Lala Anthony gave insight to the Mountain Dew Real Change Opportunity Fund finalists on how to run a successful business.
In partnership with Howard University, Hampton University, and many other Pepsi-affiliated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Mountain Dew has created a competition to find and empower the next generation of Black entrepreneurs. The competition will provide resources and funds to develop HBCU students’ ideas into real business plans and goals. Winners compete to win part of a cash prize of $1 Million.
The actress met virtually with the 5 finalists. Jared Eummer and Ashton Keys cofounded Athylic. With new laws passing allowing student-athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness, Athylic is a platform the bridges student-athletes and brands. Candice Blacknall‘s GABA is a business combatting the global shortage of health care workers. George Acheampong, Jacqueline Schadeck, and Emiere Scaife are using their backgrounds in finance to help the Black Community build wealth with their businesses PocketAdivsor. Femi Masha and Jeff Osuji are cofounders of Eventnoire, the marketplace for events celebrating black people and black businesses. Desmond Wiggan‘s BatteryXchange is a rental platform in which portable batteries are supplied on demand to users. Each finalist had a chance to explain their business to Anthony and ask questions about how to grow their business.
Masha and Osuji asked Anthony on her tips and tricks to longevity in business.
“I think being able to adapt would be my answer to that,” Anthony says. “What worked for me in the MTV days isn’t going to work now. A lot of people just don’t know how to adapt and change with what is happening. And changing doesn’t mean not being your authentic self or not representing the company the way you want to, it means being able to service whatever is happening at that moment.”
She encourages the young entrepreneur to “know you personal, know your audience, know who your talking to, and what their interest are and how to service that.”
For Pocketadivsor, Anthony encourage them to use statistics and numbers to show people the importance of their platform.
“I think from where I sit, you have to address the statistics that are in our community when it comes to financial planning,” Anthony says. “The statistics are what really catch people’s eye, when you say, ‘you know how many people have financial advisors? How much are people saving per year? How much life could be different if your hired a financial advisor?.. Those kind of things make people excited. It’s proof in the numbers.”
Watch Lala’s “mentor moments” as she gives business advice to young Black Entrepreneurs below!
