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

Good support starts with good listening. That's the idea behind our latest Strategic Partner Network collaboration on Thursday, September 17, 2026 , The Boost Pad partnered with Apparo to host a virtual listening session focused on one question: is technology helping small businesses run, or making it harder? A Session Built Around Real Voices For more than 20 years, Apparo has helped organizations use technology more effectively through practical, accessible guidance and support. Now, they're exploring whether that same kind of support could benefit small, owner-run businesses and rather than guessing at the answer, they wanted to hear it directly from business owners themselves. That's exactly what this session was for. Small business owners joined us virtually to talk openly about the technology they deal with day to day from CRM and customer management to accounting systems, marketing tools, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, cybersecurity and data protection, and AI and automation. No pitch, no sales agenda just a genuine conversation about what's working, what's not, and where the real friction points are. What We Heard The conversation did exactly what it was meant to do. As Apparo's Director of Technology Engagements, Jennifer Ray, put it afterward: the discussion helped confirm assumptions about the value Apparo might bring to the small business community. In other words the challenges business owners described lined up with what Apparo suspected, and now there's real, firsthand insight to help shape what comes next. Didn't Make It? You Can Still Weigh In For anyone who registered but couldn't attend live, Apparo shared a recording of the session along with a short follow-up questionnaire so more voices can still be part of shaping this work: 🎥 Watch the Session Recording → Grateful for the Partnership A big thank you to Jennifer Ray and the Apparo team for bringing this idea to us and trusting our community enough to ask hard questions and actually listen to the answers. And thank you to everyone who showed up, shared honestly, and helped shape what smarter technology support could look like for small businesses across Charlotte. Join the Strategic Partner Network This session is one small example of what's possible when organizations like Apparo choose to invest their expertise in Charlotte's entrepreneurs. The Boost Pad's Strategic Partner Network brings together Alumni Partners , Professional Partners , and Community Partners each contributing knowledge, mentorship, networking, or industry guidance, for a commitment of just five hours per cohort cycle. If your organization has expertise to offer technology, finance, marketing, legal, or otherwise we'd love to talk about what a partnership could look like. Become a Strategic Partner → Practical technology. Real business challenges. Your voice.