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Entrepreneurs and Academics Lead IgniteHQ Board

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IgniteHQ is proud to announce the appointment of their new board members to its Board of Directors. Dr. Pamela Whitten, Julia Ayers, Stephanie Carvajalino, Jeremy Fort, Craig Ganssle, Mike Mahan, Jacob Reuschel, Mitch Rhoden and Umesh Shiknis are the new faces leading the charge at IgniteHQ alongside existing members, Rachel Ford and Sharon Mason.

Meet our new board members:

Dr. Pamela Whitten

Pamela S. Whitten was named Kennesaw State University’s fifth president last June. Previously, Whitten served as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Georgia (UGA), from February 2014 to June 2018. During her tenure at UGA, Whitten worked with campus leadership to implement a number of enhancements and innovations to the learning environment, including ensuring that all undergraduate students engaged in hands-on learning through internships, research, and other forms of experiential learning opportunities.

Julia Ayers

Julia Ayers serves as Kennesaw State University’s vice president for government relations. In her role, Ayers promotes KSU’s goals and objectives to state and federal policymakers, University System of Georgia officials, and business and civic leaders. Previously, Ayers was the senior executive director of economic development for the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), where she worked closely with the vice presidents of economic development at 22 colleges to develop and implement curriculum and industry outreach initiatives. Prior to TCSG, she spent eight years working with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, most recently as deputy chief of staff for legislative and external affairs.

Stephanie Carvajalino

Stephanie Carvajalino is the co-founder of The Biz Nation, an online education platform that teaches marketable skills as well as business education. The Biz Nation was highlighted by President Obama at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit for its innovation and social purpose. It was also selected to be presented in the educational panel of One Young World, the most important youth conference presented by the United Nations. Stephanie is a passionate entrepreneur and a member of IgniteHQ.

Jeremy Fort

Jeremy Fort is the founder of The Service Fort, a family owned and operated environmentally-friendly, full-service commercial janitorial and maintenance provider specializing in medium to large sized properties throughout Georgia. The company was named 2018 Cobb County Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year. The company has also been on the Bulldog 100 list for several years, which recognizes the fastest growing companies owned by UGA graduates as well as Atlanta Best Places to Work list. Jeremy was one of 50 chosen leaders for 2018-19 Leadership Cobb organization which is an exclusive community development program. He is a member of the Cobb Chamber CEO Roundtable as well as Vistage.

Craig Ganssle

Craig Ganssle is the founder and CEO of Basecamp Networks, a technology firm headquartered in Alpharetta, GA. Basecamp Networks delivers innovative IoT solutions on a global scale in the form of wireless infrastructures, wearable agri-tech, smart city initiatives and back-end business collaborative communications. Craig has 20+ years experience developing and deploying wireless networks and innovative solutions for both the United States Marine Corps and Verizon Wireless in the network engineering division. Craig’s team has developed the world’s first wearable application for farming called intelliSCOUT. Craig speaks globally at universities and conferences on leadership, IoT, and technological capabilities. Craig is a contributor to the Alpharetta Technology Commission, Wall Street Journal Leader Opinion Panel, and Marine Corps League.

Mike Mahan

As an Investment Manager at Stanley Ventures, Mike is responsible for being an active member of startup ecosystems and identifying innovation that is strategically relevant to Stanley Black & Decker. He was previously a Director at White Light Consulting, a Florida-based consulting startup. Prior to White Light Consulting, Mike was a Principal at a Boston-based startup that experienced explosive growth and raised VC funding. Mike brings startup experience and a strategic perspective to Stanley Ventures investments.

Jacob Reuschel

Jacob Reuschel, a sophomore at Kennesaw State University, is pursuing a degree in Entrepreneurship at the school’s Coles College of Business. Reuschel was recently named a member of the 6th Cohort of the Coles College of Business Scholars Program, a prestigious two-year program designed to provide students with exceptional business-focused experiences both in and out of the classroom. An entrepreneur at a young age, Reuschel owned and operated a landscaping company as a teenager. Currently, he works as a maintenance technician and crew member for Outdoor Expressions in Canton, Georgia. Outside of his work and school commitments, Reuschel is actively involved in the community. He has been a member of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) since 2011, rising to the rank of cadet major and holding the position of cadet commander for two consecutive terms at the Marietta Air Museum Cadet Squadron.

