Girl Starter, a Multi-platform Company, Announces its First Reality-Competition TV Show and Launches its Digital Site, GirlStarter.com

GirlStarter.com goes live for International Women’s Day on March 8

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#girlstarter–Girl Starter (the “Company”), a transmedia and technology company that
provides platforms to amplify girls in entrepreneurship and business
leadership, today announced its first reality-competition TV show and
unveiled the first phase of its digital site, GirlStarter.com
to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8.

At the center of the Company’s efforts is the business-genre
reality-competition TV show, Girl Starter, which documents eight
girls ages 18-24 as they compete for seed-round funding. The series
follows six steps of early-phase business building, from ideation
through pitch, and features entertaining challenges, vibrant guest stars
and a grand prize of up to $100,000 of investment and services.
GirlStarter.com will complement the show with inspirational, actionable
content to help girls and young women build their own businesses.

The Company has joined forces with Al Roker Entertainment as their
production partner for the series. “One of the most inspiring things to
watch is young people going after their dreams and creating viable
business ideas at a young age,” said Al Roker, executive producer of Girl
Starter. The show will premiere on Discovery Networks’ TLC on
Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. EDT. Re-broadcasts will subsequently air on
Discovery Family.

As a long-time supporter of entrepreneurship initiatives, Staples, Inc.
has signed on as the show’s presenting sponsor.

“As the presenting sponsor of Girl Starter, Staples is proud to
help empower these young women to pursue excellence and their dreams to
be entrepreneurs. By following their experiences, we hope to inspire
viewers everywhere to unleash their own potential,” said Frank Bifulco,
chief marketing officer, Staples. “At Staples, we’re united by our
passion to help all businesses succeed, from small start-ups to larger
mid-market and enterprise companies.”

Julia Collins was the creator of the Girl Starter concept in 2014 when
she was just 16 years old. After attending several conferences about
gender inequity and women in business, Julia felt that the key to
initiating change and increasing women’s success was “to reach girls
while they are moldable.” Hence, the idea for Girl Starter was born with
the conviction that becoming a boss should be as fun as being one.

Girl Starter was officially co-founded in 2015 by three visionaries and
accomplished leaders in business: Jeannine Shao Collins, former EVP of MORE
Magazine and Chief Innovation Officer of Meredith 360 and Julia’s
mother; Dani Davis, Emmy award-winning writer and Tony-nominated
Broadway producer; and Chris Collins, former VP of Multimedia Sales at
ESPN and The Wall Street Journal.

“A Girl Starter is not only a girl who is striving to be business leader
and owner, but a Girl Starter is anyone who is for the advancement of
women and girls. This includes executives, investors, bosses, moms,
dads, sisters, brothers and friends – women and men. Girl Starter
believes in the spirit of inclusion and fun, and we want to catch
companies, investors, and people doing the right thing for the next
generation of women,” said Co-founder and CEO Jeannine Shao Collins.

“Girl Starter uses entertainment and social media to democratize access,
for young women everywhere, to the tools and mentorship they need to
make their own dreams come true. I can’t wait for people everywhere to
meet the growing community of the amazing girls of Girl Starter, and
feel the fearless passion of our next generation of business makers
powered by this generation’s most successful business leaders,” said
Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Dani Davis.

In preparation for Season 2, Girl Starter will conduct a ten-city tour
along the east coast in May and June of 2017 and provide the opportunity
to audition in person for the next season. Girl Starter is built on a
sponsorship-based business model integrating brands throughout the
series, website and tour. In addition to Staples, key sponsors are:
Visa, Vera Bradley, Microsoft, Air Force, Pilot Pen and Klarbrunn
Sparkling Water. Joining Girl Starter in activating around International
Women’s Day are sponsors Microsoft, Vera Bradley, Visa and presenting
sponsor Staples.

For additional information, please visit GirlStarter.com.
Check your local listings for Girl Starter airdates and times.

ABOUT GIRL STARTER

“We need to reach girls while they are moldable” – Julia Collins,
Creator of Girl Starter at 16.

Girl Starter is a revolutionary trans-media entertainment and technology
company that activates, amplifies, mentors, and funds the next
generation of female business leaders.

The concept for Girl Starter came from the then 16 year old daughter of
two of the co-founders of Girl Starter, Jeannine and Chris Collins,
Julia Collins. She saw the need for a greater focus on showing younger
girls that careers in business creation are achievable stating “we need
to reach girls while they are moldable”. Based on this tenet, Girl
Starter was born with the objective of creating new media and
entertainment destinations with inspirational, actionable content for
young women. Dani Davis, Chief Creative Officer is the third co-founder
of the Company.

At Girl Starter, we give girls the tools, knowledge and confidence they
need to start their own businesses and become leaders. We love to mix
business with entertainment, and believe that becoming a boss should be
as fun as being one.

Girl Starter has three tent posts: a television show, digital media, and
a live tour. The television show will launch in April 2017 on the TLC
and Discovery Family channels. On-going original digital and social
content will launch prior to the show and continue throughout the year.
A ten-market tour of the east coast will join these elements in mid-May
2017.

ABOUT AL ROKER ENTERTAINMENT

Al Roker Entertainment is a leading producer of original, award-winning
TV programs and digital content. Led by thirteen-time Emmy award winning
TV personality and trusted multi-media authority Al Roker, ARE produces
all forms of content for distribution across a variety of platforms
around the world, including: broadcast, cable, digital, OTT, and
streaming technologies.

Launched in 1994, ARE has produced a variety of breakthrough unscripted,
scripted and digital programming for top cable networks which include
The Weather Channel, Food Network, Discovery Channel and Lifetime, among
others. Shows include the Weather Channel hit “Coast Guard Alaska” and
its popular spin offs, “Coast Guard Florida” and “Coast Guard: Cape
Disappointment-Pacific Northwest.” Recently, the company also produced
the reality-based “DEA” program for Spike TV, “Kimberly’s Simply
Southern” for GAC, “Celebrity Holiday Homes” for HGTV and digital
programs “The Graduates NYC” for Aspire.tv and “BizWireTV” in
partnership with Business Wire. Recently, Al Roker formed Roker Media to
develop programming for live streaming video platforms, and Roker Labs
to develop data and analytics for live streaming brands, programmers and
platforms.

ABOUT STAPLES, INC.

Staples helps small business customers make more happen by providing a
broad assortment of products, expanded business services and easy ways
to shop – in stores, online via mobile or through social apps. Staples
Business Advantage, the business-to-business division, caters to
mid-market, commercial and enterprise-sized customers by offering a
one-source solution for the products and services they need, combined
with best-in-class customer service, competitive pricing and a
state-of-the-art ecommerce site. Headquartered outside of Boston,
Staples, Inc. operates throughout North and South America, Asia,
Australia and New Zealand. More information about Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS)
is available at www.staples.com.

ABOUT TLC

Offering remarkably relatable real-life stories without judgment, TLC
shares everyday heart, humor, hope, and human connection with
programming genres that include fascinating families, heartwarming
transformations, and life’s milestone moments. In 2016 to-date, TLC is
the #10 ad-supported cable network in delivery among women ages 25 to 54.

TLC is a global brand available in more than 91million homes in the US
and 332 million households in 192 countries and territories. A
destination online, TLC.com
offers in-depth fan sites and exclusive original video content. Fans can
also interact with TLC through social media on Facebook, Instagram,
Pinterest and @TLC on Twitter as well as On Demand services, YouTube and
mobile platforms. TLC is part of Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:
DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching 3
billion cumulative viewers in 220 countries and territories.

Contacts

Girl Starter
Ed O’Donnell
ed@girlstarter.com