P&G Ventures Seeks to Provide Support and Resources to Entrepreneurs of Color with Two Events Next Month

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Apr 22, 2021, 12:00 ET

CINCINNATI, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- P&G Ventures, the early stage startup studio within P&G (NYSE:PG), is partnering with Disruption Now Media and Revitalize Venture Studio to host two individual events this May. Both events are designed to provide entrepreneurs of color with resources, support and mentorship as they start and build new businesses.

According to a report by Crunchbase, between 2015-2020, only 2.4% of all venture funding went to Black and Latinx founders. The same report cites the particular challenges facing entrepreneurs of color, including difficulty finding early-stage investors and having less access to funding from friends and family compared to non-minority entrepreneurs. Through these events, P&G Ventures aims to arm entrepreneurs of color with information and resources to help them address the obstacles that may be standing in the way of growing their businesses.

"At P&G, diversity and inclusion run through everything we do. With that in mind, we are pleased to support these events that celebrate the innovations from entrepreneurs of color, while also providing resources to tackle challenges they may face in their entrepreneurial journey," said Leigh Radford, Senior Vice President and Founder, P&G Ventures. "The more diversity that's represented in the start-up ecosystem means that new products and innovations will reflect the needs of more people."

In conjunction with Disruption Now Media, Break Down - Breakthrough: The Realities of Entrepreneurship will be a free virtual event held on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 2-4 pm ET, designed to provide entrepreneurs of color with the resources and guidance to overcome any hurdles they may face. This event will give founders and aspiring entrepreneurs access to insights and advice from several successful leaders in the world of venture capital and entrepreneurship, including:

Candice Matthews Brackeen, General Partner at Lightship Capital
Clarence Wooten, Co-Founder and General Partner at Revitalize Venture Studio
Monique Idlett-Mosely, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Reign Venture Capital
Leigh Radford, Senior Vice President and Founder at P&G Ventures
Rob Richardson, Founder of Disruption Now Media

Registration is now open for Break Down - Breakthrough at disruptionnow.com/pg.

Separately, Revitalize Venture Studio and P&G Ventures are inviting Black entrepreneurs to submit their innovative product pitches for Pitch BLCK. All submissions will be considered for the live pitch event on the voice-only social app Clubhouse, where participants and judges won't be constrained by any visual biases. Submissions will be open April 20, 2021 through May 7, 2021 for entrepreneurs, inventors and startups who have early-stage, fast-moving, consumable, or consumable-plus-device-enabled innovative technologies. Four selected finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their product to the panel of expert judges on May 19 from 6-7pm ET on Clubhouse (no advance registration required). The panel of judges includes:

Clarence Wooten, Co-Founder and General Partner at Revitalize Venture Studio
Jason Breen, Senior Director, Enterprise Accelerators, Target
Lee Henderson, Partner and Americas Private Leader at EY
Leigh Radford, Senior Vice President and Founder at P&G Ventures

The winner of Pitch BLCK will receive $30,000 investment which will go towards a crowdfunding campaign to raise $300,000 or more to continue the development of the winning innovation.

For updates on these and any future events, follow P&G Ventures on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Established in 2015, P&G Ventures partners with entrepreneurs, inventors, and startups to discover and create consumer products, brands, and businesses that solve consumer needs in areas new to P&G. Each P&G Ventures partnership is unique, providing funding and access to P&G's experts, resources, and capabilities to help partners prove their technology and create their brand.

About Disruption Now Media
Disruption Now's mission is to disrupt common narratives and constructs in Black and brown communities. Disruption Now connects and empowers Black and brown entrepreneurs, artists, and leaders through interactive events, educational content, and virtual summits.

About Revitalize Venture Studio
Successful serial entrepreneurs and former business partners, Clarence Wooten and Andre Forde, reunite and form Revitalize Venture Studio to create and launch startups fueled by experience, talent, capital and diverse co-founding teams. Revitalize's mission is to change the complexion of tech by building breakout software startups with Black founders and diverse teams. Additionally, Revitalize is focused on empowering underrepresented and underestimated communities.

About Procter and Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Byrne, [email protected]
Taylor Anderson, [email protected]

SOURCE Procter & Gamble