Venus Williams is paying it forward through her new collaboration with Amazon Launchpad aimed at helping small businesses grow.
On Thursday, Williams took to Instagram to share that she is teaming up with Amazon Launchpad to help kick off Innovation Month. The collaboration offers increased visibility to products from up-and-coming business owners.
“I’m so excited to be teaming up with @amazonlaunchpad to kick off Innovation Month!,” Williams said in a lengthy caption explaining the collaboration.
“#AmazonLaunchpad provides expertise and support for small, new brands, entrepreneurs, and startups to help them overcome many of the challenges associated with launching new products,” she added.
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She explained how Amazon has been awarding small businesses innovation grants of up to $10,000 to help entrepreneurs get their companies off the ground. Now, buyers can shop products from the grant recipients and vote for their favorite brands. The winning company will receive $100,000 in prizes from Amazon Launchpad to scale its business further.
“As a business owner myself, I’m a big fan of Amazon Launchpad’s mission to provide expertise and support for small brands, entrepreneurs, and startups,” Williams told E! News.
“Business owners face many obstacles when starting from the ground up. I’m so excited to team up with Amazon Launchpad because of the amazing support the program provides through its resources and guidance to lead small businesses to success,” she added.
Buyers can also get their hands on some innovative prizes by casting their votes. It’s also not a requirement for a participant to purchase a product to cast their votes.
“Customers can shop all of the great products from the monthly grant winners and vote for your favorite brand for Innovator of the Year! The winning brand will be awarded up to $100,000 in prizes from Amazon Launchpad, and casting a vote enters you for a chance to win one of three product packages from our innovators, worth up to $500 each,” Williams explained.
Williams and Amazon Launchpad’s mission is to “provide expertise and support for small brands, entrepreneurs, and startups to help them overcome many of the challenges associated with launching new products.”
With August being Innovation Month and Black Business Month, the initiative is a great way to support new business owners working to help add to the struggling economy.