‘Bigger And Better’: Daymond John Gears Up For His Second Black Entrepreneurs Day

Shark Tank star and FUBU founder and CEO Daymond John announced the details of his second annual Black Entrepreneurs Day on Thursday.

Black Entrepreneurs Day is a primetime special that brings together business and entertainment in the form of an event dedicated to highlighting and educating Black entrepreneurs. John’s first Black Entrepreneurs Day launched virtually last year, garnering over seven million views and winning two Webby Awards for the best remote business and finance event on the internet. 

This year’s Black Entrepreneurs Day—presented by Chase for Business and in partnership with Medium Rare and TK the Shark Tank Group—will take place on Oct. 14, 2021 at 7 p.m. (PST) live from The World Famous Apollo Theater. 

John says he wanted Black Entrepreneurs Day to be “bigger and better” the second time around. “I have a great team behind me who was saying, ‘Yeah, why don’t we do it live? Why don’t we do it in the Apollo theater? Why don’t we utilize all of the resources that our sponsors have?'” he says.

John and comedian Kevin Hart will moderate conversations with business and cultural leaders including Shaquille O’Neal, Tyra Banks, Michael Strahan, Marcus Samuelsson, Rev Run and Janice Bryant Howroyd, while Khalid will give a musical performance. Perhaps more importantly, though, Black entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to win one of 10 $25,000 NAACP Powershift grants, courtesy of Chase for Business, JP Morgan Wealth Management, The General, T-Mobile for Business, Salesforce, Johnson & Johnson, Shopify, Quickbooks, Klaviyo and Logitech. 

“The brands are not just stroking off a check and sponsoring. They are making sure they are putting money in to help and pay it forward,” says John. “They are also giving resources. Not only do you understand that the brand is helping you with the critical money needed to grow or even keep the business open, but they are also giving you an education.”

Mignon Francois, one of last year’s grant winners, says the $25,000 changed the trajectory of her Nashville bakery, the Cupcake Collection. Francois received was the winner of The General Insurance’s 2020 NAACP Powershift Grant. 

“I felt like I had won the lottery,” she says. “After 12 years of building something from scratch, I finally felt like someone had seen the work we were doing. The fact that they loved it so much and felt that the world needed to experience it too brought me joy.” 

Yvette Leeper-Bueno, owner of and chef at Vinateria in Harlem, agrees, noting how important it is that Black entrepreneurs be seen. 

“A huge need for Black entrepreneurs is visibility and mentorship that allows opportunities to access,” she says. “As I near a decade of being a restaurateur, I hope that visibility from grants such as this help build connections and allow other Black restaurateurs to reach out and seek guidance. There are so many hurdles to tackle and a little assistance goes a long way,” said Leeper-Bueno, who won Chase for Businesses’s 2020 NAACP Powershift Grant. 

David Cabello, owner of Black and Mobile in Philadelphia, took home Yappa’s 2020 NAACP Powershift Grant. He says he used the money he won to continue working on Black and Mobile’s app. He says he also hired a Black-owned development agency. 

“Our goal is to help black owned restaurants get more exposure through our platform and allow any customer to support them instantly. We are here to help new black owned restaurants with delivery and becoming known in their city and we hope we inspire other entrepreneurs to help their community, whether it’s for profit or not, because we need it!” said, Cabello.