From Vision to Venture: Celebrating the 2026 Start:ME Southside Graduates

Four months ago, this year’s Start:ME Southside cohort walked into the program carrying bold ideas, ambitious dreams, and a commitment to their communities. On graduation night, they walked across the stage as entrepreneurs equipped with sharper business strategies, stronger support networks, and renewed confidence in what’s possible.

Start:ME, a program of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and offered in partnership with FCS and Purpose Built Schools Atlanta, equips neighborhood-based entrepreneurs with business training, mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to capital. Over the course of 14 intensive weeks, participants refined business models, strengthened financial strategies, engaged in customer discovery, and prepared to pitch their ventures with confidence.

From food entrepreneurs and artists to wellness leaders and creative visionaries, the 2026 cohort reflected the innovation and entrepreneurial energy thriving across Atlanta’s southside. For many participants, the journey was about more than learning business fundamentals. It was about learning to see themselves differently.

“South Atlanta Farms entered the program as an operating farm with real community roots but without the structure, language, or confidence to call itself a business,” shared Mark Boswell of South Atlanta Farms. “We leave with all three.”

Others spoke about how Start:ME challenged them to refine and rethink their ideas in ways they hadn’t expected.

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