Innovation Takes Center Stage at the 2025 Magic City Classic Business Pitch Competition

The Alabama Collective brought together Alabama’s brightest HBCU students and recent graduates for the 2025 Magic City Classic Business Pitch Competition on Thursday, October 23, at Iron City Birmingham.

The one-day event combined entrepreneurship training, mentoring, and a live pitch competition — awarding nearly $20,000 in cash prizes to student innovators with big ideas and bold ambitions.

“This event isn’t just about pitching—it’s about building generational wealth, igniting new ideas, and fueling the state’s future economic growth from the ground up,” said Charisse Stokes, Executive Director of The Alabama Collective. “We’re creating opportunities for students to turn their ideas into action and their passion into purpose.”

Participants represented a range of industries — from health and beauty to technology and automotive services — and competed in a new booth-style pitch format. Top teams from each booth received $1,000 before advancing to the Pitch Finale, where finalists presented live before a panel of judges and audience of community leaders, mentors, and supporters.

2025 Pitch Competition Winners

Pitch Finale Winners:
1st Place ($4,000): GradPass by Nylah DeMar-Jones – Oakwood University
A digital platform that simplifies and digitizes the Student Service Learning (SSL) hour process, making it easier for students and schools to track, verify, and manage service hours.

2nd Place ($3,000): GLAAM Cosmetics by Jeddie Carnes – Miles College
A high-performance, vegan, and cruelty-free beauty brand built on empowerment, resilience, and self-expression for women on the go.

3rd Place ($2,000): Driven Detailing by Khalil Saadiq – Lawson State Community College
A premium mobile detailing service offering high-quality, convenient vehicle care while emphasizing employee training and a modern work culture.

Top-Scoring Booth Winners ($1,000 each):

• Smart Sole by Kard Innovative – Talladega College
  Team members: Rhonoya Anderson, Abbion McLarty, Kimone Orr, Donnessia Whyte

• Seamoss Wellness by Felicia Sharpe – Alabama State University

• Pass The Plate – Alabama State University
  Team members: Excellent Aromolaran, Emmanuel Michael, Favor Nwanekezi, George Michael Kondoun

• SmarTint by Formula Hue – Alabama State University
  Team members: Monjolaoluwa Runswew, Kofoworola Ajadi, Princess Ukesone

• Beyond the Bark by Hazel Frazier – Tuskegee University

• DeepUbuntu by Thabhelo Duve – Talladega College

The competition’s success was made possible through the support of industry judges, speakers, trainers, mentors, and our sponsors, Innovate Alabama who helped fund the program and HBCU Cares who sponsored the Pitch Finale and reception. Thank you for sharing your time, expertise, and resources to help shape the next generation of Alabama founders.

About The Alabama Collective

The Alabama Collective is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating tech talent and entrepreneurs across Alabama. Through partnerships with HBCUs, industry leaders, and innovation hubs, The Alabama Collective builds programs that expose, educate, engage, and empower underrepresented communities in tech, entrepreneurship, and innovation.