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Show Overview:
Learning how to pitch your ideas to the right people is one of the most critical and most stringent steps you can take for securing funding for your business. That’s why we are sitting down with our very own Mikea Hugley, who was one of the winners in the MICA’s Up/Start Pitch Competition for her new shoe company “Makers for Humankind.” In this episode, we discuss how Mikea developed the idea for her company, CRE8R1V3, and the steps she took to win the competition, and what we can expect from in the future.
About GFGF:
The Get Found Get Funded podcast is at the intersection of entrepreneurship and social justice where we focus on entrepreneurship as a possible path to wealth creation — specifically for Black and Latinx communities.
Featured Guest: Mikea Hugley
Mikea Hugley is a Multidisciplinary Designer, entrepreneur, Baltimore county school teacher, and MICA graduate. Mikea runs Cre8t1v3, a design company she started due to her firm belief in the visual language of creativity. We’re also lucky enough to have Mikea’s graphic design work as part of our own branding for Get Found, Get Funded!
Mikea is known for her work in brand development and design that uplifts creatives in her community and as such, her work has been featured in multiple publications. Mikea has worked on projects with Ford Motor Community Fund, Johns Hopkins and countless other businesses. Mikea has also been a recipient of numerous scholarships, grants and awards including the AIGA World Studio Scholarship and recently joined Adidas and Impact Hub’s Close the Gap program for her project Makers for Humankind.
Key Quotes from Mikea Hugley:
- I heard from a pastor one day he said, “your talent is what you’re paid for, but your gift is what you’re made for”. So, I thought about that and I said, you know, how am I using my talent and also my gifts to either benefit me financially or to benefit my vision.
- I’m trying to create a product where people….they’re not limited by the sneaker itself, like they can change it up, however they may need to use it at the time.
- Having a mentor is probably one of the number one resources that was provided by MICA.
- I know if I can be successful in my own city that I could go to different cities and do the same thing.
- I believe that everyone in some way, they’re creative and… I’m encouraging people to create products for humanity, create products that are gonna change… humanity in some way.
Key Timestamps:
- 01:02 Introduction
- 02:36 Mikea’s start in design
- 05:02 Coming up with the idea for footwear
- 10:14 The pitch competition
- 23:30 Business goals
- 31:42 Other projects Mikea worked on.
- 34:18 Outro
Key Takeaways:
- Mikea created Makers for Humankind based on the need of the homeless population. She adapted the design to also serve the medical community.
- MCIA pivoted their pitch competition to a virtual event because of Covid-19.
- Mikea was one of eight winners in the competition.
Mentioned in the Show:
Quotes from the Show:
- “I heard from a pastor one day he said, ‘your talent is what you're paid for, but your gift is what you're made for.’ I thought about that and I said, ‘how am I using my talent and also my gifts to either benefit me financially or to benefit my vision.’”
- “Having a mentor is probably one of the number one resources that was provided by MICA.”
- “I know if I can be successful in my own city that I could go to different cities and do the same thing.”
- “I believe that everyone in some way is creative and … I'm encouraging people to create products for humanity, create products that are gonna change humanity in some way.”
