COVID-19 disrupted society in unprecedented ways. For women in particular, the economic fallout has been enormous. The truth is in the numbers: conservatively, women across the globe suffered losses of over $800 billion in income due to the pandemic.
The sobering result? The existing gender and racial equity gap widens that much more.
In light of this mind-boggling problem, Brit Morin, founder and CEO of Brit + Co, wanted to be an active part of the solution. Enter Selfmade, a newly minted accelerator program inspired by the pandemic and carefully designed to breathe new life, revenues, purpose and opportunities for women through the world of entrepreneurship.
Unique, practical and inspiring, Selfmade is a 10-week virtual startup school sponsored by Office Depot OfficeMax. It is hosted by Brit and fierce female leaders, including Gwyneth Paltrow (Founder, goop), Bozoma Saint John (CMO, Netflix), Rebecca Minkoff (Fashion Designer), Jennifer Hyman (founder, Rent The Runway), and more. Students in Selfmade work in collaboration with icons, seasoned business coaches, and expert mentors to individualize their process, answer questions, and offer that extra push forward.
The overwhelming success of the experience is translating into the evolution of Selfmade, as we are developing an always-on, subscription-based custom community. As we continue to usher thousands of women into entrepreneurship, Selfmade is the premiere destination for female founders to claim their seats at the table.
In 2021, Brit + Co teamed up with Selfmade’s founding partner, Office Depot OfficeMax, to sponsor scholarships for 600 female entrepreneurs (a $1,200,000 value) with a passion to start or grow their business through the Selfmade course.
The collaboration between Brit + Co and Office Depot OfficeMax was born out of a mutual passion to help business owners thrive beyond they knew what was possible. In addition to covering the fees of the course, the scholarship included:
Highly-curated Office Depot OfficeMax welcome kits and giveaway series filled with products and business service offers that helped students lay the groundwork for their endeavors.
Sponsored content rooted in business pain points, integrated with Office Depot OfficeMax solutions.
Dynamic Office Depot OfficeMax promotions for all Brit + Co readers with a passion to become Selfmade.
Designated online portal filled with custom offers, including printing services, organization supplies and services, furniture and tech solutions.
A comprehensive workbook and starter guide to becoming Selfmade, available for pickup at Office Depot OfficeMax or downloaded online.
Selfmade Class Integration, an in-depth study on Go To Market strategies, led by Office Depot’s OfficeMax's VP of Marketing Wesley Brinkhurst.
A fast-paced pitch competition featuring standout students who competed for thousands of dollars in cash grants and prizes to propel their businesses forward.
A social-first UGC survey series to audit sentiments around entrepreneurship.
Snappy social video vignettes featured on @officedepot & @britandco highlighting scholars and their businesses in action, artfully showcasing the real-life impact of the partnership, curriculum and community.
Selfmade and Office Depot made major headlines in 2021, with placements across 120+ outlets including in The NY Times, LA Times, Bloomberg TV, and Forbes , for its innovative program & custom collaboration that exceeded all performance benchmarks including:
146M+ impressions generated from earned & paid media.
Sponsored content garnered 3.5 million views; 2x the benchmark.
98% of students rated the course GOOD or GREAT in a follow-up survey to Selfmade participants.
1.3K aspiring small business owners applied to the Selfmade program in 2021.
600 female entrepreneurs were awarded a full scholarship to the Selfmade program.
Digiday winner for the best custom advertising.
Beyond the numbers, the greatest impact was hearing directly from the scholarship recipients who took the course and shared video testimonials showcasing how life-changing this program and the scholarship from Office Depot was in helping entrepreneurs start and grow the business of their dreams.
