Brooklyn Public Library’s 20th annual PowerUP! business plan competition has awarded the 2023 top prize of $20,000 to Noel Gaskin, Jovon Browne, and Cheryl Culpepper for Hemp Thyself, a licensed CBD health and skin company.
PowerUP! first began in 2003, to provide businesses a helping hand after 9/11. Since then, the PowerUP! contest has provided over $600,000 to over 200 entrepreneurs across the borough.
“For 20 years, Brooklyn Public Library’s PowerUP! contest has served as the foundation for Brooklyn’s innovators and entrepreneurs. From Brighton Beach to Bed-Stuy, you can see the positive economic impact of PowerUP! businesses in every neighborhood in the borough,” said Linda E. Johnson, president and CEO, Brooklyn Public Library. “We extend our gratitude to Dime Community Bank for their support and a hearty congratulations to the 2023 winners.”
Hemp Thyself joins a long list of beloved Brooklyn businesses that got their start with PowerUP! including the first-ever winners, George Constantinou and Farid Ali, who launched Bogota Latin Bistro, after winning the first contest in 2003. Twenty years later, the restaurant is a Park Slope favorite and Ali and Constantinou have opened three additional restaurants.
“Winning the PowerUP! contest back in 2003 was very instrumental in validating our business idea and the main catalyst that pushed us forward in opening up Bogota Latin Bistro 19 years ago,” said Constantinou. “Since then, we have opened up three more restaurants between Park Slope, Brooklyn and South Orange, New Jersey. Currently we have 155+ employees and are in construction to open up two more businesses (one in Park Slope and one in South Orange) in 2024. Thank you to the PowerUP! team for creating this contest and for your constant support throughout the years.”
In 2008, Jessica Stockton Bagnulo opened Greenlight Bookstore, a now beloved shop in Fort Greene.
Soon after winning the contest in 2015 Khalid Hamid and Shelly Marshall, opened an ice cream shop featuring the flavors of Trinidad and the Caribbean. They ship their delicious treats nationwide, but New Yorkers can visit their shop in Crown Heights. Their popular favors have even caught the attention of the New York Times and the Today show.
A select list of shops, restaurants and businesses owned and operated by PowerUP winners and perfect for holiday gifts is below.
Bogota Latin Bistro
141 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Greenlight Bookstore
686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn 11217
Island Pops
680 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11216
Green in BKLYN
432 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Argyle Yarn Shop
288 Prospect West, Brooklyn NY 11215
TerrArt
Union Square Holiday Market, New York 10003
Shipwrecked
621 Court Street, Brooklyn NY 11213
Brooklyn Tea
411 Lewis Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11233
Hudson Yards Holiday Market through 1/1/2024
The World is Change Book Shop
368 Tompkins Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11216
Archestratus Books and Foods
164 Huron Street, Brooklyn 11222
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