Stephen M. Rhoden (Mitch)

Mitch Rhoden is President and CEO of Futren Hospitality. He is responsible for the management and ongoing operations for Futren Hospitality, Indian Hills Country Club, The Georgian Club, The Orchard Golf & Country Club, Woodland Hills Golf Club, and the National Alliance of Private Clubs, as well as other corporate interests. From 1997 until May 2001, Mitch was an Engineer Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi and an M.B.A. from Kennesaw State University. Mitch is a licensed Georgia real estate broker. Mitch currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and for The Atlanta Area Council for the Boy Scouts of America.

Umesh Shiknis

As a Senior Vice President at Infosys, Umesh Shiknis is responsible for unit strategy and leads a team of senior industry experts to create and close large deals for the company. He and his team have successfully transacted over $1 billion on net new TCV deals. Prior to joining Infosys, Umesh managed several sub-verticals for ISG (formerly TPI). ISG is the world’s largest sourcing advisors having managed over $360 billion in transactions till date. Prior to joining ISG, he was a IT services leader managing portfolio for iGATE in Manufacturing, Retail, Distribution and logistics vertical. Umesh has 18 + years of IT experience in front end sales. He has won several awards, including “sales person of the year” for significantly exceeding revenue targets.

For the Board of Directors complete bios, click here for more information.

Innovation Lab Member Profile: Caleb Gilbert

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IgniteHQ Social Impact Lab member Caleb Gilbert is an unexpected startup founder with heart.

Gilbert, a senior engineering student at Kennesaw State University, said his entrepreneurial journey began last year with an idea he knew would help millions of people. He and Georgia Tech graduate Payton Jonson saw a need for consumers and service providers to conduct monetary transactions more securely.

The two partners developed a mobile application named Esgro that allows individuals to send and receive money through the safeguards of an escrow account.  Funds are disbursed once certain agreed- upon conditions are met reducing the instances of non-payment or stolen funds.

Caleb says that although he felt compelled to bring his idea to life, the past nine months haven’t been easy.

“We’ve had a lot of hiccups along the way,” said Caleb. “There were a lot of questions and unknowns. It took nothing but grind to get to where we are today,” he said.

Throughout his nine month journey, Caleb was also certain he wanted to include a charitable component to the business.

“We didn’t see much social good in Fintech,” said Caleb. “We want to be philanthropic at our core,” he added.

Aptly named the Gro Project, Esgro’s charity will be funded by a small amount of interest earned from money sitting in Esgro reserves. The founders haven’t named the beneficiaries yet, but they say the money will go directly to helping people in Atlanta. According to Gilbert, homelessness is an issue close to his heart.

“My mom worked very hard to support us, but I didn’t grow up wealthy. After I graduated high school I saw homelessness as a real possibility for people. All it can take is one bad month to put someone in a downward spiral,” Caleb explained.

When he’s not finishing his classes, building a startup or thinking about charitable beneficiaries, Caleb Gilbert is looking forward to mentoring members of IgniteHQ’s Social Impact Lab.

“I love helping others,” said Caleb.

The startup founder says he received meaningful guidance from IgniteHQ’s CEO Mark Hubbard in his earliest days. He plans to pay it forward through mentorship.

Esgro is now in beta testing (the deadline to apply for beta testing is April 20, 2019) and Gilbert and Jonson have been accepted into the prestigious Queen City Fintech Accelerator in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Partnerships help Cobb County fill needs of its workforce

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Excerpt from the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Full story can be found here.

Cobb County has become a hot ticket for companies thinking about expanding or relocating. In January 2018, the county had 23 firms in its “active project pipeline.” Today it has 62.

One of the major reasons for this new-found interest is an organization known as the Cobb Workforce Partnership.

Spearheaded by the Cobb Chamber, the partnership was launched in 2015 and brings together school systems, universities, government agencies and the corporate sector. Among those involved are Kennesaw State University (KSU), Chattahoochee Technical College, Georgia Highlands College, Georgia Tech, Life University, Cobb WorkSource, Cobb County and Marietta City schools, and more than 30 Cobb businesses. All are dedicated to identifying and addressing workforce needs and establishing an efficient way to supply companies with job-ready talent, said Sharon Mason, president and CEO of the Cobb Chamber.

The county grew 27,000 jobs over the past five years, she said, and indications are the rate of growth will increase. Cobb’s workforce education initiative “has made a tremendous difference for the companies we are recruiting since our proactive approach brings together all the elements necessary to make sure businesses have the right kind of talent,” Mason added.

