Usher’s New Look
Usher's New Look is a US national nonprofit, founded in 1999, that prepares underserved youth (ages 14-25) for careers in the entertainment trades through a four-stage pathway of access, training, paid experience, and innovation, delivered via Spark Lab Studios co-located in Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlanta and Detroit.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersAtlanta, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Usher’s New Look does
Usher's New Look (UNL), legally Usher's New Look, Inc., is a US-based national nonprofit founded in 1999 by Usher Raymond IV, Jonetta Patton, and Shawn H. Wilson. The organization operates as a workforce-development platform serving underserved youth (ages 14-25) seeking careers in the entertainment trades, structured around a four-stage Pathway Model that moves participants from Access (early exposure and career discovery) through Training (cohort-based skill building), Experience (paid internships and real production work), to Innovation (capstone projects, credentials, and access to capital). Direct beneficiaries include 3,000+ participants annually across more than 20 career pathways spanning production, creative, business, and technology roles.
The core technical and program assets are the Spark Lab Studios — physical practice environments located inside partner Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlanta (Joseph B. Whitehead) and Detroit (Michigan Central, opened February 2026) — equipped with podcast and music studios, content-creation tooling, CGI and Unreal Engine training setups, a virtual production studio, drone training spaces, a special effects and prosthetic lab, and a hair and creative styling studio. Sub-programs include Spark Club for ages 14-17, the cohort-based Entertainment Industry Club (EIC) for ages 18+, and the EIC R&B Live Touring Internship that embeds a paid cohort of 10 interns across Tour Production, Multimedia, and Wardrobe tracks on Usher's 2026 R&B stadium tour. UNL also offers AI-literacy coursework through an IBM SkillsBuild integration.
The revenue model is philanthropic rather than transactional. Funding flows from individual donations (routed through GiveLively), corporate partnerships and foundation grants (Sean Anderson Foundation, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, Apple, Bank of America, StockX, Live Nation Entertainment, IBM), and an employer-engagement pipeline that monetizes talent access via paid internship stipends and co-located programming. Go-to-market is partnership-driven and community-led: programs are delivered exclusively through co-located Boys & Girls Club facilities in the two flagship cities, with a stated national scaling ambition to 500 Boys & Girls Clubs. Marketing relies on earned media (BET, Variety, Billboard, AP, Black Enterprise), broadcast appearances (Good Morning America), event-driven activations (Detroit hub opening, R&B Tour program), and segmented CTAs on the UNL website targeting students, employers, funders, and mentors separately.
Usher’s New Look firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Usher’s New Look
- Legal name
- Usher's New Look, Inc.
- Website
- https://ushersnewlook.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Usher's New Look is a US national nonprofit, founded in 1999, that prepares underserved youth (ages 14-25) for careers in the entertainment trades through a four-stage pathway of access, training, paid experience, and innovation, delivered via Spark Lab Studios co-located in Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlanta and Detroit.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Usher’s New Look industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Workforce Development
- NAICS
- Performing Arts Companies (7111), Fine Arts Schools (61161), Public Relations Agencies (541820)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Event Strategy & Experience Design (BPAFAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration) (EDAAAGAA), Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA)
Keywords
Where Usher’s New Look is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Atlanta
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Usher’s New Look business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Individual donations: Public-facing donation page ('Donate Today') routed through GiveLively to Usher's New Look, Inc. general donation fund.
- Corporate partnerships and philanthropic grants: Funding from corporate and foundation partners including the Sean Anderson Foundation, Ilitch Sports & Entertainment, Emory's Goizueta Business School, Apple, Bank of America, StockX, and Live Nation Entertainment.
