Entrepreneurs shine as Innovation Hub concludes inaugural accelerator program

Kevin Ricco, director of the Hub, said he and his team had been thinking about coordinating a program for the past several years. Thanks to the Small Business Support Hub grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Ricco and his team had the necessary funding to invite members to its initial cohort.

For its first cohort, the ElevateWest Accelerator program focused on minority and women-owned small businesses. Eighteen small business owners began the program in early September with 17 presenting their final pitches before an audience of more than 140 people.

"ElevateWest Accelerator walks entrepreneurs through various components of starting a small business - customer discovery, understanding finances, pricing, profit - all of those things are rolled into the curriculum."

Along the way, the entrepreneurs met with the mentors, heard from guest speakers and leaned on one another for support, Ricco said.

"They bonded together over the last three months, and they became really good friends who support one another," Ricco said. "You could feel that energy in the room.

"They created this network and bond that I think will just continue carrying forward. It was a very supportive atmosphere."

Other award recipients included:

• Second place: Marisol Garcia-Linstrom, MariSOL Solutions Co., $5,000
• Third place: Angelita Valdez, Las Amigas Tequila, $2,500
• Audience Choice: Venessa Johnson-Jenkins, Splendid Sprouts, $500
• City Choice: Nicole Love, Just Us Divine Health, $1,000

In a show of support for the event, Ricco said, the city of Muskegon offered a City Choice $1,000 prize to the small business located within a five-mile radius of the city.

"That was very supportive of the city for what we're doing and for the entrepreneurs in the city," Ricco said. "That was an important gesture from the city of Muskegon."