Spark the Change: Business Owner and Publicist, Felicity Swindell, Creates Competition for Student Entrepreneurs to Thrive
Written By: Kierstyn Pryor
Every entrepreneur knows the many challenges that come with being an innovator and starting your own business. Despite all the hurdles there are students who attend universities and join business organizations in hopes of starting their own business ventures. The challenges that entrepreneurs face influenced one HBCU alumni, and now publicist, to “spark change” through a competition that will continue to grow student businesses for the foreseeable future.
Felicity Swindell Smith was once a Clark Atlanta University student, with countless goals and an undeniable winning spirit. She now owns Felicitea Digital Lab, a firm that is responsible for the growth of numerous celebrities but now focuses on growing smaller businesses. With a mission to assist business owners in scaling their businesses to gain growth and visibility , their work has been featured in publications like Fox, Voyage ATL, New YorkWeekly, Ford, ABC, and even BET.
She has assisted the likes of Kandi Burruss, B. Simone, Drumma Boy , and many more. Her firm offers services such as Marketing & PR, building brands, and web development. As she is working toward expanding her business, she decided to lend her help to students who are interested in pursuing their own entrepreneurial journey, through a pitch competition by the name of SparkHouse Tank.
SparkHouse Tank’s pitch competition allowed students from any school within the Atlanta University Center to receive guidance, mentorship, and prizes for their business endeavors. Whether a business was in the beginning stages, fully developed, or not even thought of yet, a student was given the necessary tools to help them build a business idea that has the potential to win a prize and change the world.
Each student received 2 to 3 mentors who were also HBCU alumnus of the schools within the AUC and have careers in fields that are closely related to themselves and their burgeoning business. Students were given the opportunity to further develop the business with their mentors and create a pitch idea that can “wow” a judge. The 4 week process would lead up to a 2-day engagement, where mentees spoke with their mentors and engaged in weekly zoom calls and assignments that would collectively contribute to their score the day of the pitch competition. The zoom calls allowed for ideation and honing in on knowledge that would be necessary to pitch their ideas. On the day of the competition, students faced the opportunity to have their lives changed forever.
Standing in front of 6 judges with exceptional resumes, students spoke confidently about their businesses and offered creative insight into why their ideas should receive assistance. The decision panel included AUC alumni, judges, marketing specialists, and a host of other industry professionals. Prizes included assistance that could take students from having a small business to having a billion dollar business! The first winner received a $1000 stipend toward their business, the second place winner received a feature in a magazine, and the third winner received free web development services from Felicitea Digital Lab. Each student walked away with the ability to receive financial guidance from a financial professional, one received the opportunity to be featured in a commercial, and all participants walked away with a mentor and professional supporters to forever call family.
In its first year, the competition has assisted a total of 8 students and crowned select students as Queens and Kings with the through titles s Mr and Miss SparkHhouse Tank and Mr and Miss Spark the Change. These titles are rooted in Swindell’s hopes of creating a continued entrepreneurship experience for AUC students for years to come.