Recent News
Oct. 30 2025
jordan Herbert Wins $10,000 Citizens Business Grant at Own Our Own Business Development Academy 2.0 Pitch Competition
DealMate Takes Top Prize at Graduation Event Celebrating Advanced Training for Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs
PITTSBURGH, PA – Jordan Herbert, founder of DealMate, was awarded a $10,000 business grant at the Own Our Own Business Development Academy 2.0 Pitch Competition on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at Bible Center Church, 717 N Homewood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208. Jordan Herbert competed against fellow Own Our Own alumni entrepreneurs, delivering a compelling four-minute pitch to an independent panel of business professionals, including representatives from Citizens.
The pitch competition marked the culmination of the Own Our Own Business Development Academy 2.0, an eight-week advanced training program designed specifically for alumni of the OOO Entrepreneurship Academy. Building on the foundational skills learned in the original Academy, the 2.0 program equipped graduates with next-level business leadership capabilities, including advanced marketing strategies, customer targeting techniques, financial planning, investor attraction methods, and operational stabilization resources.
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"Own Our Own Academy 2.0 has been extremely impactful to me as a business owner, giving me a deeper understanding of how to grow and scale DealMate. I enjoyed the fireside chats with successful entrepreneurs who gave insight into how they grew their businesses and pitfalls to avoid," said Herbert. He continued, “DealMate will use the $10,000 grant to complete the development of our beta app within 2 months and kick off the first phase of our go-to-market strategy, to help more homeowners sell easier and faster with zero fees.”
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Presented in partnership with Citizens as part of their Community Development Opportunity Fund program, Academy 2.0 prepared participating entrepreneurs to take their businesses to new heights. The competition showcased the remarkable growth and business acumen of Own Our Own alumni who have advanced from foundational entrepreneurship training to sophisticated business leadership.
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"We're thrilled to celebrate Jordan Herbert's success and the hard work of all our Academy 2.0 participants," said Steve Davis, Own Our Own Director. "This program represents our commitment to not just starting businesses but building lasting entrepreneurial success in our community. Jordan exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit and dedication that makes our community strong."
About DealMate
Founded by Jordan Herbert, DealMate is an innovative proptech platform designed to revolutionize the real estate market by empowering homeowners to sell their properties directly to buyers. The user-friendly, automated process eliminates the need for realtors, enabling quick and seamless transactions without fees or commissions for sellers. By streamlining the complex real estate process, the aim is to make property transactions as simple as a few clicks—transforming how homes are bought and sold. http://dealmate.network/
About Own Our Own Business Development
Own Our Own aims to help African American and other underestimated entrepreneurs grow successful businesses. Since 2019, over 160 aspiring entrepreneurs have graduated from the initial Entrepreneurship Academy. Recent expansion included opening the Business Development Center on N. Homewood Ave as a classroom, meeting space and shared workplace, and expanded learning opportunities with a one-day boot camp, a summer Junior Academy, and Academy 2.0. It is a program of The Oasis Project, Bible Center Church's community outreach and economic development division, dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and economic empowerment in the Pittsburgh community. visit www.biblecenterpgh.org or follow us on social media @bcpgh
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $222.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2025. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,100 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.