Rapper and Detroit native Big Sean has made it clear he has not forgotten his hometown roots.
While he has been popular in the music industry for nearly a decade, he continues to focus on bettering the lives of Detroit residents, particularly young people.
Last June, the rapper hosted Detroit’s On Now, which featured a weekend full of activities such as a Motown Museum benefit, a block party, and a festival for high-achieving Detroit Public School students.
On Friday, Big Sean, along with Mayor Mike Duggan, talked to local leaders and children about participating in the 2020 Census.
Now, Big Sean is focusing on selecting the next generation of business leaders.
The rapper, who goes back and forth between Detroit and Los Angeles, made an appearance at the Microsoft regional headquarters Sunday for a new entrepreneurial competition called Moguls in the Making.
The entertainer’s nonprofit, the Sean Anderson Foundation, has partnered with Ally Financial and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to host the contest. The program, which started Friday and ended Sunday night, gave students from historically black colleges and universities nationwide an opportunity to plan, develop and present a business plan in front of their peers and a panel of judges. In between preparing for their presentations, students participated in sessions on financial literacy, idea pitching, and building a business model.
The judges included Big Sean; Andrea Brimmer, Ally chief marketing and public relations officer; Anand Talwar, Ally deposit and consumer strategy executive; Tommey Walker, principal of Detroit vs. Everybody; and George Spencer, executive vice president of business development, innovation and entrepreneurship for TMCF.
Brimmer said Moguls in the Making has been in development for three years. Her and Big Sean started to come up with the idea when the rapper was in town performing a concert. From the start, the two wanted to focus on highlighting minority students.
“These kids don’t get the same opportunity that a lot of other colleges and universities get, and so many of these kids are first-generation of having gone to college, and it’s really, all around, economic mobility and providing this better path forward,” she said.
“We wanted to shine a spotlight on kids who are at these universities, the smart thinking that’s there, and the entrepreneurship that exists within them, and so we felt like this would be a unique, very different program. Selfishly for Ally, there’s a huge benefit for us because it exposes us to a great pool of talent that hopefully will be teammates of ours at Ally someday.”
Spencer said the three organizations decided to host Moguls in the Making in Detroit not only because Big Sean and Ally are based in the city, but because Detroit is full of “rich, cultural innovation and grit.”
“When you think about the automotive industry, and you think about trailblazers like Motown, I think it’s the prefect sauce to come to a city that has the spirit of entrepreneurship.”
Brimmer said Moguls in the Making received over 500 applicants, but the competition was narrowed down to 50 students from 10 HBCUs. The five students from each school were then put into teams.
The 10 colleges that participated in the competition included:
- Alabama A&M University
- Elizabeth City State University
- Florida A&M University
- Howard University
- Jackson State University
- Morgan State University
- Norfolk State University
- Virginia State University
- Tennessee State University
- North Carolina A&T State University
Erica Johnson, 20, and Erin Martin, 19, were among the participants in the challenge. They are sophomores at Alabama A&M, but both call Detroit home.
The two, along with teammates Christian Henderson, Micah Taylor and Georgiana Wright, pitched an idea for an app for those struggling with mental health. People can go on the app and set up appointments to meet with a mentor, where they will have unlimited Facetime and message access.
Johnson said she heard about the program through the TMCF branch at school, while a high school mentor told Martin about the program.
“Being able to gather all this information within a 3-day period is really interesting,” said Johnson. It’s been a great opportunity.”
Martin agreed, saying even though the program was fast-paced, she has learned a lot.
“Just from being with my group and being around like-minded individuals from other HBCUs, and having the mentors from TMCF and Ally, it’s really amazing.”
Later that night, Big Sean announced the winners of Moguls in the Making, which went to the team at Florida A&M University. The students were awarded internships at Ally Financial, a $5,000 scholarship each, and MacBook Air computers.
By Micah Walker, Detroit Free Press