- Corporate partnership and employer engagement: Formal corporate partnership program and employer-intern pipeline, including paid industry internship stipends embedded in the R&B Tour.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | EIC Live Touring Internship — paid position |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Usher’s New Look product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Usher's New Look (UNL) is a national nonprofit that delivers structured youth workforce development through a four-stage Pathway Model (Access, Training, Experience, Innovation) focused on careers in the entertainment trades. It operates physical Spark Lab Studios inside Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlanta and Detroit, runs age-segmented cohort programs (Spark Club for ages 14-17 and Entertainment Industry Club for ages 18-25), and embeds paid interns directly on live entertainment productions such as Usher's 2026 R&B Tour.
Product overview
Usher's New Look (UNL) operates a unified, platform-plus-programs architecture built around its four-stage Pathway Model (Access → Training → Experience → Innovation). The core platform framework, branded as New Look Career Academies, anchors the system and connects Spark Lab Studios (the physical practice environments in Atlanta and Detroit), the early-exposure Spark Club (ages 14–17), the cohort-based Entertainment Industry Club or EIC (ages 18+), and the EIC R&B Live Touring Internship — a paid, tour-embedded internship offered in Tour Production, Multimedia, and Wardrobe tracks. Together these named programs move participants from career discovery through hands-on training, paid real-world production experience, and capstone/credentialed career advancement across the entertainment trades.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Spark Lab Studios: Physical practice environments operating inside partner Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlanta and Detroit, where participants test ideas, build skills, and engage with real entertainment-industry ecosystems.
- New Look Career Academies
- Entertainment Industry Club (EIC)
- Spark Club
Products and services
- UNL Pathway Model
- Spark Lab Studios
- Spark Club
- Entertainment Industry Club (EIC)
- EIC R&B Live Touring Internship
- New Look Career Academies
- Detroit Entertainment Innovation Incubator
Quantifiable outcome
- 50,000+ young people served worldwide since 1999
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Usher’s New Look
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Usher’s New Look technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature4 records
Usher’s New Look partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America / Boys & Girls Club of Greater Detroit / Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro AtlantaflagshipFoundational operational partnership co-locating Spark Lab Studios inside Boys & Girls Club facilities in Atlanta (Joseph B. Whitehead) and Detroit (Michigan Central). Model is designed to scale Career Academies to 500 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide. Partnership also delivers the EIC Live Touring Internship.
- Ilitch Sports + EntertainmentcoreIndustry partner for the Michigan Central Boys & Girls Club innovation hub and the Detroit Spark Lab Studio. Featured on the UNL 'Trusted by industry' partner logos on the homepage.
- Emory University Goizueta Business SchoolcoreNamed industry/academic partner on the Michigan Central Boys & Girls Club venture. UNL board member Jaclyn Conner, EdD serves as Associate Dean of Executive MBA at Goizueta, embedding executive-education expertise into UNL programming.
- ApplecoreListed industry partner supporting the Michigan Central Boys & Girls Club innovation hub programming for youth ages 14-24.
- StockXcoreListed industry partner supporting the Michigan Central Boys & Girls Club innovation hub programming for Detroit youth.
- Live Nation EntertainmentflagshipFeatured 'Trusted by industry' partner on UNL homepage. Live Nation Entertainment is a leading live-event and touring company, directly relevant to UNL's Entertainment Industry Club Live Touring Internship on the R&B Tour.
- IBMflagshipFeatured 'Trusted by industry' partner on UNL homepage. Powers the IBM SkillsBuild integration providing over 1,000 courses on AI fundamentals, ethics, machine learning, and more to UNL youth.
- The Chamber GroupcoreFeatured 'Trusted by industry' partner on UNL homepage; The Chamber Group is a creative and production-services agency relevant to UNL's production and creative tracks.
- Laffitte Management GroupcoreFeatured 'Trusted by industry' partner on UNL homepage; Laffitte Management Group is a talent-management firm relevant to UNL's artist-management and entertainment-business exposure.
- CG ProcoreFeatured 'Trusted by industry' partner on UNL homepage; CG Pro is a CGI and creative-technology training platform that aligns with UNL's creative-technology focus area (Unreal Engine, CGI, digital production).
