Listening First: The Boost Pad & Apparo Host a Technology Needs Session for Small Business

There's a particular kind of energy in a room full of people who've decided to bet on themselves. On Wednesday, September 16, 2026 , that energy filled Do Greater Charlotte as 17 founders officially kicked off Cohort 13 of The Boost Pad Accelerator the beginning of a 14-week journey that will challenge them, stretch them, and ultimately transform how they think about the businesses they're building. We Build Entrepreneurs First. Businesses Follow. That phrase isn't just a tagline at The Boost Pad it's the whole philosophy behind everything we do. Before founders ever touch a financial model or a marketing plan, we ask them to slow down and answer a harder question: why does your business deserve to exist? That's the spirit Module 1 was built around Know Your Why and it set exactly the right tone for everything ahead. Because here's the truth every founder in that room learned on day one: purpose comes before product. Products evolve. Strategies shift. Markets change. But a founder who is clear on their purpose, their vision, their mission, and their values has a foundation that holds steady through all of it. When your why is clear, every decision who you serve, how you market, who you partner with, how you grow gets easier. A Team Fully Invested in Their Success This cohort isn't walking into the next four months alone. Founders were introduced to the full Boost Pad team who'll be alongside them at every stage from Executive Director Steven Lewis, to Entrepreneurs in Residence Harold Hughes and Charles Kearse guiding them toward stronger, more scalable businesses, to the operations, marketing, and program support team making sure nothing falls through the cracks. Add in a roster of experienced mentors and guest experts, and it's clear: no founder in Cohort 13 will be figuring this out solo. Introducing CoachMax: A Learning Experience Built for Founders One of the most exciting parts of Kick Off was introducing this cohort to their new digital home for the program: Thinkific , powered by CoachMax , our AI coach available on demand. Every module is already built and waiting founders log in, work through the week's content, submit their assignments, and track their own progress in real time. It's a structured, always-available layer of support that means learning doesn't stop when the session ends; it continues all week, every week. Building Toward Pitch Night, One Week at a Time Perhaps the most exciting part of this journey: founders won't wait until the final week to build their pitch. Starting this week, every founder began constructing their investor-ready pitch deck one slide at a time Title Slide first, then Problem, Solution, Business Model, and onward alongside a weekly 60-second elevator pitch video that gets sharper, tighter, and more confident with every submission. By the time Cohort 13 reaches Pitch Night on January 6, 2027 , every founder will walk on that stage with a complete, polished, investor-ready presentation built week by week not thrown together the night before. A Cohort as Diverse as Charlotte Itself What already stands out about this group is the range seventeen founders, seventeen different businesses, spanning technology, wellness, consumer products, event services, education, and more. It's exactly the kind of mix that makes a cohort strong: founders learning not just from mentors and EIRs, but from each other, across industries they'd never otherwise cross paths in. Delivered in Partnership with the Do Greater Foundation Cohort 13 is proudly delivered in partnership with the Do Greater Foundation two organizations united around the same outcome: expanding access for founders who've historically been underserved by traditional capital, and opening more doors, relationships, and rooms to the entrepreneurs building Charlotte's future. "Progress Comes Through Consistency, Curiosity, and Action." That's the standard this cohort committed to on day one show up, participate, ask questions, support each other, and apply what they learn. It's a high bar. It's also exactly why Boost Pad graduates go on to build real, sustainable businesses. Grateful for This Cohort Thank you to every founder who showed up ready to build, to our EIR team for leading the way, and to the broader Boost Pad and Do Greater Foundation community that makes a night like this possible. Cohort 13 has only just begun and we can't wait to watch these 17 founders discover their why , sharpen their pitch, and walk across that Pitch Night stage in January.

Partnerships Create Possibilities: The Boost Pad & UNC Charlotte Launch the Student Intern Program