At the Pardi Gras 2019 pitch contest, 10 local minority-owned tech businesses showcased their products and business plans. Two days later, they attended a party meant to raise money for local minority businesses and the three best pitches received monetary awards.
According to Kelli Jones, one of Pardi Gras’ founders, Black and brown communities create businesses at a higher rate, but those businesses too often fail due to lack of capital, resources and networks. Pardi Gras provides those missing elements. Although only three companies are selected as winners of the contest, the remaining seven business owners still receive support from Pardi Gras organizers and have access to education and networking resources.
“We really have a great opportunity to create our own Black-owned or brown-owned tech entrepreneurs here in Indianapolis, too,” Jones said. “So our goal is to help be the catalyst to make those tech entrepreneurs a sustained model here in Indianapolis.”
The following are the three winners of the pitch contest.
AwayZones, second runner-up
Latoya Johnson loves traveling but hates the difficulty of finding and supporting Black-owned businesses in unfamiliar cities. She proposed a solution through her mobile application AwayZones. The user identifies gender, race, religion and sexual orientation then selects what kind of business he or she is looking for. Then the app shows a list of local businesses that match the criteria.
AwayZones allows minority businesses to reach a loyal customer base without becoming lost in a sea of similar companies. In addition, the app keeps minority dollars within minority communities therefore strengthening local businesses.
“This is a resource where you can shine for being the Black-owned business that you are, being the Latino-owned business that you are, with the Black services that you provide, with the Latino services you provide,” Johnson said.
Johnson plans to put the Pardi Gras prize money toward developing a minimal viable product (MVP). The MVP will be a trial version meant to iron out initial problems. Afterward, Johnson wants AwayZones to develop a strong presence in Indianapolis before spreading to other midwestern cities.
CashSwap, first runner-up
One day Ben Diallo waited in a line in a Tokyo airport to exchange dollars for yen. When it was the turn of the woman in front of him, she exchanged yen for dollars. Diallo realized it would have been simpler to just swap bills with the woman, and the idea for CashSwap was born. CashSwap allows travelers to meet at airports and exchange currency. The app finds someone willing to swap, tells both parties how much to trade and shows how much you saved by not using a different currency exchange service.
“Anybody using the app is guaranteed to save money,” Diallo said. “They’re saving over 12 percent on the exchange rate.”
Co-founder Nigel Riggins said CashSwap represents the next step in interacting with different cultures, opening up new possibilities.
“Airports are the perfect place to meet others,” Riggins said. “Travelers all the time talk with others, get tips from others on places they’re going, places they’ve been, things to do, things to watch out for. … Allowing those extra opportunities to interact with people in the places you’re going, that’s community.”
Diallo, Riggins and third co-founder Kameliah Shaheed-Diallo plan on allocating the prize money toward safety features such as options to verify swappers, an emergency button and a way to scan bills. CashSwap will be available in the JFK Airport this month.
EducateME, first place
Blake Nathan went from being the only Black man in his IUPUI graduating class to two years of being the only Black educator at his east side Indianapolis school. Nathan did some research and found minorities make up 50 percent of students but only 17 percent of educators nationwide.
Nathan created EducateMe, a cross between Facebook and LinkedIn for minority teachers, to create equity. On EducateMe teachers of color create profiles and discover job opportunities based on qualifications such as grade and type of school. The resource makes increasing minority educator presence easier for both teachers and schools.
“If [students] can’t see a role model that looks like them, probably shares the same culture background, the same personal stories, and can emphasize and sympathize with how they are as individuals, then that’s a problem,” Nathan said.
Nathan plans on dedicating the prize money to hiring teacher agents. Just like sports agents, teacher agents recognize, recruit and promote educators, and they are an essential part of Nathan’s plan to connect minority teachers to schools.
Contact staff writer Ben Lashar at 317-762-7848. Follow him on Twitter @BenjaminLashar.
