Girl Starter, New Reality-Competition TV Show, Premieres Tonight on TLC

NEW YORK, April 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Girl Starter (the "Company"), a transmedia company that provides platforms to activate girls in entrepreneurship and business leadership, debuts its first reality TV show, Girl Starter, tonight. The show, which will air Fridays on TLC at 7 p.m. EDT, follows eight young entrepreneurial women competing for $100,000 of seed funding and services to help transform their business concept from an idea to a reality.

The contestants, who hail from Columbus to Los Angeles and a diverse variety of backgrounds, share a common drive and passion for business that has led them to risk it all for the chance to start their own. Girl Starter is designed to guide them through the six steps of early-phase business building: start it, plan it, prove it, build it, brand it and fund it. At each step, the contestants will participate in new challenges designed to test their entrepreneurial acumen, created by a slew of mentors, investors, business leaders and celebrities who appear on the show.

"The Girl Starter TV series is a new way to mix business with entertainment to inspire young women and their families nationwide, empowering them to become the next generation of business leaders," says the Company's co-founder and CEO Jeannine Shao Collins. "We are committed to providing all girls the tools, knowledge and confidence they need to achieve their professional dreams."

Al Roker Entertainment served as the series' production partner and Al Roker as executive producer. "What's so special about this show is that it's entertaining and fun but, most importantly, it's packed with takeaways on leadership development," says Roker.

Staples, Inc., a longtime supporter of small business initiatives, is Girl Starter's presenting sponsor. "At the very core of Staples is the entrepreneurial spirit that helped found our company 30 years ago. This show perfectly aligns with those values," says Frank Bifulco, chief marketing officer of Staples. "Girl Starter provides young women and girls with opportunities to succeed and thrive as the type of leaders that continue to inspire our organization."

In addition to Staples, key sponsors include Visa, Vera Bradley, Microsoft, U.S. Air Force, Pilot Pen, AT&T and Klarbrunn Sparkling Water.

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

ABOUT GIRL STARTER
Girl Starter is a revolutionary transmedia entertainment and technology company that activates, amplifies, mentors, and funds the next generation of female business leaders and innovators. Anchored by a reality television series premiering on TLC on April 28, 2017, and airing Friday nights, Girl Starter will reach young women everywhere with actionable content via social media, our digital platform, GirlStarter.com, and a 10-city live tour traveling the U.S. this spring.

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 2017 to-date, TLC ranks as the #7 ad-supported cable network in Prime among W25-54.

TLC is a global brand available in more than 89 million homes in the US and 332 million households around the world.  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:
Ed O'Donnell 
ed@girlstarter.com

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SOURCE Girl Starter