The NBA All-Star 2023 Weekend and Game brought more than exceptional basketball talent and excitement to Salt Lake City.
It also brought attention and opportunity to Black entrepreneurs through the first-ever NBA All-Star Pitch Competition, which was hosted through a partnership between the Utah Black Chamber, the NBA, and the NBA Foundation.
A founder in the Master of Business Creation (MBC) program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, Morgan Williams was one of the competitors, and she was among eight finalists, including four from Utah, who advanced to the final pitch event on Feb. 16. With the support of Microsoft and Square, all finalists were awarded $2,500 in unrestricted funding and have support of JP Morgan Chase Commercial Bank to strengthen business plans.
Williams is the founder of Blendyd Studios, which provides affordable recruiting software to help the trucking and logistics industry make hiring more efficient. Blendyd Studios’ recruiting software offers paperless lead qualification, customizable text messaging, automated workflows, and business analytics.
“Being recognized by the NBA and sharing the stage with other strong Black business leaders has been such an honor,” Williams said. “Seeing how Utah and Jazz team are prioritizing Black business is a testament to the commitment the state and team have to support and accelerate Black businesses. This competition has raised awareness to our work and led to us being approached by several funders. We look forward to continuing to build on our success.”
Morgan Williams, founder of Blyndyd Studios
She became the CEO of the company after the death of the founder and her twin brother, Cameron Russell Williams, who was an entrepreneur and technology leader in Utah.
The NBA and Utah Black Chamber also hosted the competition to recognize the entrepreneurial spirit in Utah as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend. The competition started with a challenging opening round of judging that narrowed the field to the finalists.
The five judges in the final round of the NBA All-Start Pitch Competition included: Ryan Smith, primary owner, Utah Jazz; Ryan Sweeney, alternative owner, Utah Jazz; Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer, American Express; Steve Stoute, CEO, UnitedMasters; and Kimmy Paluch, Managing Partner, Beta Boom.
“The experience has been an incredible learning opportunity, gained us a lot of exposure, and allowed us to make many new connections that will be very useful to us in the future,” Williams said. “We look forward to more success with our business and being an example of the many thriving Black-owned businesses in Utah.”
Williams enrolled in the MBC program at the University of Utah in fall 2022 to help accelerate her business. The unique graduate program is focused on the founder’s startup and provides mentorship, application-focused curriculum, and funding opportunities to help them grow their business.
With help from the MBC program, Williams hopes to refine her business plan and product, while growing her customer base.
“The MBC program supports us to become the strategic operators necessary to build sustainable and scalable businesses,” Williams said. “The championship and mentorship of MBC have allowed us to accomplish in five months what would have taken years.”
Learn more about Blendyd Studios at blendydstudios.io.
