The winner for the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic Startup Pitch Competition has been announced.



As previously reported by AfroTech, MaC Venture Capital and Concrete Rose Capital made a grand return for Michael B. Jordan’s HBCU college basketball showcase.

For the second annual startup pitch competition, the opportunity was opened to all Black founders and not limited to HBCU-bred founders.

On Feb. 4, Healthy Hip Hop — founded by Roy Scott — was named the winner of this year’s competition during halftime of the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic Basketball Showcase Finals.

Healthy Hip Hop is an app that empowers the next generation of students through the influential music genre and innovative technology.

With diverse characters at the forefront, there are livestream performances, and engaging activities provided for classrooms with the goal of getting kids’ bodies dancing while they learn.

After deliberating among the pitch competition’s four finalists, the significance and timeliness of Healthy Hip Hop’s mission ultimately led it to receive this year’s crown.

“There were a lot of things the group liked about Healthy Hip Hop. First of all, some of the VC participants have kids and so a culture-driven product for kids that is both entertaining and educational was something we’d want to use as consumers,” Michael Palank, General Partner at MaC Venture Capital shared exclusively with AfroTech. “2023 will also mark the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop so we felt this was a good time for a company called Healthy Hip Hop to start to scale. At the end of the day, building any kind of product for kids [and by association, their parents] is hard. You have to create a safe environment with kid-friendly content. There are all kinds of necessary barriers to selling advertising on products that are made for kids, and most kids aged 5-10 do not have their own phones so you first have to sell to their parents. Growth can be hard.”

“But Healthy Hip Hop is already being used by schools and parents alike,” he continued. “Roy Scott, the Founder and CEO, is a Hip-Hop artist who wanted to positively influence his kids. When he realized that his own rap lyrics that his own kids were quoting were about violence, drugs, and disrespecting other people, he knew he needed to find another path. We love his story and think his DNA as a Hip-Hop artist will serve the company well.”

Following Scott’s win in the competition, the hope is for Healthy Hip Hop to scale and change the lives of children through the power of Hip-Hop since music is one of the best teachers.

“Hip-Hop culture is a global culture, and as we all know, it’s one of the most influential cultures in the world – all races, genders, and ages are influenced by Hip-Hop,” Palank said. “By getting Healthy Hip Hop’s content into more schools and homes, we can leverage the cultural influence of Hip-Hop combined with positive messaging and elements of education to really change how young people perceive themselves and others in the world. Healthy Hip Hop wants to meet kids (and their parents) where they are with content that is engaging and fun for them. They want to encourage the building of healthy life habits through the lens of Hip-Hop.”

Healthy Hip Hop will receive support in the form of dedicated advice and mentorship from Jordan, MaC Venture Capital, Invesco, and Concrete Rose Capital to achieve their business objectives and guarantee their sustained success.

To learn more about Healthy Hip Hop, click here.