"Want to see a free Chili Peppers concert in DTLA?" This was a text that I received from a gf last week. It sounded a little too good to be true but I RSVP'd anyway. Upon further research I learned it was the Creator Awards Global Finals hosted by We Work.
For those who don't know, We Work (valued at an estimated $45 Billion) is a tech company that offers private offices and coworking space to freelancers, creatives and start-ups in major cities. Their story is pretty incredible, listen to it on Guy Raz's How I Built This podcast.
We Work's Creator Awards is a global competition for profitable, creative businesses with a positive social impact on the world (eligible for We Work members and non-members) who compete for a $1 million investment. This teaser below can give you a better idea but essentially, it's a live Shark Tank hosted by Ashton Kutcher.
The awards kicked off on Wednesday night at Microsoft Theater with host, Ashton Kutcher who took the first few minutes to address that he had a cold sore which was endearing and perhaps an attempt to appear pedestrian among a crowd of millennials and tech nerds. Kutcher then launched into a roundabout story about his daughter wanting a unicorn which somehow turned into a metaphor about entrepreneurs and a squirrel and a nut and a unicorn horn... I was pretty lost myself, but things got back on track once he gave a rundown on the night;
5 Finalists, each give a 1-minute pitch to convince 4 judges why their company deserves a $1 million investment.
MEET THE JUDGES
Ashton Kutcher: Venture capitalist, co-founder of A-Grade Investments, an early investor in AirBnb and Spotify.
Kristen Green: Venture capitalist and founder of Forerunner Ventures an early investor in Glossier, Dollar Shave Club, Brichbox, Outdoor Voices and Jet.com. Her firm's recent $360 million fund is one of the largest-ever raised by a female-founded firm.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Entrepreneur, CEO of VaynerMedia, VaynerX and also started the first e-commerce wine platform.
Sean Diddy Combs: Founder of Sean John and CEO of Combs Enterprises which includes Ciroc vodka, DeLeon tequila and Aquahydrate alkaline water.
MEET THE CREATOR AWARDS FINALISTS
Watching the finalists present their passion to over 7k people and four industry experts whose only job was to reveal their flaws was a huge lesson in how to be your own biggest fan. I couldn't stop thinking, how many "no's" had these people heard before now? Did they ever doubt themselves or think they set out to accomplish something beyond what they were capable of? It was incredibly impressive.
Ultimately, the judges selected Chloe Alpert whose company Medinas Health, is a broker that helps hospitals sell surplus medical equipment rather than throwing it out. While Chloe was an incredibly strong candidate I thought she had a slightly unfair advantage; midway through Q&A with the judges Ashton Kutcher revealed he was already an investor in her company which felt like it tipped the scale in terms of her credibility. Nevertheless it was an incredibly inspiring night!
The finale was an hour long performance by the Chili Peppers which was possibly the most starstruck I've been since moving to LA five years ago. They played "Scar Tissue," "Californication" and "Can't Stop" and my face was spasming from smiling so hard. Here are a few pics from the night, see IG for performance videos and an epic solo from Flea.
#wework #creatorawards #redhotchilipeppers #chilipeppers #sharktank #business #entrepreneur #hustle #success #wontstop #mindset #inspire #thinkbig #girlboss #beyourownboss #motivate #givingback #startup #tech #siliconbeach #raizs #queenofraw #afrocenchix #modoo #medinashealth #vaynermedia #forerunnerventures #venturecapital #agradeinvestments #combsenterprises #seanjohn #glossier #birchbox #outdoorvoices #microsofttheater
Comments