College Celebrates Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 16, 2024) – Wake Tech celebrated small business owners and emerging entrepreneurs who are turning the dream of owning a small business into reality. 

Wake Tech’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business Center hosted the Main Street Entrepreneurs Accelerator (MSEA) Pitch Competition. Four student entrepreneurs presented their businesses ideas to a panel of judges, while four graduates of LaunchWakeCounty pitched plans to grow their business. Each participant walked away a winner. The students received grant money and the business owners took home cash.

Quinton Crosson-Taylor, Wake Tech student and 2023 Wake Tech Idol winner, won a $35,000 grant for Taylor Music Academy in Zebulon, which teaches music and performance to kids. He plans to use the funds to purchase more instruments and provide scholarships. Taylor, who also won a small grant last year after participating in Wake Tech’s Business of Music for Entrepreneurs class, says his music education business is booming.

“I had a new student reach out to me on the way here today,” he said. “I am so excited to be able to expand Taylor Music Academy to more kids!”

Three other students, Travis Brockington, Faryal Ahmed, and Nakya Carter also received grant funds. 

Four LaunchWake County winners received grants, including Ariana Nester of Remedy Cocktail Company in Holly Springs. She plans to use the $35,000 prize to grow her business, which features hand-crafted all natural cocktail bitters.

The pitch competition is the culmination of the Main Street Entrepreneurs Accelerator (MSEA) program, an innovative initiative to help emerging entrepreneurs accelerate their business. Participants complete a series of small-business training sessions on a variety of topics and receive coaching and mentoring to help them hone their business skills. 

“Wake Tech provides amazing educational programming and MSEA is the next level,” said Chris Weeks, Senior Director of Entrepreneurship at Wake Tech. “We want to empower entrepreneurs with the confidence and competence they need to develop a successful business – it benefits our entire community.”

The MSEA program is open to student entrepreneurs at Wake Tech, Shaw University and Saint Augustine’s University, as well as eligible small-business owners in the community. It is made possible by a private gift from Mike Conlon, the founder and chief executive of Affordable Communities Group LLC, and a grant from Wells Fargo. Conlon, who also is a former chair of the Wake Tech Foundation Board, recently gifted the college with the largest private donation in its history. Wake Tech’s future location in Apex will be named Wake Tech Conlon Western Campus. Conlon has previously directed more than $1 million to support small-business programs and entrepreneurship at Wake Tech and was honored by the naming of Conlon Hall on the Scott Northern Wake Campus.

The event also included the second annual Bizzy Awards which celebrate budding entrepreneurs who have completed the Entrepreneurship for Skilled Trades and Professionals (ESTP) course at Wake Tech and the LaunchWakeCounty program. 

Taylor Music Academy was recognized as Rookie Business of the Year. LaunchKnightdale took home Cohort of the Year.                                                                   

The ESTP course teaches early-stage entrepreneurs how to launch a business. LaunchWakeCounty supports and develops entrepreneurs and small businesses in under-resourced communities in the county. To date, LaunchWakeCounty has impacted 2,000 small businesses.