Kelly runs a coaching and consulting business for individuals and corporate organizations in New York. She provides leadership and organizational coaching, group coaching, workshops and program design with the neurodiverse community in mind. She is passionate about supporting neurodiverse people of color; as a neurodivergent Black woman, Kelly provides a unique perspective and personalized strategies for her clients. While her main goal is to build her marketing strategy, she also hopes to build more community partnerships so that her services can be more accessible.

A husband and wife duo, Kameron, a former professional basketball player, and Miriam, an educator, decided to combine forces to open a basketball skills training facility for youth of all ages and skill levels. Having seen firsthand the empowering nature of basketball, they wanted to give back to their community and provide a safe space for kids to build their basketball skills. They pride themselves in providing personalized and high quality training, where they really care and treat everyone like a member of their own family.

Cherise is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), who has years of experience working with many populations in various settings, and her treatment areas include chronic illness, life transitions, anxiety, depression, trauma, and stress. Cherise possesses the unique skills of relatability, compassion, understanding coupled with clinical knowledge and expertise that support her clients and provide them with the tools to cope with everyday stress.

With over 15 years of experience in knitting, Jaynell transformed her long-time hobby into a business selling heirloom-quality, colorful and unique knitted fashion garments. Jaynell began creating pieces to sell during the pandemic, and was met by immense interest in her products, inspiring her to commit to her passion full time. The pieces she creates are of the utmost quality and intended to last a lifetime, making the perfect gift or addition to one’s wardrobe.

Kidada, a Brooklyn native, is warm and energetic with a healing spirit. Kidada is an acupuncturist and reiki practitioner. She has learned to take an integrated approach to wellness and views healing as a journey, not just a destination. Part of her work includes supporting people in their ability to listen to their bodies and tune into the messages that symptoms convey. Kidada has been in practice for ten years and is looking to hire her first employee(s) this year.

Alecia provides mobile head lice removal services for children in north Alabama. After training to become a lice technician, Alecia built her business to help her community; she helps parents, daycare centers, and local schools with quality service and expert knowledge about head lice. Her services are very affordable and she uses all organic products. Alecia's goals are to gain more clientele and sign contracts with local school districts to work directly in schools.

Briannah’s business provides many technical services to her local community in upstate New York. Briannah provides electronic repairs, support with point of sale systems, and field contract services for commercial electronic systems. Unlike other businesses that may upcharge their customers, Briannah provides affordable services and honest recommendations, helping her clients to find the best solutions for their technical needs. Her eventual goal for the business is to launch scholarships and/or partnerships involved with teaching young girls the IT industry.

Lauren is a ballroom dancer and instructor, and when she moved to New York, she built up her ballroom dress making skills and decided to turn it into a business. Everything she does is custom and high quality, and she hopes to expand into the ready to wear market as well. Through her work, she hopes to create a more inclusive space in the ballroom dancing world for People of Color and people of larger sizes, who are not represented in the current industry.

Lillian owns a gas station in Bunkie, Louisiana. In addition to having a grocery/deli inside, she puts on community events throughout the year for the local schools + community members. The gas station offers great customer service, and home-made pecan candies, that keep clients coming back. Lillian hopes to make some external aesthetic changes to the gas station and promotions to attract more customers, and generate more sales.

Tanis has been baking since she was a teenager and when she began experimenting with her mother's cheesecake recipe, she decided to make a business out of it. Her cheesecakes come in different sizes including cupcake sized, and the flavors and toppings are customizable. Each dessert comes with an affirmation to go with the sweet treat, to remind customers to treat themselves. While she is currently selling wholesale to markets and stores, she hopes to expand her retail and shipping operation as well.