GROW Spotlight: Peter James, Owner, Rubber City Gardens
The GROW program at Bounce supports both aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs as they bring their ideas to life. The program focuses on minorities and women. Keeping a community garden running requires effort, time and reliable volunteers. After Peter James failed to organize his own, he was inspired to start Rubber City Gardens, an urban-focused and community-driven agricultural cooperative. Its […]
Kurvology Owner Shares Advice For Black Women Entrepreneurs
The GROW program at Bounce supports both aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs as they bring their ideas to life. The program focuses on minorities and women. Monique Clark wears many hats. In addition to her full-time community health worker position at Minority Behavioral Health Center, she owns her own clothing boutique Kurvology, which focuses on serving curvier women. She’s […]
Five Pieces of Advice for Aspiring Black Entrepreneurs
It should not be a surprise to anyone that Black citizens in the United States have faced barriers to success for generations. As a Black business owner, who has also worked more than 20 years in the local nonprofit sector advising and helping other Black business owners, I know about having to overcome systemic racism […]
2021 Year in Review – GROW
2021 was an exciting year for our GROW programs as we served 91 clients. GROW aims to serve entrepreneurs and small businesses, with a focus on minorities and women, in our local region. Last year, we were able to get back to some normalcy by hosting in-person classes, and we could not be more grateful […]
MORTAR winner wants to help single moms
(Don’t miss our full photo gallery below! Credit: Meghan Meeker) On November 30, eight entrepreneurs walked the stage at Bounce to graduate from our 15-week MORTAR at Bounce business accelerator program. Five of the grads also competed in the Life’s a Pitch! competition for $3,000. Helping Single Moms Markia Sims, owner and founder of Zoe […]
Local Podcasting Network Provides Outlet for Akron’s Black Voices
Podcasting has become one of the most popular ways for individuals to share their passions. Whether discussing relationships, politics, sports or music, podcasting is everywhere. Currently, there are over two million podcasts and more than 48 million podcast episodes. This growing medium inspired Ace Epps, director of inclusive entrepreneurship at Bounce Innovation Hub, to develop […]
MORTAR Pitch Winner is Maker of Artisanal Treats
On Aug. 3, seven entrepreneurs from MORTAR at Bounce cohort 4 graduated and competed in the Life’s a Pitch competition for $3,000. Everyone truly raised the bar and delivered incredible pitches. In the end, congratulations goes to Jacqueline Achadu from Hunny Bunnys Confections. Congratulations are also in order for Lori Julien of Marigold Sol who […]
GROW Spotlight: LaQuata Williams, Owner, White Glove Cleaning
LaQuata Williams tapped into the invaluable resources at Bounce Innovation Hub when she was starting her business—White Glove Cleaning Solutions, LLC, that provides residential and commercial cleaning and sanitary services. Now White Glove is part of the Next Level Incubator for established small businesses, part of the GROW program at Bounce. The company is also […]
GROW Spotlight: Scott Roger, owner, Picked Proteins
Scott Roger had an idea for a plant-based food company; as a vegan, he understood the struggle to find delicious, natural and fulfilling meat substitutes that weren’t overly processed. His wife, Meghan, suggested he check out Bounce’s Aspiring Entrepreneur program and from that, Picked Proteins was born. Scott says the AE program was instrumental in […]
GROW Spotlight: Billy Taylor, CEO, LinkedXL
Billy Taylor, CEO of LinkedXL has found at Bounce much more than a space to rent an office and conference rooms. LinkedXL is involved with two programs at Bounce – the GROW Next Level Incubator and the Software Accelerator. At Bounce, Billy has discovered a network of people and resources to help him with fundamental […]