On Tuesday, Grammy-award artist and philanthropist Pharrell Williams has unveiled the winners of the Black Ambition and Black Ambition HBCU prizes ranging from $100,000 to $1,000,000.
During a virtual celebration of the prize winner, Williams along with Black Ambition CEO, Felecia Hatcher showed the recorded moments from when they shared the prize-winning news with the finalists.
“These are the founders I dreamed would represent Black Ambition,” Pharrell said in a statement released Wednesday. “Today we celebrate their determination, resourcefulness, and creativity. Because of Black Ambition, the world will be much more equitable. More people of color can pursue their ventures and get what they need to thrive. There’s been too much disparity and discrimination. Black Ambition will continue to create and push for more seats at the table, so that your talent, not your color, determines your results.”
As part of the launch, Williams announced in December 2020 two prize competitions – The Black Ambition HBCU Prize and The Black Ambition Prize – which culminated in one major national event.
“We know that entrepreneurship has been baked into the Black and Latinx communities because we’ve always had to be builders,” said Hatcher during the virtual press conference. “By doing this now, we are setting the stage for a much more equitable, sustainable, and better world for all of us in coming years.”
The grand prize winner, Livegistics, was awarded $1 million and the Black Ambition HBCU grand prize winner, Dosso Beauty, received $250,000. Nine other teams also receive prizes of more than $100,000, while all 34 finalists are being given awards of no less than $15,000.
“As an entrepreneur, Life will punch you in the gut, if it hasn’t already been,” said Hatcher. “But I want to encourage you to keep going. Tell yourself that I’m going to find the solutions needed to make a change one way or another.”