The sound of business pitches emanated from The Rave/Eagles Club Ballroom as 15 Milwaukee business owners participated in the Rev-Up MKE business competition on Monday. The entrepreneurs competed for the opportunity to open a rent-free pop-up storefront at Concordia 27, $5,000 and business support through the Near West Side Partners.

Attendees visit contestant booths during Rev-Up MKE at The Rave/Eagles Club.Finalists in the Rev-Up competition hosted booths to explain their business ideas and interact with the judges.
Eliana Gonzalez, 3, eats a popsicle by Pete’s Pops, the winner of the inaugural Rev-Up MKE competition in 2016.
Tolu Ojesina, owner of Moda Headwraps, puts a headwrap on TrueMan McGee, host of Rev-Up MKE.
Brittany Thomas, owner of Faraja Company, celebrates after winning the Jones Family Foundation Emerging Venture Award presented to her by Sydney and Donovan Jonez.
Art Tours MKE took home the runner-up prize during Rev-Up MKE.
The Booth MKE won the grand prize at Rev-Up MKE business competition for their business that provides a 3D photo booth experience at events. They won $5,000 and a retail space for six months.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a photojournalist as well as a Report for America corps member and Catchlight Local fellow. Before coming to Milwaukee, he spent two years as a photographer at one of America’s oldest daily newspapers, The Blade, in Toledo, Ohio. Aguilar grew up in the Chicago suburbs. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from DePaul University and his master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism.