Rising Star Entrepreneur Secures Funding
Nyla Choates, a junior at the prestigious Spelman College, has claimed the first-place prize of $7,000 in Amazon’s “Black is Entrepreneurial Pitch Competition.”
The young visionary impressed the judges with her pitch for her brand, ‘My Roots Are Rich,’ a children’s brand dedicated to empowering, inspiring, and educating about the rich history of African American contributions to America.
Expanding Horizons Beyond Books and Apparel
With the newly acquired funding, Choates plans to expand her brand beyond its current offerings of children’s books and apparel.
The ambitious entrepreneur aims to introduce toys, dolls, backpacks, and potentially even an animated television show.
“We’ll also be able to have toys and dolls and backpacks to come,” Choates expressed her excitement to Rolling Out. “The sky is definitely the limit.”
Addressing a Need for Positive Representation
Choates’s motivation for establishing ‘My Roots Are Rich’ stems from her own childhood experiences of being “the only little Black girl in the classroom” and the lack of positive representation in educational materials.
Recalling the negative images she encountered, Choates shared, “What truly affected me was when I’d open the textbooks, and I would only be seeing negative images.”
A Mission to Inspire and Empower
The young entrepreneur’s mission is to provide children with positive representation and to instill a sense of pride in their African American heritage.
Through her brand, Choates aims “to be able to not only give children the positive representation they deserve in the books that they read but also in the clothes that they wear and the toys that they play with.”
Garnering Attention and Recognition
Choates’s remarkable achievements have caught the attention of various notable figures, including celebrities like Alicia Keys, Kevin Hart, and Thasunda Brown Duckett.
Her brand has been featured in prestigious publications like Black Enterprise, and she has been recognized by organizations like the Milpitas Unified School District for her contributions.
Planting Seeds of Inspiration
Choosing Spelman College for her higher education, Choates sought “a space surrounded by Black women and Black excellence.”
With her ‘My Roots Are Rich’ brand, she hopes to inspire Black boys and girls “to start planting the seeds they want to see grow now.”
‘My Roots Are Rich’ products are available for purchase online, offering families a chance to embrace and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.