One of the key components of the initiative is IgniteHQ, an independent nonprofit started in 2016 through a partnership with KSU and in collaboration with the Cobb Chamber. The organization supports start-up companies and entrenpreneurs by connecting them to funding sources, mentorships and work space.

“Being an entrepreneur and running a business is different than having a job…because you have all the jobs,” said Mark Hubbard, CEO of IgniteHQ. That fact “requires some kind of support structure or connective tissue between the resources that exist in the larger ecosystem.”

In 2018, IgniteHQ launched two new innovation labs at its headquarters, one focused on social innovation and impact investing, and the other on blockchain and other cryptocurrencies.  

Pamela Whitten, president of KSU, said the university’s students are major beneficiaries of IgniteHQ and use its services for networking, workshops and locating potential investors.

“Many are also working their way through school and have a work ethic, attitude and energy unique to a college population,” she said, adding that IgniteHQ’s partnership with the Cobb Chamber helps KSU students access local business support along with college.

Original post from Atlanta Business Chronicle. Read full story here.

Mentor Highlight: Roger Mahler

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IgniteHQ mentor Roger Mahler is not only guiding members with strategy development, he is leading a pack of passionate comrades down the path to an interactive Marietta Square.

Mahler, a 25 year software veteran, enjoys discovering how to best utilize technology to grow business. As an IgniteHQ mentor, Mahler helps fresh entrepreneurs develop successful strategies incorporating technology. He’s translated his skills to many industries including medicine, banking, transportation and security.

In addition to mentoring, Mahler is utilizing his years of experience to manifest a vision of the ultimate smart city. Mahler is the founder of the “Smart Connected Communities Project,” a group of developers, stakeholders and believers uniting to build the optimal smart city starting with Marietta Square.

“Marietta Square is its own living, breathing ecosystem. There are places to walk, eat and connect with other like-minded entrepreneur and enthusiasts. It has its own unique look and persona,” explained Mahler.

The Smart Connected Communities Project boasts over 100 members and is housed at IgniteHQ. Mahler says he launched the group to enable people to build and realize their ideas. One day he hopes to create a Smart City Center of Excellence at IgniteHQ.

“Building a smart city is about solving problems that drive innovation,” explained Mahler. “We need to focus on integration, “Almost everything we need to create the Smart City of the future exists today”. We don’t know yet what a smart city looks like, but we know it’s going to be huge,” said Mahler.

A smart city is typically defined as a municipality that uses information and communication technologies to increase operational efficiency, share information with the public and improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare. But this is only half the solution, a smart city is not truly smart until it does something personally for the individual and this will be driven by countless thousands of small developers solving community-based problems and knitting them together to create a compelling user experience.

At this time, according to Mahler, big corporations are securing all the government contracts and driving the development of smart cities, but small developers work on everyday issues affecting citizens.

“There’s a phenomenal opportunity here at IgniteHQ to build our Smart City Center of Excellence,” said Maher. “The city of Marietta, Cobb County and Kennesaw State University all support IgniteHQ and IgniteHQ is very open to the idea,” he added.

Click HERE For more information on the Smart Connected Communities Project.

Member Spotlight: Blue Skies Ministries

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Some people may call Melinda Mayton a sharp entrepreneur. Industry professionals may say she is a problem solver.  Her beneficiaries probably think she is simply an angel from heaven. We think Ms. Mayton is a combination of all of the above – a compassionate, intelligent and driven woman who brings emotional support and healing to families of sick children through her non-profit Blue Skies Ministries.

Mayton began her career as a nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) caring for children with cancer. As a nurse she became intimately aware of the trials and turmoil experienced by families with sick children.

“Having a sick child is an emotional ordeal and traumatic for the entire family,” said Mayton. “Treatment can take years. By the end of treatment families are often a complete mess,” she added.

Observing her patients and their families had a profound impact on Mayton. She felt called to act, but didn’t know what to do. She says her faith led her to “dive in” and follow her vision.

In 2010, Mayton, along with a group of dedicated men and women, founded Blue Skies Ministries, a non-profit that offers weeklong beach retreats to “lift families above the clouds of childhood cancer.” Blue Sky Ministries’ mission is to bring the hope of Christ to families living through pediatric cancer.

The all expense paid retreats bring families close together in an environment where sick children can laugh and play, siblings can feel cherished and have uninterrupted quality family time and parents can heal and find support from others.

