100Knoxville announces newest cohort members
100Knoxville is a program dedicated to helping Black-owned businesses in Knoxville grow by $10,000,000 in 5 years through the investment of time and talent, and access to social, political, and financial capital.
The Knoxville Entrepreneur Center is proud to announce the eighth cohort of 100Knoxville founders.
Five founders have been matched with an all-star team of mentors for a 5-week sprint that kicked off in January of 2023 to clarify strategy, make connections across the entrepreneurial community, improve operations, and, most importantly, increase sales.
100Knoxville is a program dedicated to helping Black-owned businesses in Knoxville grow by $10,000,000 in 5 years through the investment of time and talent, and access to social, political, and financial capital.
The five founders in cohort eight are:
- Ashley Burl started Checkmate Commercial Cleaning LLC with goals of providing the highest quality commercial cleaning service available by exceeding the expectations of its clients. Through continuous improvements to the company in quality, services, and productivity Checkmate Commercial Cleaning guarantees a “Game Changing Cleaning” every time.
- Candice Halbert founded Youth Outreach in Science Technology Engineering and Math, a nonprofit aimed to empower underserved students through hands-on STEM experiences. Candice is a scientific associate for the liquids reflectometer, a research instrument at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source facility.
- Zachary Robinson founded DOORS, a nonprofit aimed to mitigate college tuition, disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, and provide affordable lawn care for lower-income families. Robinson’s own experience of the criminal justice system and his pursuit of secondary education has created a passion for creating DOORS (Dreams of Oak Ridge Students) to serve the Oak Ridge Community and beyond.
- Jonathan Clark founded two businesses, Baked Good Bakery and Art Official Intelligence. Baked Good Bakery is a concept that came from Jonathan becoming a home baker with an insatiable curiosity for what it takes to make something “baked good.” Art Official Intelligence aims to be a new approach to the work of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion by redefining these terms and shifting the narratives we seek to address; adjusting the lens and focusing instead on the areas of Dissimilarity, (True) Equity, and Interculturality.
- John Jordan founded Ahieros, a company whose mission is to provide information technology solutions today to make the best tomorrow. Ahieros’s goal is to aid organizations in providing solutions for business integration to represent the alignment of their people, processing, and technology.
Each founder will also receive $5,000 towards growing their business thanks to partnering sponsor Schaad Family Offices.
To apply for the next cohort, or to support 100Knoxville, please visit 100Knoxville.com.
