Grind Pretty Fest returns to Atlanta as women entrepreneurs look for funding, community and career pivots

The women-centered festival will bring business panels, wellness conversations, $3,000 in grants and a Y2K-inspired performance from Nivea to Atlanta on June 6.

As women entrepreneurs, creatives, and media professionals navigate layoffs, AI disruption and a tighter funding landscape, Grind Pretty Fest is returning to Atlanta with programming focused on access, visibility, and career reinvention.

The women-centered business and culture festival, founded by media entrepreneur Mimi Johnson, will host its ATL Remix edition on Saturday, June 6, at Westside Cultural Arts Center. According to a press announcement shared with TheGrio, the one-day event will run from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET and include business panels, women-owned vendors, wellness programming, grant opportunities, networking, and live entertainment.

For many women, especially Black women building businesses or trying to pivot professionally, spaces like these can carry a different weight. Networking is not just about exchanging business cards. It can be the difference between finding funding, securing a collaborator, learning how to use new tools or simply being in a room where your ambition is understood.

This year’s festival arrives at a time when many professionals are trying to figure out what stability looks like in changing industries. The programming will include three panel conversations: “The AI Effect in Media,” “The Pressure to Perform,” and “Power of the Pivot.” The discussions are expected to bring together media executives, entrepreneurs, wellness leaders, athletes, and creatives to talk about the realities of building and sustaining careers across industries.

Through Grind For Good, the nonprofit arm of Grind Pretty, the festival will also award three $1,000 grants to women in business. The Corporate Grant is designed to support professional development, certifications or career advancement. The Idea Pitch Grant will support women in the early stages of building a business, while the Elevator Pitch Grant will support women working to scale an existing business.

Grant applications are open through May 30. Applicants must attend the festival and hold a valid ticket to be considered, according to the announcement.

While the grants are modest, the funding speaks to a larger issue facing many women-owned businesses: access to early capital, professional support and rooms where their ideas are taken seriously. For Black women entrepreneurs, those barriers are often compounded by limited access to investors, industry gatekeepers and the kind of networks that can help move a business from idea to sustainability.

The festival will also support an emergency relief initiative through Grind For Good for women in media and entertainment navigating layoffs and financial instability.

This year’s honorees include leaders across media, beauty, sports, and entrepreneurship, including Morgan DeBaun, founder and CEO of Blavity Inc. and AFROTECH; Jai Ferrell, CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta; Leticia Gardner, founder of Dynamic 3 Med Spa; Nivea, the Grammy-nominated R&B singer; Britni Ricard, founder and CEO of COTA SKIN; and Cicley Gay, CEO of The Amplifiers and founder of BLM Sports.

The entertainment portion of the festival will lean into early-2000s nostalgia, with Nivea scheduled to perform alongside Jazzy Tha Rapper and Pearl Jade. The DJ lineup will feature DJ Traci Steele, DJ Princess Cut, DJ Reese, and DJ Queen of Spades.

“Grind Pretty Fest is about creating real opportunities for women while celebrating the culture that connects us,” Johnson said in the announcement.

Founded by Johnson, Grind Pretty is a media and experiential brand centered on entrepreneurship, beauty, wellness, culture, and community. Its nonprofit arm, Grind For Good, focuses on supporting women entrepreneurs through grants, mentorship, education, and community support.

More information about the festival and grant applications is available at grindpretty.com.