Community Updates

Mastercard & Bank of America Support Small Business Growth with Launch of Second Annual “Grow Your Biz Contest”

Sixty percent of small businesses nationwide are planning to grow their businesses over the next five years*. Mastercard and Bank of America want to help them do just that with the launch of the second annual Grow Your Biz Contest, a call to action for small business owners from across the country to pitch their business for the opportunity to win $25k and business consultation with industry experts.**

Published 6 years ago | About a 3 minute read

“At Bank of America, we’re committed to supporting the ideas, goals and unique banking needs of small businesses throughout the nation,” said Sharon Miller, head of small business at Bank of America. “Grow your Biz is a great opportunity to consult an expert and access capital for your business. Every minute matters when you run a business, so we’ve made participation as simple as possible. I look forward to hearing from small businesses across the country about their plans to grow.”

To enter the Grow Your Biz Contest, small business owners must answer the simple question, “How will you grow your small business?” by submitting a video (up to 1 minute) online.

From the submissions, four finalists will be identified for their creativity and business strategy to receive a $1,000 Mastercard prepaid card, one-on-one business consultation with industry experts and the opportunity to pitch their businesses to the Grow Your Biz Panel during the final event in New York City on November 8, 2018.

“We are thrilled to take the Grow Your Biz Contest to a national level and extend this opportunity to small businesses across the country,” said Ginger Siegel, Head of North America Small Business, Mastercard. “By collaborating with Bank of America, we can provide small businesses with holistic solutions and tools to meet their business, consumer and community needs.”

We’ve gathered a panel of expert judges for the Grow Your Biz Contest finalists to present to including Create and Cultivate CEO Jaclyn Johnson, host of CNBC’s “Cleveland Hustles” Bonin Bough, Head of North America Small Business for Mastercard Ginger Siegel and Northeast Small Business Divisional Executive for Bank of America Kevin Kelly. The judges will provide all finalists with individual consultation sessions and select one grand-prize winner who will receive $25,000 to pursue their business plan. Mastercard Grow Your Biz Final Event

Last year’s Grow Your Biz Contest focused on the Boston market where four finalists demonstrated great enthusiasm the desire to grow and grow smart. From Intriguing Hair’s beautifully styled hair, Birch Baby’s organic baby products, Paddy Wagon’s inflatable pubs, and the Grow Your Biz Contest winner More to Love’s inspiring mindfulness, each finalist showed their unique value and how they planned to take their business to the next level – all they needed was a jump start with the proper tools and resources.

Mastercard and Bank of America continue to make it a priority to deliver the right resources that help give small business owners the competitive advantage to grow smart and expand successfully, including small business rewards and benefits as seen through the recently introduced Bank of America Relationship Rewards.

* As sourced in the spring 2018 Bank of America Small Business Owner Report

About the Grow Your Biz Contest

**NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open to small business owners in the 50 US and DC, 18+. Ends 9/30/18. Restrictions apply. Click here for Official Rules.