An Indigenous entrepreneur from Chilliwack is trying to win $25,000 to grow his boxing endeavour. Vincent Starr is through to the semi-final round of Pow Wow Pitch, a Dragon’s Den-style program that empowers and supports visionary business owners like Starr.
Starr is the founder and CEO of VStarr Boxing. What started as a small local operation providing one-on-one training has grown to include classes to all ages and experience levels, and Starr is at the point where he wants to offer open gym sessions. He submitted a one-minute video pitch to Pow Wow Pitch hoping to raise the funds needed to secure a permanent space for a boxing club, and was one of four semi-finalists selected in the Health and Wellness-Movement category. There were more than 2,000 Pow Wow Pitch applications, and Starr is one of 130 from various categories reaching this stage.
“I applied for the Pow Wow Pitch to overcome my fears and to change how I value what I have been gifted with,” said Starr, an Indigenous Education Assistant in the Chilliwack School District. “A need has been shown, and this opportunity will help keep the momentum going in order for that need to continue to be met and beyond.”
Starr said the experience has shown him he’s not alone in his business building venture, and he’s learned a lot from hearing the other contestants’ stories.
“It is so wonderful to see a large Indigenous community supporting each other while fostering healthy competition to keep the fires of inspiration and determination lit,” said Starr, who originally hails from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta.
As a semi-finalist, he will receive expert pitch training and one-to-one mentorship. He will pitch his business to a panel of judges sometime between Sept. 4-15. If he advances past the semi-finals he’ll pocket $1,000 and have a shot at the grand prize of $25,000.
“Being Indigenous, I did not grow up in my culture, but as I grew older I was able to make connections and one connection is that many Indigenous people were great boxers,” Starr said. “It is so humbling to be able to speak to that and create a business that honors this part of indigenous history. I am really honored and so happy to be a mentor and role model for a lot of the kids in the Indigenous community, and this program will allow me to make a larger impact on being a role model and creating role models.”
For more info on VStarr Boxing, email vstarrboxing@gmail.com or call 778-539-8054, look him up on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vstarrboxing/) or visit https://vstarrboxing.wixsite.com/vstarrboxing.
For info on Pow Wow Pitch, visit https://www.powwowpitch.org/
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