Last week, we were able to present a check to Start:ME for $6,500 during our virtual EvMBA Class of 2020 Graduation Celebration. With the funds raised, 13 grants will be presented to Atlanta small businesses to assist in alleviating some of the pressures brought on by COVID-19.

A big thank you to the entire Evening Class of 2020 that rose to the occasion during the last moments of our MBA experience to support these ventures in the community we call home!

To show our appreciation and gratitude, you will be amongst the hundreds of other graduating student donors across Emory to receive a commemorative Blue Tassel right to your door. We hope that this keepsake will serve as a reminder of the lasting impact student donors, like yourself, make on Emory.

We’d also like to take this time to thank our friends, family, and colleagues for helping us reach way past the finish line! You have been our support systems throughout this experience and for that, we are truly grateful.

We encourage you to continue to follow along the Start: ME program journey. You will find many examples of small businesses who have adapted to their current circumstances, like that of Moisture Love, a true testament to the creativity and resiliency these ventures embody.

Thank you again for joining us in supporting the Start:ME business owners and those they employ – helping them remain resilient today and tomorrow!

-Adriana Douglas, 2020 EvMBA Class Gift Chair

As our class prepares to have graduation celebrations over the coming days, the Start:ME spring class also celebrated their achievements this past week.

The program’s class of 49 promising small businesses took to Zoom to celebrate each other, listen to speeches (including one from Dean Erika James), and hear about the grant investment award winners selected from the graduating ventures.

The attendees shared laughs, tears, and much joy as the group became alumni of Emory’s competitive accelerator program.

With our class gift campaign nearing its end, we are so proud of the funds we have raised to date to support this wonderful group of individuals.

Please share our campaign with your networks, as there is still time to make last minute contributions. Every gift helps in the mission to build resilience for these micro-entrepreneurs.

-Adriana Douglas, 2020 EvMBA Class Gift Chair

We’re coming down to the final days of our class fundraising campaign with one week to go! We are so grateful for everyone who has shown support to help Start:ME small businesses to date. Thank you!

This week, we engaged with our very own Goizueta Business School faculty, who jumped at the opportunity to support us in this important mission. This comes as no surprise since they have been there for us from Day 0. Their example has even shown many of us how to convert our own living and dining rooms into live classrooms for our children and ourselves as we’ve practiced social distancing. 

From all of us in the Evening Class of 2020, thank you so much to our professors for being our guiding lights through the twists and turns of our b-school experience! 

Please continue to share our class gift campaign with your networks and encourage classmates to give. Participation is important. Let’s finish this campaign out strong!

-Evening MBA Class of 2020

Wow, with 21 days left to go, we have surpassed our fundraising goal of $3,500! Thank you for supporting Start:ME and the 200+ small businesses proudly served. The more we raise from this point forward, the more impact we will have on our community through additional emergency business continuity grants.

The Start:ME Small Business Resilience efforts thus far have included acquiring a pool of Chromebooks for entrepreneurs that lacked reliable computer access at home. With schools now out for the remainder of the year, these computers are not only helping entrepreneurs operate their business, but providing access for their children to learn online. 

Resilience matters now more than ever.  We wanted to share a feature story of resilience that from an alumni entrepreneur:

Ronnie Thomas from Fun Weird Science (East Lake, ’15) is helping parents teach science at home with his online Intro to Programming Robots Virtual Course during this time. Additionally, his Fun Weird Science Kits are a great way to keep kids entertained while staying home, specifically by exploring and mastering STEM skills.

I encourage you to continue to share our campaign with classmates and your personal networks via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Thank you for helping us make an impact with our class gift and serve more small businesses!

-Adriana Douglas, 2020 EvMBA Class Gift Chair

Thanks to all who have contributed to a successful campaign thus far! Our momentum is strong and we are well on our way to reaching our goal. 

In honor of our cohort’s first virtual happy hour this past week, we wanted to feature a Start:ME graduate company, Khonso Brewing Company. 

One of two Atlanta Black-owned breweries, Brothers that Brew evolved quickly into Khonso Brewing. This was a name chosen by the community and inspired by the Egyptian brewer Khonso Em Heb, who brewed for pharaohs and the gods of the dead. They currently have three featured brews, all honoring and embracing the spirit of stories throughout Atlanta’s history. 

If you’re looking for “an unforgettable escape from the ordinary,” sign up to be a part of the Krew and check them out at upcoming festivals in Atlanta like Dames and Dregs, Fresh Fest, and Classic City Cask Ale Brewfest, all happening in August 2020. Upon the opening of The Atlanta Beer Boutique, owned by fellow Start:ME alum Jennifer Price, you will be able to experience their beer on draft in addition to meeting the breweries at tastings and beer 101 sessions. 

Khonso Brewing has been featured in a few recent articles. Read more about them in the AJC and Thrillist, and follow their journey on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

I encourage you to continue to share our campaign with classmates and your personal networks via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Thank you for helping us strive to reach our class gift goal and serve more small businesses!

-Adriana Douglas, 2020 EvMBA Class Gift Chair