Francesca D'Elia
Homegrown Jewelry
Faith Nixon
BLK MKT Brand
Christina Guo
Mentor Me
Dana Jones
Accessadoor
Sarah Greisdorf
Holdette
Youma Wague
Youma's Beauty
Geneve Lau
Do Up Dorm Designs
Leon Chen
FrigiStick
Emade Ekukole-Sone
Royal Wink Collection
Meghan Kumar
Menti
Meet the Finalists
Since its launch in May, the Aussie Business Plan Competition received over 200 applications and was able to provide over $150,000 in grant money to advance 41 amazing businesses. In September, a panel of esteemed judges announced our ten finalists to receive additional mentorship, growth opportunities, and an additional $10,000 grant. Read on to learn more about their businesses.
Competition Overview
Company | Homegrown Jewelry
Instagram | @homegrown_jewelry
Francesca D'Elia
Francesca is the founder of Homegrown Jewelry, a handmade jewelry collection designed to bring out the girl boss in everyone. Throughout the Fellowship, she grew her Instagram following and started a Pinterest and Youtube account to promote the business.
She also worked with 7 Instagram influencers to promote the launch of her “Sisters Collection."
Company | Mentor Me
Instagram | @mentorme.ig
Christina Guo
Christina is the founder of Mentor Me,
an online platform that makes networking more accessible and less stressful than ever before. By connecting students to young industry mentors, they can receive free or extremely affordable services like resume review, career strategy calls, interview prep, and more!
Throughout her Fellowship, Christina was able to complete the paperwork to become an LLC.
Company | Accessadoor
Instagram | @accessadoor
Dana Jones
Dana is the founder of Accessadoor, a smartphone application and compatible device that allows users to open handicap accessible doors from their phone. Dana was able to focus on her company's marketing side during her time as a Roo Crew Fellow.
More specifically, she developed different marketing strategies for Accessadoor's three primary locations, including colleges, hospitals, and government buildings.
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- Francesca D'Elia
Throughout the Aussie BPC
I was given the resources and personal relationships to capitalize on what makes Homegrown Jewelry special.
Company | Holdette
Instagram | @Holdette
- Sarah Greisdorf
Being an entrepreneur is waking up every single day to do something you've
never done before.
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- Christina Guo
I started my business because I found that recruiting was a constant source of stress for students.
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- Dana Jones
It's been a great experience to be surrounded by like minded individuals.
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Sarah Greisdorf
Sarah is the founder of Holdette,
a clothing company that designs professional workwear with real pockets for women entering the workforce for the first time. During the Fellowship, Holdette hosted a workshop with over 1,000 RSVP's which resulted in 140 people joining their slack community.
Faith is the founder of BLK MKT Brand, an ethical and inclusive brand representing marginalized individuals by creating the first line of gender-neutral fragrance balms.
BLK MKT Brand’s handcrafted fragrance balms are made with all-natural ingredients from local artisans. Faith used her time as a Roo Crew Fellow to learn and execute new marketing practices and grow her social media following.
Faith Nixon
Company | BLK MKT Brand
Instagram | @BLKMKTBrand
- Faith Nixon
I will set the standard
for inclusive practices within the beauty and personal care industry.
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Youma Wague
Youma is the founder of Youma's Beauty, a natural hair brand empowering Women of Color and all Women with curly and coily hair through quality hair products.
During her fellowship, Youma completed production for her documentary,
The Natural Hair Struggle in Fashion, and is now prepared to launch her first
Natural Hair Workshop.
Company | Youma's Beauty
Instagram | @youmasbeauty
- Youma Wague
Youma's Beauty is a revolutionary brand bridging the gap between society and Natural Hair.
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Geneve is the founder of Do Up Dorm Designs, an interior design consultation service for college students. Through video calls and personalized shoppable Pinterest boards, the stylists can make students' and new grads' decor dreams come to life.
Geneve was able to become more confident with her financial and business plans during her time as a Roo Crew Fellow and is ready to begin designing dorms and apartments this fall!
Geneve Lau
Company | Do Up Dorm Designs
Website | Do Up Dorm Designs
- Geneve Lau
Everyone, no matter their experience in decorating, should have a space that feels like home.
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Leon Chen
Leon is the founder of Frigistick,
a personal ice roller developed for high school and college athletes. The FrigiStick reduces the amount of time it takes to treat an injury, minimizing neglect of personal care for student-athletes.
Leon used his time as a Roo Crew Fellow to conduct market research on his target audience and product.
Company | FrigiStick
- Leon Chen
Thanks to the Aussie BPC, I’m furthering my business idea
into a reality.
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Emade is the founder of Royal Wink Collection. Her company is committed to helping individuals through the beginning stages of their cosmetic journey.
During the months of the Fellowship, she expanded her product line to include handmade, vegan and cruelty free makeup products, such as lip gloss.
Emade Ekukole-Sone
Company | Royal Wink Collection
Instagram | @RoyalWinkCollection
- Emade Ekukole-Sone
As you venture on your entrepreneurial path always remember your "why".
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Meghan Kumar
Meghan is the founder of Menti, a teletherapy platform connecting women of color with therapists specializing in identity-specific therapy and trained in cultural competency.
Meghan was able to update the front-end user interface of the Menti mobile app during her time as a Fellow.
Company | Menti
- Meghan Kumar
My mentor taught me that asking for help and feedback can only make your ideas stronger.
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Meet the
Editor: Madeleine Bokan • Designer: Kristina Stapelfeld
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