CPRWrap wins $100,000 in recent Black Ambition Demo Day pitch competition
Felicia Jackson began her start-up journey more than a decade ago.
CPRWrap Inc. was awarded $100,000 at the Black Ambition Demo Day pitch competition held just before Thanksgiving Day in New York City.
Founded by Felicia Jackson, a resident of Chattanooga, we first spotlighted her entrepreneurial journey in this January 2017 teknovation.biz article. In that post, she described an experience 14 years earlier when her then two-year-old son was choking in the back seat of the family car, and she forgot everything Jackson had learned as a person certified in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Fortunately, her husband swung into action, and the son survived, but it was a different experience in 2008 when a niece attempted suicide, only to be successfully revived by paramedics. Unfortunately, the relative died the next day.
The most recent was in early July after she was selected as a semifinalist for Pharrell Williams’ “Black Ambition Prize Competition,” one of 250 named.
“This is a monumental win for our mission to save lives and make CPR accessible to EVERYONE,” Jackson wrote in a social media post after being awarded the $100,000 prize. “The road hasn’t been easy, but moments like this remind me why I started CPRWrap in the first place—to make a difference when it matters most.”
Black Ambition, the non-profit organization funding and fueling underrepresented Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs, awarded more than $2.7 million to 30 trailblazing founders. Among the awards announced, the $1 Million grand prize went to Dr. Monica Williams and Dana Roberts, Co-Founders of RedDrop, a brand of period kits for tweens with the mission of empowering, educating, and supporting young girls.
Demo Day is the annual event celebrating the months-long journey that 3,000 entrepreneurs embarked on this year in an attempt to win not only monetary prizes, but mentorship and educational opportunities with Pharrell and other top entrepreneurship experts and founders. The day was emceed by renowned actor and advocate, Hill Harper, and included pitches from eight top finalists in the categories of Artificial Intelligence, Consumer Products and Services, Healthcare, Media and Entertainment and Tech. The panel of four judges included, Lisa Price, Founder of Carol’s Daughter; Pinky Cole, Founder of Slutty Vegan; Matt Story, Vice President, Global Brand Integrated Marketing at Visa; and Erik Moore, Founder and Managing Director, Base Ventures.
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