Future business owners gather at “The Co” for pitch night

JACKSON, Tenn —  Emerging business owners gather at “The Co” Tuesday night to showcase their work. It is part of a program aimed at encouraging up-and-coming companies to thrive in west Tennessee.

Leaders with “The Co” have taken several entrepreneurs under their wing as part of their “Co-starters” program. Tuesday night the future business owners presented their ideas, taking another step to make their dream a reality.

Building a business may not be easy, but it certainly helps to have a team behind you rooting for your success.

“Pitch night is basically the culmination of our co-starters program,” said executive director of The Co, Lisa Garne. “Co-starters is a nine week program that’s kind of a business boot camp for people that are starting businesses.”

The Co-starters program teaches future business owners everything they need to know about the industry. “From pricing, to business structure, to marketing, who’s your customer all those things it kind of walks them through that process,” Garner said.

Several entrepreneurs showcased their work to guests and presented pitches to a panel of local business owners. One of the rising business owners, Forda Bond, pitched her women’s clothing boutique, “Runway 007.”

“All women, all ages because fashion is my passion and I believe women that’s a creative way for them to express themselves is through fashion,” entrepreneur, Ford Bond said.

Panelists gave feedback to those presenting their ideas, as well as offered advice. Bond said the resources and networking tools has been an invaluable asset towards creating her company.

“From the lawyers they brought in, the CPA’s, people that will truly give you the insight on what to do when starting your business so that you won’t make mistakes,” Bond said.

Leaders with “The Co” say the program is making west Tennessee more profitable.

“Some of them it’s going to be their full time business so it’s job creation, it’s helping our economy here in west Tennessee,” Garner said. “Some of them are doing it as a side hustle so it’s basically creating income from a hobby something that they love doing.”

“The Co” says although it was the finale of the Co-starters program, they will still stay connected with the entrepreneurs to see how they and their businesses are doing.

“The Co” does the program twice a year. If you are creating a business, you’ll have another opportunity to join the program this spring.