Kristian Francis has always had a passion for anything business related.
As a high-schooler, she would attend summer accounting camps, which furthered her interest in the field. Ultimately, her path would lead her to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore where she is not only pursuing a major in business administration but is also a member of the campus chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants.
So, when the opportunity to put her business acumen to the test by participating in the HBCU-Start Competition arose, the junior from Frederick, Md., jumped at that chance.
That initiative would ultimately pay off as she and her team placed first in the residential program for aspiring entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups sponsored by the University of Miami Herbert Business School.
Francis attributed finding out about the competition to her professor, Dr. Leesa Thomas-Banks, who is also the chair of the Department of Business Management and Accounting.
“She sent me the opportunity, and so when I saw it, I was immediately intrigued by the opportunity,’” Francis said. “So, I applied for it not knowing whether I would be accepted because it seemed like it was a prestigious program. Luckily, I was accepted.”
Francis said the program, which took place over six days in early January, was set up in a boot camp format that included seminars from speakers in the fields of accounting, law, and other disciplines, culminating with the pitching of individual business plan projects, before ultimately teaming up with other members of the cohort to pitch a developed business plan.
The winning pitch that she was a part of was the idea for a “beauty vending machine” stocked with grooming essentials for women that would be distributed across all 106 HBCUs nationwide.
“There are beauty stores within proximity of different HBCU campuses, but a lot of them don’t have a reasonable price, and it lacks accessibility as well,” Francis said. “Also, a lot of incoming freshmen are not allowed to have vehicles on campus, so it was just a great segue for us to figure out what people need and that’s kind of how we determined what exactly we were going to pitch.”
Francis said the decision to go with the winning idea instead of possibly going with something else showed how important finding the most successful pitch was.
“I didn’t come in there wanting to overly do my idea,” she said. “When you get into a program like that, you have to be realistic about it. You can’t let your ego get in the way. I was in there to leave out of there with something.”
As a result, Francis was able to earn a share of the $5,000 prize with her teammates.
In addition to bringing home first place, Francis added that the experience awakened something dormant since her days of being a high school student.
“It was really a transformative experience,” she said. “I haven’t networked in a while so it just helped me get back out of my shell and really put myself out there.
“It also helps you figure out how to conduct yourself in a professional setting. So, regardless of what your major is, it would be helpful no matter what.”
