AUSTIN (KXAN) — At Wednesday’s Austin FC game, a woman-owned business scored big.
29Eleven the Salon, located in Round Rock, received $100,000. It won the 2024 Dream Starter Competition.
“We specialize in kinky, curly and coily hair. Educating people about how to take care of highly textured hair,” said salon owner Tiffany Wilson. “There’s not a lot of education in cosmetology school about how to take care of our hair, very little information.”
The competition is an opportunity for underrepresented entrepreneurs to get the funding to help them grow their business.
‘It is a ton of money’
Wilson said she’s outgrown her current location since opening five years ago.
She plans to expand, but it hasn’t been easy to find the money.
“Through the process of trying to receive funding as a Black-owned and woman-owned business has been such a humbling experience. A lot of people don’t realize it, but less than 1% of businesses that are black and woman-owned actually get funding.”
Tiffany Wilson, Owner of 29Eleven The Salon
That dream didn’t always feel possible until she found out she won the 2024 Dream Starter Competition.
“It is a ton of money. Trust me, I went into the ugly cry,” Wilson said.
She said the $100,000 will make a big dent in her expansion plans, but she’s raising almost $200,000 for the rest.
“We have a link to our crowdfunding campaign through IFundWomen,” Wilson said. “If someone wants to donate supplies, anything like that, they can absolutely do that.”
Wilson said she looks forward to using this money to continue her goals.
“It’s just been amazing to be able to pour back into that community that I love so much,” Wilson said.
‘It’s life changing’
Since the competition started in 2021, it has helped three other businesses. Changing Lanes CDL School is one of them.
“We have helped over 800 people get their CDL license and be a productive member of society and therefore change lanes in life from doing one thing to another,” said owner Delbert Crawford.
Crawford said his business transformed since winning two years ago.
“I was able to grow from four employees to now we have 13 employees,” Crawford said. “Able to get more trucks, fix the trucks that we had, able to move to a bigger place, able to reach more people.”
He described it as not just a dream starter, but a game changer.
“It’s life changing for some. I know it was for this business.”
Delbert Crawford, Owner of Changing Lanes CDL School
Source: ‘It’s life changing’: Austin FC competition helps underrepresented businesses
