Do you have dreams of entrepreneurship but lack support to get your idea off the ground?
A new initiative spearheaded by the nonprofit Oyate Group wants to support people of color in the Bronx, Washington Heights and Harlem who have great ideas but need help making them a reality. Tomas Ramos, founder of the Oyate Group, said the startup funding competition can assist people who have started companies and need help taking them to the next level, as well as people who have big ideas but have struggled to get them off the ground.
He described the program as “‘Shark Tank’ style,” referring to the popular television show where startup founders present to a panel of investors.
The demand is there. Ramos said he is seeing people — particularly formerly incarcerated individuals or young people who don’t go to college — struggle to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions because they lack financial safety nets and face other economic barriers like low credit.
“When you look at most entrepreneurs, a lot of entrepreneurs had access to resources, they had family members that were wealthy, or a friend, or a network of people that they can go to,” he said. “But when we look at our community we’re targeting, it’s just poverty. They don’t have access to these resources.”
Oyate Group’s mission is to alleviate poverty and empower underserved communities in Uptown Manhattan and the Bronx.
In this new competition, the first place business will get $50,000, the runner up will get $25,000 and the third place winner will get $10,000. The winners will undergo a 10-week training and get access to Oyate Group’s resources like the organization’s accountant, lawyers and digital media team, Ramos said. In return, the nonprofit will take a percentage of equity in the three winning ideas, and profits will go back into the organization’s programs. The percentage of equity will depend on the project, but the benchmark will be 7%, Ramos said.
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