A lift that will last

Saidah Farrell stepped behind the podium and looked around at the entrepreneurs, guests and judges awaiting her presentation at the Kardiac Club at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Farrell is the founder of the Marshmallow of the Month Club, a unique taste experience that offers customers a subscription-based gift box service where they can receive or deliver monthly boxes of homemade artisan marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate sauces. She was representing one of seven small business services participating in the showcase, which allowed them to pitch their business to a panel of three judges — similar to ABC’s “Shark Tank” TV show — with the winner earning $10,000 for their business.

In a 15-minute presentation, all participants provided the judges with information about how their businesses have grown, challenges they face in their industries and stories about what drives them to become successful owners. The judges also asked them questions following their presentation.

“I was a little nervous before I got up there,” Farrell said. “For my numbers, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to present them, but when I got up there, I was like, ‘Have fun. You got this.'”

After deliberation from the judges — Vaughn Johnson, the Cuyahoga County Deputy Director for Economic Development, Tessa Jackson, the City of Cleveland Director of Economic Development and Peter John-Baptiste, Senior Vice President of Communications for the Browns — Farrell was announced the winner.

She held a smile on her face the rest of the night as she carried around her celebratory check and received congratulations from each of the other participants, who all also received $2,500 for their business and work in the JumpStart Small Business Impact Program.

“I’m stoked,” Farrell said with a laugh. “It’s a testament to not only just the 10-grand, but what I’ve done over the last 12 weeks.”

Each participant spent 12 weeks preparing through the JumpStart…