch of love. All other participants received a $1,000 prize.

Amaya Ford, Mya’s Catering Company

"Between monetary support, critical to early progress of businesses, and the kindness, care and dedication to understanding the needs of the individual founders, we could not have done this without Union Bank’s generosity and genuine care for our founders as they strive to create economic opportunities for themselves, their families and community," said Alex Waters, director of economic development at Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. “It is one thing to say that you support an organization; it is another to show up and spend your time and energy helping to foster change."

The winner of the Audience Choice award is Braid Street, selected by public vote on the business accelerator’s You- Tube channel. All the videos, including the live event can be viewed on CONNECT ALL @ the Jacobs Center YouTube channel at bit.ly/ CAJCYouTube.

In total, nine companies competed in the virtual pitch competition and 10 participated in the program: A Caramel Affaire, Braid Street, elevatEd Classrooms, Interactive Play, Interiors 432, Mya’s Catering Company, Olongapo Disco, Shift Micromobility Compliance, SouthEast Fusion 619 and

Each company presented their ideas in a five-minute video pitch, and a panel of judges voted based on criteria, including business model, market opportunity, job creation potential and long-term vision.

Pitch competition judges included:

• Isai Amaya, San Diego Regional President, Union Bank

• Lonnie Lucas, Board Member of Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation

• Daichi Pantaleon, Assistant Deputy Director of Community Development Division of Economic Development of the City of San Diego

• Latanya West, Managing Editor of San Diego Voice & Viewpoint

CONNECT ALL @ the Jacobs Center is currently accepting applications for its sixth cohort. Interested applicants can apply at bit. ly/CAJC_cohort6application. The deadline to apply is Monday, April 4 at 11:59 p.m.