What is CO.STARTERS?
CO.STARTERS is a 9 week program that equips aspiring entrepreneurs with the insights, relationships and tools needed to turn their business ideas into action. Unlike traditional platforms, it applies the lean business model methods popular with high-growth startups to businesses of all kinds. We recently completed our 9 week Spring session with a “Celebration Night.” There, the program participants shared their stories and pitched their businesses. Read on for thoughts from a few of the CO.STARTERS grads on how the program helped them.
Molly Plyler, Marketing Educator and Organizer of Liberty’s DECA store: “I was really excited to be a part of CO.STARTERS because I teach marketing and entrepreneurship classes at Liberty Technology Magnet School here in Jackson. It was a great way to meet local businesses and learn from them as well as get material I could integrate into my classes. This is an amazing program that helps you systematically think through how to set up your business. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who needs help starting their own business.”
Morris Abernathy, Co-owner of Victory Vapor North: “I think the networking with other business owners was the most valuable aspect of CO.STARTERS. Listening to everyone’s challenges, workflow, cash flow, how to handle taxes, and how to handle legal matters was very helpful. The most important thing I gained was the plug-in to the community and finding out that lots of other people are in your same spot as a new business person.”
Lee Wilson, Co-founder of Jackson Escape Rooms: “Truthfully the benefits of CO.STARTERS are too numerous to express. I could highlight any number of things that CO.STARTERS has made it possible for myself and Jackson Escape Rooms. On the top of that list is the paradigm shift that CO.STARTERS brought about in how I think about marketing my business. Jackson Escape Rooms is an innovative form of entertainment & team building that a lot of people are not familiar with yet. So it’s tempting to try to define what an escape room is when we actually need to be engaging customers with the benefits of the unique experiences we offer. The second thing that I would mention is that, as an accidental entrepreneur, CO.STARTERS went a long way to provide me with a foundation in the basics of business with an emphasis in doing business, not just knowing business theory. Anybody who is beginning a business or considering beginning a business is a fool if they don’t participate in the program. Pass up the opportunity to be a part of CO.STARTERS and you could be passing up the skills you need to hit the ground running as a successful and profitable business.”
Check out the list below for all the participants of the Spring 2015 CO.STARTERS session.
- Molly Plyler | TechDECA
- Paul Smoke | mclaneguitars
- Luke Pruett/Anthony Kirk | Our Jackson Home
- Charles Harvey | Alba Coffee
- Carrie Ann Knox
- Morris and Sandy Abernathy | Victory Vapor North
- Lee Wilson | Jackson Escape Rooms
- Jesse Hornbeak/Jacob Vandiver | Dwell AV
- Matt Atobell | Downtown Jackson
- Kevin Adelsberger | Adelsberger Marketing
Samantha Curry is an intern, writer, editor, designer and author of this piece..