Kavya Sriram

Hometown: Cary, NC
College/University Attending: The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Year In School When Selected: First Year
Program of Study: Major: Business and Information Science, Minor: Spanish

Background

I am a first-year at UNC Chapel Hill passionate about the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship, especially to support minority communities. I've been teaching ESL (English Second Language) to Hispanic communities in my area for over four years and I'm passionate about bridging the education gap in the area. At UNC, I'm involved in 180 Degrees Consulting, Students United for Immigrant Equality, and UNC Consulting Club.

Summary of New Ideas proposal:

My solution is the creation of a centralized, nationwide minority and immigrant-serving entrepreneurship collective, called Raices, which means Roots in Spanish.

The long-term goal of Raices is to plant deep roots of support that will sustain minority and immigrant entrepreneurs for future generations and inspire them to give back to their communities, thus furthering a positive cycle of using business to serve as a force for social good.

Raices supports immigrants via five pillars, in primarily rural areas:

Education

Assessments

Access to Capital

Mentorship

Youth

What does the New Ideas Competition mean to you?

The New Ideas competition was a way for me to showcase the struggles my community faced in accessing resources for entrepreneurship. It allowed me to highlight their stories and my hand in shaping them.

The positive and constructive feedback as well as opportunities for networking allowed me to refine my idea and consider the viability of developing it for my community.

Finally, hearing from other grand prize winners and speakers was inspirational in allowing me to consider ways I can incorporate other ideas into my proposal, and consider cross-community partnerships in the future.

Advice for new applicants:

I would recommend participants reflect on their personal experiences and challenges they’ve faced or witnessed in their community. This will strengthen the value of their proposal and allow them to weave in their personal story which is powerful in allowing the judges to understand why their proposal is meaningful.

In addition, I highly suggest participants research their proposals in-depth, and include data to back up their claims. Adding information on risks and mitigations as well as future growth will show judges you are forward-thinking and plan to engage with challenges of your proposal.