BALTIMORE — Joyson Balisamore's business pitch led to him taking the number 1 spot in the Community College of Baltimore Counties 12th annual Business Plan Competition.
"It was birthed out of my personal experience growing up actually experiencing high blood pressure and coming aware of other chronic conditions such as diabetes high blood pressure and heart disease which is the leading cause of death," sasy Joyson Balisamore.
CCBC gave away a total of $62,500 to 6 finalists, current students and alumni of the college.
VIDEO: CCBC gives a total of $62,500 to local entrepreneurs in pitch competition
Balisamore took home the grand prize of $20,000 to support his business.
"I definitely proposed using the funding to help market and promote awareness to Jay's Waterlemonade through this fun campaign be more hydrated, so you'll see it on clothing items apparel I also plan on doing some really cool commercials," says Balisamore.
And he and all of the other businesses in the program left with more than just money.
"It's just not a blank here's $15,000 go about your day no here's $15,000 let's work together to see how we can get your business from point A to point B," says Delise White, Project Director, CCBC Center for Business Innovation.
"We work with them to go over the numbers we work with them to go over you know marketing avenues, social media things like that, and what it really means to own a business and so for the past 12 years we have launched now 64 businesses," she says.
CCBC's Center for Business Innovation also partners with other small business owners providing mentorship opportunities.
"It doesn't stop with just this competition," says Kim Strassner, founder of Words with boards.
As a mentor Kim Strassner got to share her experiences as a small business owner.
"As an entrepreneur, I've made a lot of mistakes and so it's good to help the next person. Try not to make those same mistakes to learn from my mistakes and so I was really excited for this opportunity. I had so much to give back and so it was just an honor really to be a mentor," says Strassner.
Balisamore says his mentors Dan and Maude Swearingen have made a huge impact on how he plans to grow his business.
"This competition showed me that others also believe in me and my mission to promote heart health in Baltimore," says Balisamore.
Balisamore is also taking a page out of CCBC's book, Saturday he is hosting a Bmore Heart Healthy Festival which includes a youth pitch competition among other activities at the Pava center in Baltimore.
The event is from 4:30-8:30pm and includes a wellness panel, resource fair and heart healthy food and drinks.
