Program Will Give Away $200,000 to Underrepresented Small Businesses
SAN JOSE, Dec. 1, 2021 – Invoice2go (subsidiary of Bill.com - NYSE:BILL), an all-in-one platform that helps small business owners run and grow their businesses their way, today announced the launch of ‘Grow by Invoice2go’, an award and business development program that recognizes the untapped potential of small business owners from underrepresented groups.
The program awards $200,000 in total to 20 minority-owned small businesses. Awards will be divided across three tiers of cash prizes with two additional elements that include community building and knowledge sharing as well as business development workshops. The following are details of the program:
Cash prizes
Judges will select winners on a weighted scale by evaluating the entrepreneur’s business plan, purpose, feasibility of success for improvement, and challenges they’ve overcome. Businesses with the highest scores will receive the larger cash prizes. Judges will decide any tied scores. The awards will be distributed in three cash tiers:
Five awards of $15,000
Ten awards of $10,000
Five awards of $5,000
Community-building and knowledge-sharing
Business development workshops
Applicants will be reviewed and winners selected by a Judges Panel made up of an esteemed group of business leaders and journalists including:
Candace Waterman, President and CEO of Women Impacting Public Policy
Gene Marks, small business expert, keynote speaker, author and columnist at publications such as Forbes, The Guardian and The Hill
Ramon Ray, entrepreneur, keynote speaker and best-selling author
Rodney Fong, President and CEO of San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
Stephanie Mehta, Editor-in-Chief at Fast Company
The program was inspired by the spirit of independent business owners like Kareem Brown, an associate producer for Steve Harvey’s STEVE on WATCH Facebook series and long-time Invoice2go customer. Kareem moved to Los Angeles from the East Coast to break into TV and expanded his career opportunities with the support of the Invoice2go platform. Daunted at the prospect of manually submitting invoices to his employer, he was recommended Invoice2go to help streamline his accounts receivables. “Invoice2go is amazing. It’s a very easy process, and I love that it keeps track of when you’ve been paid and when you’re supposed to be paid. I love the email system,” Kareem said. The Grow program aims to help other sole-proprietors like Kareem achieve their dreams.
“At Invoice2go, we believe that small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities,” said Mark Lenhard, Invoice2go CEO and Bill.com COO. “There are many distractions and barriers that affect entrepreneurs, and those obstacles have disproportionately impacted minority-led businesses. We’re thrilled to provide the financial support and technology to help them scale and thrive.”
About Invoice2go
Invoice2go, a subsidiary of Bill.com, is a technology company that empowers freelancers and small businesses with straightforward tools that simplify their day-to-day workflow. Our software enables users to grow their client base, manage invoicing and payments, maintain financial wellness, build their brand, and much more.
Invoice2go is used by more than 225,000 freelancers and small business owners in 150+ countries who send ~$25 billion in invoices every year. To create a free account, go to https://invoice.2go.com, or download from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
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