On Dec. 12, more than 75 people gathered to celebrate Akron’s newest entrepreneurs, while honoring some of Akron’s finest at the inaugural Aspiring Entrepreneur Program Graduation Night.
The Aspiring Entrepreneur program is a 10-week program that focuses on learning. Participants leave with a validated business idea, an action plan and an entrepreneurial mindset that they can use to start or maintain a business. Bounce ran two AE cohorts concurrently, one with 16 participants that took place at Bounce and one with 10 students at Barberton High School.
The event also honored four minority-owned small businesses – 2 Live Music, 7th Floor Clothing, Urban Ounce of Prevention and Clarktel.
Keynote speaker for the night was Cecil West, founder and creative director of Go West Video Production. The 16 Bounce graduates in alphabetical order are:
Tiffany Adjei
Lauren Baker
Gabrielle Barnes
Ann Davis
Jason Dzik
Jasmin Evans
Nathan Hawk
Sharetta Howze
Latif Hughes
Julie Katz
Alicia Lee
Clarice Rigby
Andrew Roberts
Heidi Shaffer-Triola
Jennifer Tidwell
Sha’Heen Williams
