PearlFlower Catering Takes Top Prize At Spring Core City: Cleveland Entrepreneur Showcase

On May 9, Core City: Cleveland Impact Program participant Tiwanna Williams pitched her business, PearlFlower Catering, during the program’s culminating entrepreneur showcase—taking home the top prize of $10,000 to grow her business. Inspired by both the kitchen skills and strong work ethic of her two grandmothers, in 2010 Tiwanna left behind a nursing career to pursue one of

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#PressforProgress: Five Ways To Win With Women On The Team

Back in March, I was invited by Cintrifuse, a Cincinnati-based fund of funds, to speak at their International Women’s Day event on a panel alongside some of our region’s most vocal advocates for change. The conversation centered on the theme of this year’s celebration — #PressforProgress. Despite an abundance of statistics that validate the business

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Five Questions With PearlFlower Catering Founder Tiwanna Williams

Inspired by the kitchen skills (and work ethic) of her two grandmothers, Tiwanna Williams left behind a nursing career to pursue her passion for cooking and hasn’t looked back. After receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback catering for friends, Tiwanna founded PearlFlower Catering in 2010. PearlFlower focuses on creating personalized menus using locally sourced ingredients. Recently, the

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Five Questions With Communion Social Lounge Founders Michael and Sharece Curry

Two local winemakers, Michael and Sharece Curry, had gotten tired of the traditional dive bar environment and experience all too common in their neighborhood. Seeking to provide a different kind of nightlife to an urban locale, they founded Communion Social Lounge, an upscale Garfield Heights-area lounge, offering house-made sweet and fruit-infused wines, hand-crafted cocktails, small

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Five Questions With Revival Body Care Founder Nicole Dzurko

Passionate about living a healthy lifestyle and frustrated by the lack of high-quality, chemical-free beauty products on the market, Nicole Dzurko set sights on making her own. Revival Body Care, which began in 2015 as a small operation in her home kitchen, has quickly morphed into a thriving local and ecommerce business offering a comprehensive

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Five Questions With Cathy’s: Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwiches Founder Cathy Greene

Disappointed by an ice cream sandwich experience at a festival a few years back, Missouri-native, and avid baker, Cathy Greene devised a culinary experiment—pairing her own freshly baked, made-from-scratch cookies with all-natural ice cream.  Right away she knew she was on to something big—something that would ultimately turn into her own business, Cathy’s: Gourmet Ice

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Meet Our Core City: Cleveland Impact Program’s Spring 2018 Cohort

We are excited to welcome the fifth cohort to our Core City: Cleveland Impact Program! This 12-week business assistance program is designed to drive economic impact in the city of Cleveland by helping individuals overcome obstacles to entrepreneurship through hands-on advising and industry-specific mentoring. Over the next three months, these five individuals will be learning and

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This Entrepreneur Brings A New Groove To Downtown

Anjua Maximo was working at fashion giant lululemon while teaching fitness in Los Angeles when she was first inspired to open a boutique studio focused on fitness and personal development. When her career led her to Cleveland, Anjua decided it was time to make the dream a reality. Her first consideration: Was there even a

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Meet The Winners Of The Inaugural Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition

On Thursday, March 15, 2018 six startups with founding teams consisting of at least one current Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) student or recent alumni pitched at the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] for a shot at $50,000 in total prize money. The six finalists received assistance from JumpStart Inc. to hone their

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