Grants, prizes and pitch competitions can help founders access capital, but the rules may include scoring criteria, publicity terms, confidentiality limits, legal waivers or financing structures that deserve close review.
CAPITAL · TODAY
TODAY'S BBD500 SPOTLIGHT · Marketing Leadership
VIEW PROFILE →Kerel Cooper
Chief marketing officer of MarketCast, professor, board adviser and marketing strategist. He publishes about media, advertising, audience insights, growth and leadership.
MORE FROM THE BBD500More people
More people
to know.
The BBD500 is Black Biz Daily's curated stage for Black founders, executives, investors, educators, authors, consultants, creators and business authorities whose work deserves to be seen. It is not a popularity ranking; it recognizes useful authority, demonstrated impact and sustained contribution.
EXPLORE THE BBD500 →01Wine & Consumer Brands
Ingrid Best
Founder of IBest Wines and a wine and spirits executive. She shares lessons about multicultural marketing, distribution, brand partnerships, entrepreneurship and creating culturally resonant consumer products.
02Author Entrepreneurship
Kristen Martin
Bestselling independent author, content creator, writing coach and podcaster. She teaches aspiring authors about publishing, creative systems, audience development and building sustainable writing businesses.
03Consumer Brands & Ecommerce
Arsha Jones
Co-founder and CEO of Capital City Mambo Sauce, a family-owned consumer brand rooted in Washington, D.C. She shares operator lessons about ecommerce, retail distribution, bootstrapping and scaling a culturally distinctive food product.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHINGThe questions
The questions
shaping what
comes next.
The Brief tells you what matters now. This desk follows the deeper business shifts our newsroom believes deserve sustained attention.
THE CALENDARFOR FOUNDERS · STARTUPS · ENTREPRENEURS
Where our community meets next.
Discover conferences, summits and gatherings worth knowing. Dates and details are verified against official organizer information before publication.
BLACK ENTERPRISE XCEL Summit for Men 2026
ORLANDO, FLORIDA · CONFIRMEDVIEW EVENT →NMSDC Annual Conference & Exchange 2026
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA · CONFIRMEDVIEW EVENT →AFROTECH Conference 2026
HOUSTON, TEXAS · CONFIRMEDVIEW EVENT →WHY BLACK BIZ DAILY EXISTS
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OUR VISION & PUBLISHER →