Nine Greensboro companies have joined ‘Scale to Excel’ accelerator

GREENSBORO – Nine entrepreneurs based in Greensboro will participate in an entrepreneurial accelerator for minority business owners facilitated by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce as a program of Accelerate Greensboro.

The newest Scale to Excel cohort will join an accelerator delivery model that equips entrepreneurs for success, said Tracy Myers, executive vice president of member engagement at the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, in a statement shared with WRAL TechWire.

“Scale to Excel provides resources, knowledge, connections, and more to local minority entrepreneurs to help through the isolation that can confound so many business owners,” said Myers.

The program is a seven-month program and is valued at $15,000. But cohort members participate in the program for free.

This accelerator is for existing entrepreneurs who operate well-established businesses ready to grow, Myers noted in the statement.

In fact, to quality, the businesses must demonstrate existing revenues of at least $150,000, have at least one non-owner full-time employee, and have been operating the business for at least three years.

“We’re supporting businesses that have already had an impact and strong presence in the community,” Myers said. “Our goal is to help them do more of all of it by scaling their businesses and being prepared for the growth they will see.”

The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce also operates Launch Greensboro, a program that recently held its Demo Day for the latest cohort.

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The curriculum

The program is a collaboration between Accelerate Greensboro, Launch Greensboro, and the national organization Interise, which provides a curriculum used by the program. That curriculum, StreetWise MBA, is said by Interise to assist businesses, on average, see a revenue growth rate of 36%, according to the statement shared with WRAL TechWire.

The cohort has already begun coursework, and is taught by Dr. Chanelle James, president and executive director of Community Ventures Inc. and a faculty member at the Bryan School of Business and Economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

“Investment and participation in this program is an investment in the future of our city,” said James. “Greensboro is growing, and we’re here to help minority-owned businesses capitalize on that growth for their own businesses.”