Kamoy Gordon, a winner of Pitch Deck and founder of KaDon Music Enterprise Limited, is on a mission to transform the music education scene in Jamaica and nurture future musicians.

The 25-year-old violinist and business owner is alive with passion about all things music and has captured the heartstrings of many Jamaicans with his tunes. Now he is on a mission to share his knowledge and skills with other budding musicians, through his company, KaDon Music Enterprise Limited.

While in an interview with Our Today, the musical expert and entrepreneur shared that he recently won the Pitch Deck competition, an initiative by Paul Simpson, CEO of Cornerstone Group, and #SOTR, a financial wellness platform founded by Simon Johnson.

The competition was designed to connect entrepreneurs that require burden-free funding and business advisory support with those that can provide funding, support, and networking opportunities needed to accelerate growth.

“I decided to enter because of the grant fund. There were no ties in terms of having to give away equity or anything of the sort, so it was grant funding for capacity building to help expand. My business is at the stage right now where we are growing and I definitely needed funding for some of the projects we have coming up. So it was the perfect opportunity for not just the money, but the connections that would be built in that period, the networking as well as marketing opportunities,” he shared.

Gordon, along with the four other competitors chosen, received US$20,000 in funding. Additionally, they will receive support from Jamaican artiste Wayne Mitchell in marketing and the opportunity to conduct market research through Bluedot. Each winner will also gain access to Paul Simpson’s pool of expertise, which will take the form of business mentorship advisory sessions.

The 25-year-old entrepreneur was the youngest to win the competition, beating 65 other businesses who applied.

He shared that he will use the funding to explore and expand instrumental training to fill the need for such an institution in Jamaica. 

Kadon Music Academy is a music school that offers face-to-face and online lessons for piano, drum set, guitar, bass, voice, violin, viola, cello, flute, saxophone, trumpet, and music theory. The Academy has 13 instructors providing lessons for children five years and older. The school takes a student-centered approach and aims to deliver world-class music instruction. 

“Jamaicans, for the most part, are naturally talented, and the reality is we should have gotten to that point where we have investments needed to continue the growth and to sustain the music industry,” he told Our Today.

“We are known for our music, but the reality is, as a country, we haven’t made the necessary investments in music education. Music attracts millions of tourists each year, I don’t see any other product like our music that attracts people, but yet still we don’t have enough activities. We haven’t made the necessary investments in infrastructure and education to continue to train our musicians, singers, and producers in their specific areas,” added Gordon.

As a graduate of the Edna Manley College, Gordon holds a bachelor in Music Education.

The entrepreneur told Our Today that it was while studying at the institution that he fostered the idea to open a music academy.

“While in my first year, I looked at Jamaica, where we are heading. I looked at the market, and I looked at how people are being trained…Not enough investment was being made in that market and in that space as it relates to music education. Most teachers tend to be pushed towards the traditional areas, and I saw it as an opportunity to make a tremendous impact in Jamaica”

Gordon also shared that his focus for the business is digital expansion, so he can reach students across the island, region, and internationally.

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