Comcast Business recently sponsored Power | Scale Detroit, an event aimed at helping Detroit entrepreneurs solve business hurdles. A creative reverse of the popular Shark Tank style pitch competition, the event gave entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to pitch their business challenges to a panel of experts made up of investors, serial entrepreneurs and other business professionals.
The entrepreneurs explained their business and the biggest obstacles they face. Then, panel members competed with each other to provide each entrepreneur with the best solution. Each entrepreneur then chose a panel member they felt had the best fit or path forward for the business problem. The panel members are donating their professional services and/or mentorship time to the entrepreneurs who chose them.
“Our company has such a rich history of supporting Detroit businesses and helping them find the right solutions is what we do,” said Pamela Dover, senior director of business development for Comcast Business. “Being a part of Power | Scale Detroit is a natural extension of our ongoing commitment to Detroit’s vibrant entrepreneurial community.”
Check out a few of the innovative and ambitious small businesses which participated in Power | Scale Detroit:
1. Bearly Articulating
Bearly Articulating is a startup endeavor created by Jeanette Washington. Her business provides office workspace for parents, paired with child care that offers one-on-one multisensory instruction to support children who are identified as having mild to moderate dyslexia, processing disorders, communicative disorders, executive functioning disorders, specific language-based learning disorders and much more.
2. The Ten Nail Bar
The Ten Nail Bar is a modern nail salon located in Detroit created by Anika Jackson and Kelli Coleman. The Ten, which combines manis, pedis, and champagne, is the first luxury nail salon of its kind to hit Detroit. Anika and Kelli’s mission is to create an environment where people can relax, enjoy music, have a drink, spend time with friends, and get a quality manicure or pedicure.
3. Holy Cannoli’s
Holy Cannoli’s is a family business of handmade, authentic Sicilian cannoli and other delicious Italian desserts. They use a fifth-generation family recipe and painstakingly make each part of the cannoli by hand. They have expanded their humble roots from a shop in Berkley to now opening another store in Rochester, sharing the “World’s Best Cannoli” with all of metro-Detroit’s hungry residents.
4. SignOn
SignOn is a “Virtual Immersion Program,” created by metro-Detroit native Ashlee Trempus. SignOn connects the hearing and deaf communities via a two-way video portal on its proprietary web-based platform. Through the program, ASL learners have the unique opportunity to communicate one-on-one with a deaf ASL ambassador who has grown up using ASL as a first language.
5. Cornbread Hustle
Cornbread Hustle describes themselves as, “a staffing agency for second chances.” Founded by Cheri Garcia, Susy Solis, and Robert Bennett, Cornbread Hustle is a free 90-day transformation program designed to help convicted felons get into the work place, involved with the community, and improve their lives by learning new, legitimate ways to make money.
Comcast Business will be supporting the next Power | Scale Detroit event this September.