The National Black MBA Association launched the Scale-Up Pitch Challenge in 2017 to address their 2020 Vision Goal of awarding $2 million in business grants to their members. During this year’s competition sponsored by Fedex, Kwame Boler, founder of Neu, Inc., was one of three finalists who shared their pitch ideas. But he won the $50,000 grand prize.
Neu is a hotel-like, turnkey solution for Airbnb/vacation rental hosts. The company is an online marketplace that connects hosts with local cleaner contractors to get Airbnb homes guest-ready in-between stays, and make short-term stays as painless as long-term rentals.
Kwame is a former Boeing engineer, and he his co-founders came up with the idea of Neu after spending years battling inconsistency, high prices and poor quality. Through the use of technology, logistics, customer service, and offering supplementary services (linens, toiletries, etc.), their service now provides both hosts and cleaners with a stress and hassle-free experience.
Other winners of the competition include:
* Ibraheem Basir, founder of A Dozen Cousins, who won a $10K business grant
* CJ Mitchell, founder of Instrumental.ly, who won a business grant for $1,500
The annual Scale-Up Pitch Challenge is a pitch competition designed to “Make Big Ideas Bigger” by encouraging Black MBA members to create startups that are scalable. They provide startups the unique opportunity to connect with early stage investors and venture capitalists who are ready to invest.
The competition is hosted by the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), a non-profit, 501(c)(3) professional member-based organization which leads in the creation of educational and career opportunities for black professionals. Representing over 14,000 members within 40 professional chapters, 33 Leaders of Tomorrow® (LOT®) chapters, and over 300 corporate and university partners, the organization is dedicated to developing partnerships that create intellectual and economic wealth in the Black community through its five channels of engagement: career, education, entrepreneurship, leadership and lifestyle.
For more details about the competition, visit https://nbmbaa.org/scale-up-pitch-challenge/
For more details about Neu, Inc., visit https://www.neucleans.com
