The General Awards $25,000 NAACP Powershift Entrepreneur Grant as Part of Second Annual Black Entrepreneurs Day Event

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 14, amid Black Entrepreneurs Day celebrations and speakers,  The General® Insurance awarded its second annual $25,000 NAACP Powershift Entrepreneur Grant to rising Black entrepreneur Phil Terrill, CEO and founder of Minnesota-based company SoleSafe, a company dedicated to providing quality insurance for shoes.

This grant was awarded in partnership with the NAACP and was announced during the live-streamed Black Entrepreneurs Day event, curated by Daymond John. In addition to the monetary grant, Terrill will also receive professional one-on-one mentoring sessions with Shaquille O'Neal and Elicia Azali, enterprise chief marketing officer at American Family Insurance, parent company of The General.

"It's been our honor to support Black Entrepreneurs Day and the NAACP Powershift Entrepreneur Grant again this year," said Azali. "The mission to support Black entrepreneurs is something The General believes in wholeheartedly — and Phil Terrill and his company SoleSafe are the embodiment of an outstanding and rising Black entrepreneur and company in not only the Black community, but in the insurance space as well. Our hope is that this grant and education helps Phil reach not only his goals, but those of SoleSafe, and empowers him to be the extraordinary entrepreneur he is."

A true entrepreneur, Terrill continues to think outside of the box and is capitalizing on the massive trend of people spending money on shoes now more than ever, especially those that are innovative or one-of-a-kind sneakers. Coined as "the first sneaker insurance for the culture," SoleSafe prides itself on being real-time, dynamic insurance coverage built by sneakerheads for sneakerheads to protect their soles. To further that, the primary sneaker market is worth $24B today with an ever-expanding resale market growing rapidly year over year. With Terrill's invention of SoleSafe, customers are able to feel safe when it comes to purchasing expensive and rare kicks.

"I am honored and beyond grateful to The General and the NAACP for selecting me and SoleSafe as a 2021 grant recipient," said Terrill. "I have a vision for SoleSafe and what it will end up being and this grant and the kindness of all involved is guaranteed to catapult me and my brand beyond what I could have ever imagined."

Terrill will be able to use his $25,000 grant and mentorship sessions from The General to improve the company's operations and ensure that SoleSafe becomes the best sneaker insurance brand to insure remarkable sneakers and collections.

"We believe in SoleSafe and that Phil will move mountains," said Azali. "And the team at The General is excited to be a part of Phil and SoleSafe's story."

In addition to presenting Terrill with the NAACP Powershift Entrepreneur Grant and mentorship sessions, Azali also participated in the first ever Black LeadHERship - A Black Women's Roundtable presented by The General in honor of National Women's Small Business Month. The roundtable discussion featured Azali alongside other business leaders from the American Family Insurance Enterprise —Telisa Yancy, President, American Family Direct; Sherina Smith, Vice President, Head of Marketing, American Family Insurance; and, Lauren Powell, Corporate legal Vice President, American Family Insurance — discussing their own career journeys while offering advice to other Black women looking to form their own entrepreneurial paths.

As a further extension of this event, The General also engaged its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) partners — Morehouse College and Tennessee State University — by awarding six Black business students and student entrepreneurs with one-on-one mentoring sessions with Shaquille O'Neal and Elicia Azali, along with a Surface Laptop Pro, a signed book from Daymond John and more. Since 2020, The General has partnered with HBCUs to support their students and graduates by offering career development and employment opportunities. This opportunity equips these six students with resources and tools to take the next step in their entrepreneurial careers and continues to demonstrate The General's commitment to supporting their customers when they need it the most.

The free virtual event brought in over 6 million viewers across 20+ social platforms, including Facebook Watch, LiveXLive, YouTube and Twitch. To learn more about The General, visit www.thegeneral.com.

About The General Insurance
The General Automobile Insurance Services, Inc. (The General®) is a licensed insurance agency and subsidiary of PGC Holdings Corp. (PGC), which is wholly owned by American Family Mutual Insurance Company. Through its insurance company subsidiaries and their predecessors, PGC has been writing automobile insurance since 1963, serving customers who may find it difficult to obtain insurance from other carriers at a reasonable rate. Visit www.thegeneral.com or follow The General on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Media Contacts: Megan Snodsmith, [email protected]

SOURCE The General® Insurance