CO.STARTERS Pitch Night!
From the start, theCO has been committed to helping entrepreneurs in West Tennessee, and CO.STARTERS is one of the programs we use to support them. It’s a nine-week program that equips aspiring entrepreneurs with the insights, relationships, and tools needed to turn their business ideas into action. The 2020 CO.STARTERS class is coming to a close, and that means one thing: Pitch Night! If turning ideas into action are interests of yours, find a seat at Pitch Night at theCO on Tuesday, March 24 at 6:30pm! To learn more about CO.STARTERS, click here.
CO:STARTERS Spotlight: Lynne Hair Care
Patricia Santos knows all too well how frustrating it can be to spend money trying multiple hair care products only to come up short-handed. It wasn’t long after her son was diagnosed with eczema that she realized her options were slim and reading the labels only made things more difficult.
A CO:made Christmas
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… just kidding we aren’t going to sing to you! What we are going to do is share 12 CO.STARTERS graduates who have both essential and offbeat items for you and yours this Christmas. Shop small and support starters this holiday season.
CO.STARTERS Spotlight: Will Lovelady
Will Lovelady was at a conference last fall in Philadelphia when he rubbed shoulders with a professor from his undergrad years. Since this was Lovelady’s first time at a conference like this one, he was feeling a little out of his comfort zone and asked the professor what he normally does when he travels for conferences. And that is how Lovelady ended up at a cigar bar in downtown Philadelphia, talking with a man he had known from years previous.
CO.STARTERS Spotlight: Seth Nelson
Most early teenagers are starting high school and spending their free time hanging out with friends, but at the young age of fourteen, Seth Nelson was busy starting a business. Nelson’s homegrown business, The Farmer’s Perk Organic Coffee Co., started from scratch with only $400 and a kid’s entrepreneurial spirit. He bought fold-out tables and air pots and began showing up every Saturday morning at the farmers’ market to serve Jacksonians coffee while they browsed the produce.
CO.STARTERS Grad Spotlight: Kristi Woody
Like many of her friends, Kristi Woody grew up watching Disney movies (her favorite is The Great Mouse Detective). But she didn’t really fall in love with Disney until she visited Walt Disney World with her husband on their honeymoon.
“I had gone to Disneyland a few times growing up,” she said. “And I liked it; we had a lot of fun there. But then my husband and I went to Disney World in Florida for the first time together, and we’ve just kept going back more times every year. It’s just kind of like our thing together.”
Woody, a professional photographer, started a Disney-focused Instagram account to share photos from her trips to the parks.
CO.STARTERS Spotlight: Megan Peden Pottery
Tell me a bit about your business.
I make and sell mostly handmade functional work, like cups, mugs, bowls, plates. I make to order, I try to encourage people to give me commissions for dinnerware sets for friends who are getting married and stuff like that, but most of my sales come from the pottery sales at Union and art fairs. Since graduating from Union, I’ve been trying to grow the business and hopefully get it big enough to where I can eventually do that as my career.
CO.STARTERS Grad Spotlight: Visionary Media
CO.STARTERS graduate Karen Hester talks about her virtual tours and live streaming business, Visionary Media, as well as her experience in CO.STARTERS.