“Our retreats truly make a difference in the lives of our families,” said Mayton.

Blue Skies Ministries operates ten mission trips and hosts 120 families from all over the United States every year. The organization has six part time staff members and dozens of volunteers.

Mayton says she is excited to grow her organization at IgniteHQ.

“I’m looking forward to getting help from IgniteHQ’s mentors. The environment here is exactly what I was looking for,” said Mayton.

For more information on Blue Skies Ministries visit: https://www.blueskiesministries.org.

Blue Skies Ministries

Kick Start the New Year

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The holidays are behind. The kids are in school. Vacation is OVER. Now that we’re all back at the office you might find yourself asking “what next?”

For entrepreneurs and business owners the beginning of a new year can be daunting. This is the time to reflect, reevaluate and revise. Will you grow your team? Will you obtain and retain more customers? How can you improve your digital footprint? How can you become better focused and more productive?

These questions and more ought to be swirling around your head, but don’t get overwhelmed! IgniteHQ’s medley of resources are available to help push, support and grow your business.  

Goal Setting and Development

Our list of seasoned mentors are here to help you kickstart the new year with a bang. From financial planning to product development, IgniteHQ’s mentors bring years of experience to the table and thoughtfully guide you and your business into a successful direction.

Funding

Do you need more investment in order to grow? IgniteHQ offers capital through it’s funding initiative CurateForUs as well as other accelerator programs.

Innovate and Scale with like minded individuals

IgniteHQ’s innovation labs are a superb resource for entrepreneurs playing in a specific field. Find talent, improve ideas and get paired with enterprises willing to invest through these curated groups.

Finally, take advantage of IgniteHQ’s partnerships with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and Kennesaw State University. Not sure how to partner? Any of our mentors or staff members can help advise and connect you.

At IgniteHQ we want nothing more than to see our members grow and thrive. Take advantage of these significant resources and hit the ground running!

IgniteHQ Powers Sandy Springs Innovation Center – New Collaboration Aids Local Entrepreneurs

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IgniteHQ and the Sandy Springs Innovation Center (SSIC) are joining forces to grow businesses at the SSIC’s Perimeter location.

The SSIC opened last year with the goal of establishing a network  for  entrepreneurs to scale innovative ideas into Commercial businesses. IgniteHQ connects startups with international accelerators, funding opportunities, and talent to scale globally. The collaboration will make both entities’ support networks more readily accessible to area entrepreneurs. As a part of the relationship, IgniteHQ will “power” SSIC by offering operational and marketing resources.

“Through our partnership with IgniteHQ, the SSIC will be able to provide access to the advice that businesses need through their developmental stages of growth” said Tom Mahaffey, President and CEO of the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber.

This relationship expands IgniteHQ’s and SSIC’s geographic footprints, providing members at both organizations more flexible space options, as well as access to talent, capital, mentors, and enterprises through IgniteHQ’s unique funding, programming, and industry partners.

“Sandy Springs has a unique ecosystem that can drive business growth”  said IgniteHQ President and CEO Mark Hubbard. “Innovators are noticing the opportunity in Sandy Springs and IgniteHQ is proud to be a part of it,” Hubbard added.

Kennesaw State University announced in late April it too will expand to Sandy Springs. Georgia’s third largest university will offer MBA classes at City Springs in the 2018-19 academic year.

This new collaboration marks IgniteHQ’s third expansion in the past twelve months. Last year, IgniteHQ launched a partnership with Thrive Coworking at both its Alpharetta and Milton locations. IgniteHQ has recently expanded with another partnership with coworking outfit SharedSpace. SharedSpace has locations in Dunwoody and Cobb. The high-tech workspace plans to expand to Augusta later this year.

IgniteHQ connects startups and entrepreneurs with international accelerators, funding opportunities and talent to scale globally. We accelerate startups, cultivate job growth and provide market expansion resources in the Southeast. IgniteHQ was developed in partnership with Kennesaw State University, the third-largest university in the State of Georgia with more than 35,000 students, and in collaboration with the Cobb Chamber, one of the top three chambers in the nation.

Sandy Springs Innovation Center (SSIC) was established in 2017 to enable innovators to network their ideas into growing businesses. The Sandy Springs Innovation Center is made possible through the generous support of The Development Authority of Sandy Springs, Cousins Properties, and Comcast Business.

For more information on IgniteHQ, including membership and sponsorship opportunities, visit ignitehq.comm or follow us @ignitehq.