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DREAMUP INCUBATOR FOR BLACK TEEN ENTREPRENEURS AND ELEVATOR PITCH CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED
Memphis, TN -- Idea Incubator ArtUp has announced the elevator pitch contest winner for the finale of their pilot DreamUp Youth Incubator. In response to economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic and continued social unrest, ArtUp led 20 Shelby County Schools and private school students in development of their own creative business pitches via a virtual accelerated 3-week entrepreneurship bootcamp.
DreamUp was developed as a response to the devastation and impact of COVID-19 on Summer youth employment opportunities, particularly affecting African-American students ages 14-18. While economic downturn and social unrest continue to make headlines, several housing insecure and homeless students participated in the program as a target demographic facing these challenges in their everyday lives.
18-year old Kynnidi Caffey, a 2019 graduate of Briarcrest Christian School, won a $500 prize for delivering a 60-second pitch about her custom T-shirt company "Fits Us!". She, along with other student entrepreneurs attended virtual courses and completed robust assignments on the entrepreneurial mindset, design thinking, and pitch deck creation led by undergraduates from the Harvard University Women in Business club at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
