WE Fellowship Pitch Competition

2024 WE Fellowship Pitch Competition

To apply, please click HERE.

Pitch Competition: April 11, 2024, 6PM at JLNO Headquarters (4319 Carondelet St., New Orleans, LA 70115)

Registration is open, please click HERE.

Only 39% of U.S. businesses have women majority ownership according to American Express OPEN, “The 2017 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report.” Increased access to female mentors, resources, and role models can cultivate entrepreneurial success for a women-owned business. As a women’s training organization, JLNO’s diverse, professional membership is uniquely positioned to guide women wishing to scale their endeavors.

Started in January 2016, JLNO’s Woman Entrepreneur (WE) Fellowship is a yearlong program supporting a female business owner with funding as well as mentoring and in-kind services sourced through JLNO’s membership. Women with at least a 50% stake in an enterprise that has been in operation between one to five years and making less than $750,000 are eligible to apply.

The WE Fellowship Committee reviews the submissions and selects up to six finalists. Each finalist will meet with a growth consulting firm to craft a 10-minute pitch. A judging panel selects the Fellow, and JLNO members develop a plan to secure in-League mentors and resources. Our WE Fellows have scaled their businesses, increasing staff, revenue, and industry recognition, and the finalists have gained knowledge, connections, and exposure through the pitch process.

The WE Fellowship goes beyond giving financial support to a small business. It aligns with the Junior League mission tenet to “develop the potential of women” by offering mentoring, training, and support. The program is innovative, specific, and impactful. Most importantly, WE Fellowship emphasizes the unique capacity women have for creative endeavors and perseverance, providing examples to which women and girls can aspire.


Eligibility

  • The business-owner should be a woman who is
    • The majority stakeholder in the enterprise or 50/50 with a spouse/partner and functions as its daily manager
    • Aged 21 years and older
    • A legal resident of the United States
  • The business can be in any industry and should
    • Have been formed under U.S. law and is currently operating within 40 miles of New Orleans, Louisiana
    • Have between 1 year minimum and 5 year maximum of continuous operations
    • Be an established business generating annual revenues greater than $0 and less than $750,000
  • The business must be in good standing at the time of the application submission and shall upload a screenshot confirming the Secretary of State filing.
  • The following are not eligible:
    • Nonprofit organizations
    • Subsidiary or franchise businesses

The WE Fellow should represent the same personal and professional commitments as the Junior League, namely it embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion, and reaches out to all women who demonstrate an interest in improving their community.


Application Process & Timeline

The WE Fellow is selected via a multi-step process as indicated below.

Step 1 – Complete the WE Fellowship application.

If interested, female business owners must submit an application in early 2024. Submitting an application is free, and applicants need not be JLNO members. Please click HERE for the application.

Step 2 – Prepare for Pitches

The WE Fellowship Selection Committee will review the submitted applications and select women-owned businesses to give 10-minute presentations on April 11, 2024. Prior to the event, each finalist will meet with an expert from Trepwise Consulting who will help her craft her presentation.

Step 3 – Present at WE Fellowship Pitch Competition

Each finalist will pitch her enterprise for an audience and judging panel. Votes from the public will award an audience prize, and a judging panel will award the fellowship. The pitch competition will take place on April 11, 2024, in person at a location to be announced.


Fellowship Components

  • Mentoring and support services from Junior League of New Orleans Members
  • $5,000 cash grant provided by Fidelity Bank Power
    • The winner must open a business account with Fidelity which gives them access to P.O.W.E.R events throughout the year, consisting of educational workshops, networking sessions, and more!
    • Additionally, from May 1st – May 1st of each year, the Pitch Competition winner will get access to:
      • A quarterly meeting with a Fidelity Representative such as a Small Business Banking Expert, or Director of Financial Literacy
      • A designated Small Business Banking Expert that they can reach out to for business questions/guidance, based on where they reside.
  • Access to meeting space in Uptown New Orleans (not to be used as retail space; a value of $350)
  • Tuition to JLNO’s Get on Board nonprofit board training program (a $250 value)
  • Business coaching and evaluation by Trepwise consulting
  • Feature in Lagniappe, JLNO’s quarterly magazine to 5,000 readers
  • Opportunities to market to JLNO members
  • One year of membership dues (a $220 value) should the WE Fellow meet eligibility criteria and elects to join JLNO; meeting the membership curriculum and subsequent membership renewals would be the fellow’s responsibility.

2023 Sponsors

 


2022-2023 Winner

Congratulations to 2022-2023 Woman Entrepreneur Fellow, Tamara White, owner of Pillar Homecare.

2021-2022 Winner

Congratulations to 2021-2022 Woman Entrepreneur Fellow, Sydni Raymond, Founder and CEO of Bomb Ass Fro.

2021-2022 Finalists

Lively Sauces | Lauren Mora
NOLA Learning Support and Consulting, L3C | Katharine Novak
CITRONOLA, LLC | Claudia Beneveto
Bomb Ass Fro | Sydni Raymond
Nola Bougie, LLC | Alisha Reed


2020 Winner

Congratulations to WATER BLOCK Kids! WATER BLOCK is an urban design studio that addresses environmental and climate risks in neighborhoods through design, community engagement, and planning. Through this initiative, we work to engage residents in urban design projects that impact their overall health. The youth arm of our work formally launched this summer and is called WATER BLOCK Kids. WATER BLOCK Kids teaches elementary age youth about architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and real estate through educational programs and products. Through this initiative, kids use a social justice lens to think critically about the conditions in their cities and neighborhoods.

2020 Finalists

Kidz Kreationz is being formed to provide unique and meaningful arts programming for all children, to educate children in the arts, and to build a lifelong audience for the arts. We plan to offer a dynamic and constantly evolving program. Although we will incorporate all of the fine arts into our programs, our focus is on visual arts. Most activities will be open-ended and enjoyed on a walk-in basis. Kidz Kreationz will be staffed by working artists, and all structures activities will be led by master artist-teachers.
Magic Hands is an all-natural odor eliminator collection that removes the smell of seafood smoke and spices from your hands. “Da Solution” is a 100% all-natural Waterless Oder Eliminator that removes the smell of seafood from your hands. “Da Solution” deodorizes by removing the smell naturally, leaving your hands smelling clean and feeling refreshed.
Our mission is to lovingly restore the century old windows, doors and shutters keeping with traditional methods and materials to shine like the day they were first installed.  Our focus is to save as many original wood windows as possible through our restoration work, teaching homeowners how to do the work and in future teaching apprentices the craft to set them on a path to owning their own business and joining with us to keep the history of New Orleans in-tact through our unique homes.

Vibrant Market is a Clean Beauty, Wellness and Lifestyle store + spa where we put holistic health and efficacy first in skincare, services, resources, supplements, and makeup. We work to provide our clients with resources to be the most Vibrant versions of themselves. Inside and out, mind and body.


2019 Winner

 

Click here for a history of WE Fellowship finalists and winners.

 


Questions?

Additional information may be obtained by emailing wefellowship@jlno.org.