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May 25, 2023 | Tom Ballard

Sky City Entrepreneur Center celebrating latest cohort to complete CO.STARTERS program

The three-month program helps participants develop and fine-tune their business ideas, determining next steps through real-time feedback from people in the community.

Blount County’s Sky City Entrepreneur Center is celebrating the graduation of the third cohort for its CO.STARTERS program which helps current and potential business owners create a solid business plan.

Over a three-month period, participants enter into a facilitator-led, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of 10-15 like-minded peers. In the case of the current cohort, it was a dozen individuals. Over 10 sessions, the participants develop and fine-tune their ideas using the CO.STARTERS Canvas, critically examining every part and determining the next steps through real-time feedback from people in the community. Participants leave the program with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable venture, articulate their models, and repeat the process with the next great idea.

One of the participants was Sara Garnett, Owner of Raised Valley Ranch. She captured one of the two Audience Choice Awards in Sky City’s mid-February “Launchpad Pitch Event.” We subsequently spotlighted her entrepreneurial journey and Garnett’s focus on equine therapy in this recent teknovation.biz article.

Others who completed the third cohort were:

Sky City posted a video featuring many of the participants describing their experience. You can watch it hereThe Daily Times, which covers Blount County, also spotlighted the program in a full-page article that was published earlier this week. The link is here although you might need a subscription.



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