Joanne Williams has lived in Augusta for years, but she’s never been able to find a restaurant in this area that serves New York deli sandwiches. So the Helms College graduate decided to start one.
Williams, the owner of AKUA, New York Deli Style Sandwiches, recently graduated from Make Startup, which is a three-month entrepreneurial training course, followed by a six-month mentoring program offered by theClubhou.se, a small business incubator and shared workspace located at the Georgia Cyber Center in downtown Augusta.
On Wednesday, she and eight other graduates of the program participated in Demo Day, which gave them the opportunity to pitch their startups to local business professionals and Wells Fargo representatives. Demo Day, which was held during theClubhou.se’s October Beer & Bytes event, was a way for these budding entrepreneurs to promote their businesses and possibly gain financial support.
Williams, who just graduated from Make Startups about two weeks ago, said the training she received has been invaluable. She worked as a chef in restaurants for many years and is now excited to have the opportunity to work for herself.
“I knew nothing about business but wanted to open one for some time,” she said.
Tonia Gibbons, owner of Farr More and Associates, a public relations and business consulting firm, completed the program in 2020.
“I started the business in 2019, but didn’t do anything with it,” Gibbons said.
She officially launched her business at theClubhou.se, which was one of her first clients, while she was enrolled in Make Startups. Gibbons thought she knew everything she needed to know to start her business, but she quickly discovered there was more she needed to learn.
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Gibbons said.
In the program, Gibbons learned about copyrighting and proprietary information, which are important in the type of business she runs.
Eric Parker, theClubhou.se’s founder, and president said the program is designed to help startups gain the funding they need, which can be a challenge for new entrepreneurs.
“We have 25 different financing partners,” Parker said. “We’re trying to grow the number of startups, so they can be successful.”
Williams, who specializes in sandwiches made with hand-carved meats, such as corned beef, said the other graduates have become like family to her. She hopes to open a storefront soon.
