NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Girl Starter
(the "Company"), a transmedia and technology company that provides
platforms to amplify girls in entrepreneurship and business
leadership, today announced its first reality-competition TV show
and unveiled the first phase of its digital site, GirlStarter.com
to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8.
At the center of the Company's efforts is the business-genre
reality-competition TV show, Girl Starter, which documents
eight girls ages 18-24 as they compete for seed-round funding. The
series follows six steps of early-phase business building, from
ideation through pitch, and features entertaining challenges,
vibrant guest stars and a grand prize of up to $100,000 of investment and services.
GirlStarter.com will complement the show with inspirational,
actionable content to help girls and young women build their own
businesses.
The Company has joined forces with Al Roker Entertainment as
their production partner for the series. "One of the most inspiring
things to watch is young people going after their dreams and
creating viable business ideas at a young age," said Al Roker, executive producer of Girl
Starter. The show will premiere on Discovery Networks' TLC on
Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. EDT. Re-broadcasts will subsequently air
on Discovery Family.
As a long-time supporter of entrepreneurship initiatives,
Staples, Inc. has signed on as the show's presenting sponsor.
"As the presenting sponsor of Girl Starter, Staples is
proud to help empower these young women to pursue excellence and
their dreams to be entrepreneurs. By following their experiences,
we hope to inspire viewers everywhere to unleash their own
potential," said Frank Bifulco,
chief marketing officer, Staples. "At Staples, we're united by our
passion to help all businesses succeed, from small start-ups to
larger mid-market and enterprise companies."
Julia Collins was the creator of
the Girl Starter concept in 2014 when she was just 16 years old.
After attending several conferences about gender inequity and women
in business, Julia felt that the key to initiating change and
increasing women's success was "to reach girls while they are
moldable." Hence, the idea for Girl Starter was born with the
conviction that becoming a boss should be as fun as being one.
Girl Starter was officially co-founded in 2015 by three
visionaries and accomplished leaders in business: Jeannine Shao Collins, former EVP of MORE
Magazine and Chief Innovation Officer of Meredith 360 and Julia's mother; Dani Davis, Emmy award-winning writer and
Tony-nominated Broadway producer; and Chris
Collins, former VP of Multimedia Sales at ESPN and The
Wall Street Journal.
"A Girl Starter is not only a girl who is striving to be
business leader and owner, but a Girl Starter is anyone who is for
the advancement of women and girls. This includes executives,
investors, bosses, moms, dads, sisters, brothers and friends –
women and men. Girl Starter believes in the spirit of inclusion and
fun, and we want to catch companies, investors, and people doing
the right thing for the next generation of women," said Co-founder
and CEO Jeannine Shao Collins.
"Girl Starter uses entertainment and social media to democratize
access, for young women everywhere, to the tools and mentorship
they need to make their own dreams come true. I can't wait for
people everywhere to meet the growing community of the amazing
girls of Girl Starter, and feel the fearless passion of our next
generation of business makers powered by this generation's most
successful business leaders," said Co-founder and Chief Creative
Officer, Dani Davis.
In preparation for Season 2, Girl Starter will conduct a
ten-city tour along the east coast in May and June of 2017 and
provide the opportunity to audition in person for the next
season.
Girl Starter is built on a sponsorship-based business model
integrating brands throughout the series, website and tour. In
addition to Staples, key sponsors are: Visa, Vera Bradley, Microsoft, Air Force, Pilot Pen
and Klarbrunn Sparkling Water. Joining Girl Starter in activating
around International Women's Day are sponsors Microsoft,
Vera Bradley, Visa and presenting
sponsor Staples.
For additional information, please visit GirlStarter.com. Check
your local listings for Girl Starter airdates and times.
Contacts:
Ed O'Donnell
ed@girlstarter.com
ABOUT GIRL STARTER
"We need to reach girls while they are moldable" - Julia Collins, Creator of Girl Starter at
16.
Girl Starter is a revolutionary trans-media entertainment and
technology company that activates, amplifies, mentors, and funds
the next generation of female business leaders.
The concept for Girl Starter came from the then 16 year old
daughter of two of the co-founders of Girl Starter, Jeannine and Chris Collins, Julia Collins. She saw the need for a greater
focus on showing younger girls that careers in business creation
are achievable stating "we need to reach girls while they are
moldable". Based on this tenet, Girl Starter was born with the
objective of creating new media and entertainment destinations with
inspirational, actionable content for young women. Dani Davis, Chief Creative Officer is the third
co-founder of the Company.
At Girl Starter, we give girls the tools, knowledge and
confidence they need to start their own businesses and become
leaders. We love to mix business with entertainment, and believe
that becoming a boss should be as fun as being one.
Girl Starter has three tent posts: a television show, digital
media, and a live tour. The television show will launch in
April 2017 on the TLC and Discovery
Family channels. On-going original digital and social content will
launch prior to the show and continue throughout the year. A
ten-market tour of the east coast will join these elements in
mid-May 2017.
ABOUT AL ROKER ENTERTAINMENT
Al Roker Entertainment is a leading producer of original,
award-winning TV programs and digital content. Led by
thirteen-time Emmy award winning TV personality and trusted
multi-media authority Al Roker, ARE
produces all forms of content for distribution across a variety of
platforms around the world, including: broadcast, cable, digital,
OTT, and streaming technologies.
Launched in 1994, ARE has produced a variety of breakthrough
unscripted, scripted and digital programming for top cable networks
which include The Weather Channel, Food Network, Discovery Channel
and Lifetime, among others. Shows include the Weather Channel
hit "Coast Guard Alaska" and its popular spin offs, "Coast Guard
Florida" and "Coast Guard: Cape Disappointment-Pacific
Northwest." Recently, the company also produced the
reality-based "DEA" program for Spike TV, "Kimberly's Simply
Southern" for GAC, "Celebrity Holiday Homes" for HGTV and digital
programs "The Graduates NYC" for Aspire.tv and "BizWireTV" in
partnership with Business Wire. Recently, Al Roker formed Roker Media to develop
programming for live streaming video platforms, and Roker Labs to
develop data and analytics for live streaming brands, programmers
and platforms.
ABOUT STAPLES, INC.
Staples helps small business customers make more happen by
providing a broad assortment of products, expanded business
services and easy ways to shop – in stores, online via mobile or
through social apps. Staples Business Advantage, the
business-to-business division, caters to mid-market, commercial and
enterprise-sized customers by offering a one-source solution for
the products and services they need, combined with best-in-class
customer service, competitive pricing and a state-of-the-art
ecommerce site. Headquartered outside of Boston, Staples, Inc. operates throughout
North and South America,
Asia, Australia and New
Zealand. More information about Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) is
available at www.staples.com.
ABOUT TLC
Offering remarkably relatable real-life stories without
judgment, TLC shares everyday heart, humor, hope, and human
connection with programming genres that include fascinating
families, heartwarming transformations, and life's milestone
moments. In 2016 to-date, TLC is the #10 ad-supported cable network
in delivery among women ages 25 to 54.
TLC is a global brand available in more than 91 million homes in
the US and 332 million households in 192 countries and
territories. A destination online, TLC.com offers in-depth
fan sites and exclusive original video content. Fans can also
interact with TLC through social media on Facebook, Instagram,
Pinterest and @TLC on Twitter as well as On Demand services,
YouTube and mobile platforms. TLC is part of Discovery
Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's #1 pay-TV
programmer reaching 3 billion cumulative viewers in 220 countries
and territories.
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SOURCE Girl Starter