The Gray Matter Experience

The Gray Matter Experience 🧠💡Biz Bootcamps | Mentorship | Seed Funding for 14-24
📍Chicago
🎟️ Pitch Black 8/6 — tickets here ➡️ https://hopp.bio/graymatterexperience

We are catalysts connecting youth to entrepreneurial education, mentorship, and experiences that ignite ownership, unrealized possibilities, and lasting change. We don't just teach entrepreneurship; we invest in it and build mindsets around it. Through hands-on boot camps, internships, national partnerships, and pitch competitions, our programs give teens and young adults the skills, support, and

startup capital they need to succeed in business and life. Get involved today through volunteering, donating, or sharing our mission!

08/05/2026

This is it — the final week of . 🎉

This week, our Entrepreneurship track took a field trip to Ferrara's corporate office for an exclusive look inside the lab where candy gets developed and tested — sitting down with real food scientists to see how flavor, texture, and business come together.

We closed out the week the way it all began: sharpening resumes, polishing portfolios, and finalizing business plans for what's next.

Six weeks. Countless lessons. A whole lot of growth. Thank you to every student who showed up and put in the work this summer.

If you're a teenager with an idea and the drive to build it, keep an eye on our page — details on how to apply for our next program, IDEATE, are coming soon. 👀

08/04/2026

Meet the students taking the stage at Pitch Black 2026. 🎤

After 6 weeks of building, refining, and believing in their ideas, these are the entrepreneurs ready to leave it all on the stage August 6th.

🎙️ In-Person Pitches
Ethan J. — Curae AI
Kylah B. — KSquared Lemonade
Destin R. — LaFoi
Jasmine R. — Altr Coffee
Justin C. — Street Sight
Tochi E. — Sensra

The following six businesses are in consideration for our virtual pitch winner on Thursday — come see who’s the best of the best.

💻 Virtual Pitches
Elihu C. — EBot
Nadiya A. — N&A Vending
Breyanna H. — Beautified by Bre
Kendal E. — Echols Jewelry
Kaydence G. — Modestly Unorthodox
Samahir D. — Desi Eatzz
Register to attend — link in bio.

The panel doesn't stop at the room. 🖤 Meet the virtual judges for Pitch Black 2026.While our in-person panel weighs the ...
07/31/2026

The panel doesn't stop at the room. 🖤 Meet the virtual judges for Pitch Black 2026.

While our in-person panel weighs the live pitches, this crew brings the same rigor to our virtual founders — leaders across entrepreneurship, tech, community investment, and youth well-being:

▸ Hadassah Cross — Founder & CEO, BabelBridge
▸ Juatise Gathings — Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Just Act
▸ Paul Cavalieri — Director, Entrepreneurial Coaching & Engagement, Polsky Exchange
▸ Shonta Connolly — CEO & Executive Director, Mielle Cares

Being a young person's first investor means building the whole room — on stage and on screen — so every founder pitches to people who know how to back a real idea.

On August 6, they're all watching. Our founders are ready. Be there for it → RSVP at the link in bio.

🗓 Thursday, August 6 · 4:30–7:30 PM
📍 Builder's Vision · Green Street, Chicago

07/31/2026

Roll the tape. Every year, young founders from right here in Chicago step onto this stage and do the thing most people twice their age won’t: pitch a real business, out loud, for real money.

You’ve seen the nerves. The polish. The moment a teenager realizes the room is rooting for them. Now we run it back.

Real founders. Real businesses. Real funding. This is what happens when you invest in young people first and let them show you what they can build.

🗓 Thursday, August 6 · 4:30–7:30 PM
📍 Builder’s Vision · Green Street, Chicago

The seats go fast. Get yours → link in bio.

07/30/2026

Week 5 of is crunch time. 📝

Last week, our entrepreneurs hit a major checkpoint in their journey to Pitch Black: submitting their final pitch decks for consideration to pitch at the competition on August 6th. Safe to say the emotions are running high. 😮‍💨

Our students are developing pitches for AI-powered apps, accessibility tools, aluminum-free solutions for everyday problems, and more. These decks represent months of building, and what happens when their creativity and curiosity meet our access.

And this week, it all goes on paper (or, in our students' case, a Google Slides presentation). Next Friday can't come soon enough. 👀

07/29/2026

It’s the last week at their internship sites, and our interns are making it count. 🙌🏽

Heritage caught up with a few of them to chat about what they've learned:

Edwin's internship with has opened doors into design work — building sales sheets and getting hands-on exposure to the business and marketing side of running a company.

Jazil's time with reinforced a simple truth: working for your community together makes everyone stronger.

Christal is interning with Chef Constance of and where she's learned about meats during a farm visit. This is providing her with real experience toward her goal of one day opening her own restaurant to give back to the community.

There’s one week left before it's showtime! Catch up with our entrepreneurship track tomorrow, and get a behind-the-scenes look at what the week before Pitch Black looks like.

Meet our in-person and virtual judges for Pitch Black 2026! A panel of Chicago operators, investors, and ecosystem-build...
07/28/2026

Meet our in-person and virtual judges for Pitch Black 2026! A panel of Chicago operators, investors, and ecosystem-builders evaluating real businesses:

▸ Erin Guthrie — Managing Director, Exit Factor of Chicago Downtown
▸ Aida Morrow — Executive Director, Social Change Fund United
▸ Omowale Casselle — VP, XChange Program, SDI Presence
▸ Alonso Cisneros — Manager, Venture & Innovation Strategy, P33
▸ Brittany Wilson — Senior Manager, North America Social Impact, PepsiCo

This is what it means to be a young person's first investor: we don't just tell them they're capable, we put them in front of the people who move capital, open doors, and build what's next in this city.

On August 6, our founders pitch for real funding, in front of this room.

Come be part of it. → RSVP at the link in bio.

📍 Builder's Vision · Green Street, Chicago
🗓 Thursday, August 6 · 4:30–7:30 PM

10 years in the making 🤝🏽A look back at Pitch Black through the years — the students, the stages, the moments that prove...
07/27/2026

10 years in the making 🤝🏽

A look back at Pitch Black through the years — the students, the stages, the moments that prove what access can do.

From our earliest cohorts to now, Gray Matter’s stage has never stopped producing Chicago’s next generation of entrepreneurs. This year, we celebrate a decade of proof.

Join us for Pitch Black 2026 on August 6th. Register to attend — link in bio.

BuildABusiness

07/25/2026

💸💸💸💸 The first real paycheck hits different — and how you spend it says a lot.

We asked our ACCELERATE interns where their first check went. The answers ranged from practical to personal: stocks, business investments, brand photoshoots, and yes, some matchas along the way. Every intern got a different amount and made a different call — but each one is learning firsthand what it means to manage money like a founder, one decision at a time.

What did you spend your first paycheck on? Let us know below. 👇🏽

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Chicago, IL

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

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