- PacsunminorRetail partner for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Detroit Fashion Industry Club's collaborative collection 'Built for Change' releasing fall 2026 with designer Langston Howard / LRH Made.
- Maison BlackminorCo-mentorship partner with the Boys and Girls Club for a program that gave fashion-industry youth like Langston Howard the opportunity to present at the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy Show during New York Fashion Week 2023.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Usher’s New Look competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ghetto Film School: Nonprofit providing film and media-industry training and career pathways to underserved high-school and college-age youth; comparable mission of building entertainment-industry pipelines for the same demographic UNL targets.
- Bottom Line: Nonprofit focused on college completion and career access for first-generation students from low-income backgrounds; shares UNL's college-to-career pipeline philosophy and employer-engagement model.
- Per Scholas: Nonprofit providing tuition-free tech training and career placement to underserved adults; comparable cohort-based training model, employer-pipeline orientation, and outcome-focused nonprofit structure serving a similar demographic.
- Year Up: Workforce-development nonprofit serving young adults from underserved communities with employer-aligned training and paid internships; shares UNL's emphasis on cohort-based training, employer partnerships, and credentialed career outcomes.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth-development network that is UNL's flagship distribution partner; both serve school-age youth with workforce, education, and life-skill programming through shared physical club infrastructure, making them directly comparable operating platforms.
- The Door: NYC-based youth-development nonprofit providing education, career training, and supportive services to young people ages 12–24; shares UNL's integrated model combining skill training, employer connection, and supportive services for underserved youth.
- NPower: Nonprofit delivering tech workforce training and job placement for underserved young adults and veterans; directly comparable model of free cohort training, employer partnerships, and credentialing for economic mobility.
Broad incumbents
- United Negro College Fund (UNCF): Large-scale education and workforce nonprofit serving the same demographic demographic (Black/African-American youth) with scholarship, training, and career-pathway programming; broader scope and longer operating history than UNL.
- Full Sail University: For-profit entertainment and media college with degrees in film, music production, and creative technologies; comparable curriculum in CGI, Unreal Engine, and digital production that align with UNL's Spark Lab Studios content.
- Berklee College of Music: Major for-profit music and entertainment-industry higher-education institution offering credentialed career pathways in production, creative, and business roles that directly overlap with UNL's entertainment-trades focus, though at a much larger scale and tuition-based model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Usher’s New Look social profiles
Digital presenceUsher’s New Look financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Usher’s New Look leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Usher’s New Look funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Usher’s New Look M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Usher’s New Look
What does Usher’s New Look do?
Usher's New Look (UNL) is a national nonprofit that delivers structured youth workforce development through a four-stage Pathway Model (Access, Training, Experience, Innovation) focused on careers in the entertainment trades. It operates physical Spark Lab Studios inside Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlanta and Detroit, runs age-segmented cohort programs (Spark Club for ages 14-17 and Entertainment Industry Club for ages 18-25), and embeds paid interns directly on live entertainment productions such as Usher's 2026 R&B Tour.
Is Usher’s New Look a public or private company?
Usher’s New Look is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Usher’s New Look founded?
Usher’s New Look was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Usher’s New Look based?
Usher’s New Look is headquartered in Atlanta, United States, in the North America region.
How does Usher’s New Look make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual donations are the primary driver. The others are corporate partnerships and philanthropic grants and corporate partnership and employer engagement.
Who are Usher’s New Look's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ghetto Film School, Bottom Line, Per Scholas, Year Up, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, The Door and NPower. Broad incumbents are United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Full Sail University and Berklee College of Music.
Does Usher’s New Look have an API?
No public API is recorded for Usher’s New Look.
What industry is Usher’s New Look in?
Usher’s New Look's product category is Youth Workforce Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAGAA, Event Strategy & Experience Design, with a secondary code of EDAAAGAA, Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration). Its NAICS code is 7111 and its SIC code is 7311.