Media Contact:
Jackie Davis, M.Ed., MBA
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute
Georgia State University
55 Park Place, Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-413-7922
ATLANTA–Georgia State University has announced the first group of entrepreneurs accepted into the Main Street Entrepreneurs Seed Fund (MSESF) program.
In alignment with the Fund’s objectives, the entrepreneurs and companies encompass diversity and variety in race, ethnicity, gender and ideas. The 21 companies were selected from an applicant pool of nearly 100 through a process that included pitching to experienced entrepreneurs, investors and community leaders.
The Fund was established with a grant from the Marcus Foundation and is overseen by the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute at Georgia State.
“I am very excited about the number and the quality of responses we received from Georgia State’s student and alumni entrepreneurs,” said Jennifer Sherer, director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute. “We look forward to supporting the growth of these companies and showcasing them to the Atlanta community early next year.”
Applicants were classified into one of two categories: Startup Stage and Seed Stage. The Startup Stage applicants have some business traction relative to the Seed Stage applicants whose ideas are in the very early stage.
The goal is to create at least 10 new businesses in metro Atlanta by June 2020 by offering mentorship and early funding to Georgia State entrepreneurs in underserved local communities.
“With so many strong applicants, it was hard to narrow the field to just 21.” says Musaddeq Khan, the entrepreneur-in-residence who will mentor and coach the MSESF cohort. “That makes us optimistic about the potential of Georgia State entrepreneurs to positively impact our local communities.”
The Georgia State entrepreneurs will report on the progress of their businesses to the Atlanta community at the MSESF Demo Day in February 2020.
Startup Stage Companies
- Airlift – Sheehan Khan (College of Arts and Sciences, B.S. Computer Science ’15)
- Angel Assistance – Savannah Samples (College of Education & Human Development, B.S.Ed. Middle Level Education ‘16)
- ArtzyBella – Ashley Daramola (College of Arts & Sciences, B.I.S. in Arts Administration ’10)
- Beyond the Classroom – Baiyina Jihad (College of Arts and Sciences, B.A. History ’15)
- DelivHer Femcare – Chante Knox (College of Arts and Sciences, B.A. Journalism) and Dia Davis (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Economics and Managerial Sciences ’19)
- Kemnu – Viraj Patel (Robinson College of Business, MBA ‘21) and Vishwa Mudigonda (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Computer Information Systems ’19 and MBA ‘21)
- Totem Agency Co. – Ashley Richardson (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, B.S. Economics ’17)
- Natural Leaders Media – Daniel Fitch (College of Arts and Sciences, B.A. African-American Studies and Film ’16)
- SweatPack – Umama Kibria (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Marketing ’14)
- SoundCollide – Robert Hatcher (College of Arts and Sciences, B.A. Psychology, Minor in Entrepreneurship ‘16 and Robinson College of Business, MBA ’20)
Seed Stage Companies
- ArteHub – London Balbosa (College of Arts and Sciences, B.I.S. Media Entrepreneurship ’19)
- Bukhari Tutoring – Usama Muta-Ali (Perimeter College ’15)
- EcoDrop Technologies – Nicole Toole (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Computer Information Systems ‘22) and Ishir Vasavada (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Finance ’19)
- Famous Café & Company, Inc. – Ishak Yusuf (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Computer Information Systems and Economics ’16, ’20)
- Nspire – James Okolo (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Entrepreneurship ‘21) & Tim Sok (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Entrepreneurship ‘21)
- Nutur Skincare – Adesuwa Imafidon (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Managerial Sciences ’18)
- NVRBEENSTANDARD – Micah Ford (Perimeter College, Psychology and Marketing ‘21)
- Observe – Nishant Sinha (College of Arts and Sciences, B.S. Computer Science and M.S. Computer Science ‘19) and Lawrence Chen (College of Arts and Sciences, B.S. Computer Science ’18)
- Psynchroncity – Amber Lewter (College of Education & Human Development, M.S.Ed. Professional Counseling ’11)
- Quaint Revolt – Sasha-Gay Trusty (College of Arts and Sciences, B.A. Journalism ’19)
- Student Expressing Life Through Fashion – Gynella Ngounou (Robinson College of Business, B.B.A. Marketing and Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, B.I.S. Social Entrepreneurship ’19)
To learn more about the program, entrepreneurs and their companies, visit: Main Street Entrepreneurs Seed Fund