Entrepreneurs building successful startups with Morgan Stanley's Multicultural Innovation Lab
Entrepreneurs seeking to build a business from scratch count on the elevator pitch to convince future investors to take a financial interest in their company.
Morgan Stanley's Multicultural Innovation Lab is a program that transforms that business pitch by helping diverse tech entrepreneurs who have faced institutional and cultural barriers to find funding.
The Lab is led by Carla Harris, Morgan Stanley’s vice chairman of wealth management. The program offers customized curriculum and relevant mentorship, exposing startups to financial advisors.
Among the startups circulating through the program are Goalsetter, Hatch Apps, myLAB Box, and BeautyLynk.
Tanya Van Court, founder of Goalsetter, tells FOX Business that Morgan Stanley's Multicultural Innovation Lab has been a great turning point for her company.
“Not only did we get the counsel that came from Morgan Stanley, we clearly got capital which was needed,” she said during an interview with FOX Business’ Deirdre Bolton.
Hatch Apps is a platform linking businesses to deploy apps without coding. Founders Param Jaggi and Amelia Friedman originally started the company after working as freelance developers.
“One of the main value ads working at Morgan Stanley has been access to opportunity,” Jaggi said.
Startup myLAB Box is looking to revolutionize the way people are able self-diagnose simple illness with the first nationwide at home lab testing platform. Ursula Hessenflow co-founded the company with her fellow entrepreneur Lora Ivanova after discovering their own challenges with the healthcare system.
“What I love about the [myLAB Box] pitch the ownership of their healthcare,” Harris said.
Modjossorica Elysee created BeautyLynk after a family member needed beauty services while recovering from surgery. The beauty services provides an on-demand network of professionals who visit clients in their homes or offices.
“Being able to build out a tech enabled platform for customized beauty services really means a lot to me,” she said.