Hair

Winners of this year’s 53 Ideas Pitch Competition include (from left) Shane Fraser and David Casper, Tequia Williams, and Jo’Von Wright. Photo courtesy of South Piedmont Community College

MONROE – The winners of this year’s 53 Ideas Pitch Competition include a product to help women of color more easily style their hair, a food truck that sells breakfast tacos and a service to help nonprofits reach more donors.

The regional entrepreneurship competition hosted by South Piedmont Community College allows business owners and entrepreneurs to pitch their big idea in a 53-second video. The top 53 submissions are then given training and support as they develop their business pitches.

Each contestant completes 12 hours of business training covering business model development, customer discovery, finance and pitching. There are also opportunities to network and learn from other entrepreneurs.

The entire process culminates in one final pitch day where 10 finalists make one last pitch for the prize funding, hoping for a shot at the grand prize of $10,000 for their business.

“Each of our winners are on a mission to solve a unique problem in our community,” said Renee Hode, director of entrepreneurship and small business at South Piedmont Community College. “We’re thrilled they chose to further develop their business plans through the 53 Ideas Pitch Competition, and we’re excited to see what comes next for each of them.”

This year’s winners include:

Charlotte resident Tequia Williams long struggled with styling her tightly curled hair.

She founded Jexsii, which will offer a signature product that combines a wide-toothed comb with a scalp cleanser and massager. The product, called Jagid, has made it easier than ever for Williams to achieve her desired styles without damaging her hair.

The nurse has been researching and developing her product since 2014. Her $10,000 prize winnings will allow her to begin production and move closer to bringing Jagid to market.

Williams placed in the top 10 at last year’s 53 Ideas Pitch Competition.

“It’s really a story of resiliency,” she said. “Over the past year, I’ve grown a lot and become more confident in myself. The competition helped me lay out my financial projections better, narrow down my target demographic, and enhance my pitch deck. I was able to pitch more boldly and just flow better in the moment. It’s an incredible feeling.”

Charlotte resident Jo’Von Wright seeks to offer the Charlotte-metro area a new option for fast, inexpensive Mexican food. Her food truck will sell nutritious breakfast tacos.

She has named each taco on her menu after an inspirational woman in her life and plans to donate a portion of her tips to feeding the homeless and hungry. Wright will use her winnings to cover set-up costs, including food supplies and marketing materials.

“This competition was beneficial to making Just Jo's steps closer to a reality,” Wright said. “I am so thankful for the opportunity.”

The brainchild of Union County-based entrepreneurs Shane Fraser and David Casper, PlanTELLGive will help nonprofits better coordinate, publicize and manage their events.

PlanTELLGive’s services include a calendar to help nonprofits schedule their events without overlapping one another, intuitive event planning software and event management services.

“The structured process of the competition helped us take our concept and move toward a realistic business plan,” Casper said. “The feedback from the second round helped us to answer questions about our business while becoming more invested in this new way to maximize community impact.”

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