Cathryn Coleman said she feels accomplished — and now seen — after winning the 2023 Comerica Hatch Off pitch competition Wednesday night.

Coleman, who won a $100,000 grant, is the founder and owner of Bouncing Around The Motor City, which is a balloon and decor store, event planning and party rental business. She celebrated her win while wearing a bright pink jumpsuit with sparkles and balloon patches, along with a pair of glasses that read “Cake Time” just above the eyes.

After her win at the Wayne State University Industry Innovation Center, she said she was ready to go to Home Depot to make some purchases, call someone to do her epoxy floor and order a DreamBox storage cabinet — something that has been on her vision board for 11 years.

“I'm just really happy that the community came through and supported me,” Coleman said. “And programs like this are vital because it gives us all the playing field. There is no way in the world I could have came up with $100,000, and I'm just being realistic because it's always something coming up. It's always a business expense.”

Coleman had strong competition from three other businesses for a chance to win the Comerica grant. Those businesses include Next Chapter Books, a new and used bookstore on Detroit’s east side; Konjo Me, a restaurant that specializes in Ethiopian cuisine; and Sepia Coffee Project, a roastery and cafe in Highland Park. Over 23,000 people participated in voting for the final four businesses.

“All four of them are very unique contestants, so it speaks to what Detroit is looking for,” said Linda Nosegbe, national community impact manager at Comerica Bank. She said Detroit has been seeking individualism in small businesses.

Coleman said this funding will help her cross the finish line of fulfilling her dream. Her business is located at 13238 Fenkell Ave. in Detroit's Bethune Community. Without having time to create a big social media following, Coleman said that she felt alone and left behind being in the area. But now, she feels acknowledged as a neighborhood business owner, and her entrepreneurship pride trails back to her father taking her to small businesses as a child.

“That's why in my pitch, I talked about how 70 cents of every dollar remains in the community,” Coleman said. “And small businesses are half of the economy. That shows how important they are. But to be the domino effect of Fenkell, to have this kind of publicity and this kind of exposure — I’m gonna get me some neighbors.”

Hatch Detroit was once its own organization until it became a part of TechTown, a Detroit-based entrepreneurship hub for small businesses and startups. Last year, Comerica Bank doubled the competition’s original prize fund and Little Liberia, an afro-fusion pop-up restaurant, took the $100,000 win. This year, the competition also received support from EY, Accenture and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

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All of the participating businesses receive some sort of win from the competition. The businesses will get paired with a coach for six months. They will also get a package from Accenture, legal services, financial support and access to contractors, said Ned Staebler, president and CEO of TechTown.

“A big part of what we're doing is supporting those underrepresented groups through incredible organizations like TechTown,” said Omar Salah, executive vice president and director of small business banking at Comerica Bank. “Those organizations and those groups — they need our help, they need our support, they need banks, they need financial services, they need the community to step up.”

As for Coleman, she also has plans to give back.

"I would like to reach back and help some people because it's other people that want to win and stuff, too," she said, "but they might not have the confidence or the knowledge. And I want to be that.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bouncing Around The Motor City wins Comerica Hatch Off competition