RALEIGH, N.C. (May 16, 2024) – Wake Tech celebrated small business owners and budding entrepreneurs who are realizing their dreams of running a small business.
Wake Tech’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business hosted the Main Street Entrepreneurship Accelerator (MSEA) Pitch Competition. Four student entrepreneurs presented their business ideas to a panel of judges, and four LaunchWakeCounty graduates presented their plans to expand their businesses. All participants won, students received grants and business owners took home cash.
Wake Tech student and 2023 Wake Tech Idol winner Quinton Crossen Taylor wins $35,000 grant for Taylor Music Academy in Zebulon, where he teaches music and performance to children did. He plans to use the funds to purchase musical instruments and provide scholarships. Taylor, who won a small grant last year after taking Wake Tech’s Music Business for Entrepreneurs course, says his music education business is doing well.
“A new student approached me on my way here today,” he said. “We are so excited to expand Taylor Music Academy to more kids!”
Three other students, Travis Brockton, Faryal Ahmed and Nakiyah Carter, also received grant funding.
Four LaunchWake County winners received grant funding, including Arianna Nestor of Remedy Cocktail Company in Holly Springs, who plans to use her $35,000 award to grow her business, which features handcrafted, all-natural cocktail bitters.
The pitch competition is the culmination of the Main Street Entrepreneurs Accelerator (MSEA) program, an innovative initiative that helps emerging entrepreneurs accelerate their businesses. Participants complete a series of small business training sessions on a variety of topics and receive coaching and mentorship to hone their business skills.
“Wake Tech offers great educational programs, and MSEA is next level,” said Chris Weeks, senior director of entrepreneurship at Wake Tech. “We want to help entrepreneurs develop the confidence and abilities they need to develop successful businesses, which benefits the entire community.”
The MSEA program is open to student entrepreneurs from Wake Tech, Shaw University and St. Augustine University, as well as eligible small business owners in the region. It was made possible through a personal donation from Mike Conlon, founder and CEO of Affordable Communities Group LLC, and a grant from Wells Fargo. Conlon, who is also a former chairman of the Wake Tech Foundation Board of Directors, recently gifted the university its largest individual gift ever. Wake Tech’s future home in Apex will be named Wake Tech Conlon Western Campus. Conlon has committed more than $1 million to support Wake Tech’s small business programs and entrepreneurship, and was honored to name Conlon Hall at the Scott Northern Wake Campus.
The event also included the second annual Bizzy Awards, honoring up-and-coming entrepreneurs who have completed Wake Tech’s Entrepreneurship for Skilled Trades and Professionals (ESTP) course and LaunchWakeCounty program.
Taylor Music Academy was named Rookie Business of the Year; LaunchKnightdale won Cohort of the Year.
The ESTP course teaches early stage entrepreneurs how to launch their businesses. LaunchWakeCounty supports and develops entrepreneurs and small businesses in under-resourced communities across the county. To date, LaunchWakeCounty has impacted 2,000 small businesses.
