Founded by Victoria Lamar
Securing Degrees is a tech-enabled scholarship platform helping students find, apply for, and win private scholarships. Since 2018, they've helped 10,000+ students across 25+ states secure more than $50M in awards — proving that the student debt crisis has a solution, and it starts with money that already exists.
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Founded by Joyson Balisamore
Jay's Watermelonade is a Baltimore-based social enterprise offering no-added-sugar, cold-pressed juices. Beyond the bottle, their Bmore Hydrators program provides hands-on workforce training for Baltimore youth. By merging nutrient-dense products with social impact, Jay's Watermelonade replaces preventable health risks with premium hydration, proving that wellness can be both accessible and deeply rooted in the Baltimore community.
Founded by Tiffany Iheme
Comfort Homecare Services is a family- and woman-owned home care agency serving 24 counties across Virginia, providing live-in and around-the-clock care for seniors and adults who want to age safely at home. Since 2010, founder Tiffany Iheme has grown the team to 60+ caregivers — building one of the region's most trusted care networks on a foundation of dignity, consistency, and the belief that good care starts with the people who provide it.
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Rathan Yogi
Every winner on this page gets a year of Pilot bookkeeping with their grant — because capital only moves you as far as your financial foundation can take you. If you're ready to build on the same footing, we'd like to help.
TERMINAL B is a Los Angeles-based luxury fragrance brand that translates global destinations into immersive scent experiences, each named by airport code. Their candles, diffusers, and personal care products are manufactured in-house in Compton and supplied to luxury hotel brands like Andaz, Park Hyatt, and Thompson Hotels.
Spin & Learn brings professional table tennis instruction into NYC public, charter, and private schools, combining athletic training with character development. Since 2020, they've introduced the sport to more than 10,000 students across the city's highest-need districts — and in March 2026, their work was profiled in the New York Times.
Gold & Olive is a biotech-driven beauty brand engineering makeup with innovative biomaterial technology, founded by a PhD biomedical scientist. Their silk protein eyelash curling primer is the first product in a science-backed lash system designed to perform for every lash type — raising the bar for what inclusive, high-performance makeup can look like.
Edu20/20 is a team of educators dedicated to strengthening classroom instruction through content and curriculum-specific professional learning. Their coaching and training programs help teachers and school leaders navigate fundamental teaching practices — grounded in the belief that every student deserves access to high-quality instruction.
Insert Toolless Products is a product-based company developing patented, tool-free mounting solutions that make installation simpler for everyday consumers. Starting with solar security lighting, their growing platform of adaptable products is built on a straightforward premise: useful technology shouldn't require a contractor to set up.
Meadow Hill Wellness is an integrative health center in Maryland offering acupuncture, hormone therapy, functional medicine, and restorative yoga. Now focused on one of healthcare's most underserved populations, their concierge program RenewHer delivers personalized, high-touch care for women navigating perimenopause and menopause.
Rhymes with Reason is a web-based app that builds student vocabulary and literacy through the music Gen-Z is already listening to. Their gamified platform spotlights academic terms inside popular song lyrics — making learning feel less like school and more like something students actually want to do.
Good Seeds Flower Farm is a one-acre specialty cut flower farm in Salisbury, Illinois, built on the belief that meaningful work should be available to everyone. Founded for their daughter Hazel, Kendahl and her team employ people with and without disabilities side by side — same work, same wages, same dignity.
Anar Gourmet Foods is a Pittsburgh-based, woman- and minority-owned company making authentic Indian cooking approachable for everyday home cooks. Their 13 all-natural, gluten-free seasoning kits deliver restaurant-quality meals in 30–45 minutes — and virtual cooking classes that make Indian cuisine feel less intimidating.
Strands of Faith is a high-performance haircare brand designed specifically for textured hair — curls, coils, and kinks. Their shampoos, conditioners, treatments, and styling products are formulated around moisture retention and hair health.
Sano Nuts is a Queens-based snack company making handmade flavored nuts and dried fruit with real spices and no artificial additives. Founded by a Sri Lankan refugee with 30 years in NYC's food industry, Sano Nuts sells at JFK Airport, local farmers markets, and online — and donates bulk dried fruit to a school pantry serving families in shelters.
Pounded Yam Productions is a Chicago-based stationery and lifestyle brand rooted in African textile traditions and storytelling. Founder Enobong Tommelleo designs notebooks, bookmarks, enamel pins, and more — each one a reinterpretation of traditional fabric patterns into objects people reach for every day.
Rubato School of Music is an inclusive music education studio offering private lessons, group classes, and performance opportunities for students of all ages and abilities. They specialize in multisensory, student-centered instruction designed to support neurodiverse learners.
Select Auto Parts & Sales is Milwaukee's only indoor automotive recycling facility, offering quality used auto parts at 40–70% below new part prices. Black woman-owned and WBENC-certified, they've served Milwaukee drivers and repair shops for over 14 years — and were named a 2025 U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO-100 honoree.
Jo's Gallery is a second-generation, African American-owned art gallery on Detroit's historic Avenue of Fashion, founded over 30 years ago to create economic opportunity for Black artists. Today they operate across brick-and-mortar and online channels, offering African American artwork, cultural home décor, and custom framing.
