Here’s who’s pitching at Black Girl Ventures’ Boss Up! competition

Amid her quest to democratize access to early capital for female black and brown entrepreneurs, D.C.-based founder Shelly Bell is bringing her company’s signature pitch competition to Philly.

Black Girl Ventures’ Boss Up! competition — where ticket revenue from attendees is the grand prize — is happening in Philly on July 19, at Center City coworking spot Pipeline. Nine entrepreneurs will pitch their companies and, in the absence of judges, the crowd decides through live voting who wins the big check.

The first place winner at the competition will receive “$1,000 in cash and prizes” including a dozen free T-shirts for her business.

“I hope this event empowers Black/Brown women founders to grow their businesses, encourages the community to support women-owned businesses and sparks new entrepreneurial endeavors in Philly,” Bell said in an email.

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Democratizing access to venture capital, only 1 percent of which goes to women of color, is also the mission of Calif.-based Backstage Capital. We heard from founder Arlan Hamilton during Philly Tech Week 2018 on how there’s a business case for investing in underrepresented groups.

Here are the Philly-area entrepreneurs vying for the big award

• Ronah Harris, Play Pattern, LLC
• Carol Thrower, Generational Financial Empowerment Program
• Briyana Clarel, The Starfruit Project
• Danielle Statom, MyAaliyah, LLC
• Kristal Bush, Bridging the Gap Transportation
• Tanya Morris, Mom Your Business
• Miracle Olatini, OpportuniME
• Mumbi Dunjwa, Naturaz
• Sherrill Mosee, MinkeeBlue

Here’s Bell herself with the vision behind her organization, formerly known as Black Girl Vision.