Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
How can collaboration uplift your city’s small business and startup landscape?
Communities from coast to coast are feeling the effects of COVID-19 in countless ways. At Tom Tom, we believe that there’s a more pressing need for connection and conversation among peer community leaders than ever before. What specific struggles are they facing? Which of their turn-on-a-dime efforts have been fruitful? And how do nonprofits, who rely heavily on fundraising to cover operating costs, survive with asks for support coming from all sectors?
Last week, our entrepreneurial roundtable brought together economic developers, accelerators, startup champions and more, who are working tirelessly to buoy their cities’ entrepreneurial ecosystems. See a few highlights from the discussion below.
If you’d like to join us for our next entrepreneurship roundtable, or a roundtable focusing on another theme related to innovation in America’s cities (economic development, education, justice, etc.), please reach out to programming@tomtomfoundation.org.
Meet the Justice Roundtable Participants:
Grace Belangia, Executive Director and Founding Member, the Clubhou.se (Augusta, GA)
Derrick Braziel, Cofounder and Managing Partner, MORTAR Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH)
Erin Burcham, Director of Talent Solutions, Roanoke Regional Partnership (Roanoke, VA)
Ric Cavender, Executive Director, Charleston Main Streets (Charleston, WV)
Lindsey Cox, Program Manager and Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of Commerce – Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Washington, DC)
Elizabeth Cromwell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce (Charlottesville, VA)
Enoch Elwell, Founder, CO.STARTERS (Chattanooga, TN)
Leah Fremouw, Vice President, Director of Marketing and Community Impact, Virginia Community Capital (Richmond, VA)
Kian Kamas, Chief of Economic Development, City of Tulsa – Office of the Mayor (Tulsa, OK)
Adam Klein, Chief Strategist, American Underground/Director of Strategy, Capitol Broadcasting Company (Durham, NC)
Jena Roscoe, First Senior Vice President, Chief of Government Affairs & Public Policy, Operation HOPE (Washington, DC)
Marcus Shaw, Executive Director, The Company Lab (Chattanooga, TN)
Sean Washington, Senior Business Development Manager, City of Norfolk (Norfolk, VA)
Cecilia Wessinger, Principal/Founder, Mass Collaboration (Tulsa, OK)
Tom Tom:
(Facilitator) Paul Beyer, Executive Director, Tom Tom Foundation (Charlottesville, VA)
(Facilitator) Ben Wilkes, Program Manager, Tom Tom Foundation (Charlottesville, VA)
How can collaboration uplift your city’s small business and startup landscape?
Communities from coast to coast are feeling the effects of COVID-19 in countless ways. At Tom Tom, we believe that there’s a more pressing need for connection and conversation among peer community leaders than ever before. What specific struggles are they facing? Which of their turn-on-a-dime efforts have been fruitful? And how do nonprofits, who rely heavily on fundraising to cover operating costs, survive with asks for support coming from all sectors?
Last week, our entrepreneurial roundtable brought together economic developers, accelerators, startup champions and more, who are working tirelessly to buoy their cities’ entrepreneurial ecosystems. See a few highlights from the discussion below.
If you’d like to join us for our next entrepreneurship roundtable, or a roundtable focusing on another theme related to innovation in America’s cities (economic development, education, justice, etc.), please reach out to programming@tomtomfoundation.org.
Meet the Justice Roundtable Participants:
Grace Belangia, Executive Director and Founding Member, the Clubhou.se (Augusta, GA)
Derrick Braziel, Cofounder and Managing Partner, MORTAR Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH)
Erin Burcham, Director of Talent Solutions, Roanoke Regional Partnership (Roanoke, VA)
Ric Cavender, Executive Director, Charleston Main Streets (Charleston, WV)
Lindsey Cox, Program Manager and Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of Commerce – Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Washington, DC)
Elizabeth Cromwell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce (Charlottesville, VA)
Enoch Elwell, Founder, CO.STARTERS (Chattanooga, TN)
Leah Fremouw, Vice President, Director of Marketing and Community Impact, Virginia Community Capital (Richmond, VA)
Kian Kamas, Chief of Economic Development, City of Tulsa – Office of the Mayor (Tulsa, OK)
Adam Klein, Chief Strategist, American Underground/Director of Strategy, Capitol Broadcasting Company (Durham, NC)
Jena Roscoe, First Senior Vice President, Chief of Government Affairs & Public Policy, Operation HOPE (Washington, DC)
Marcus Shaw, Executive Director, The Company Lab (Chattanooga, TN)
Sean Washington, Senior Business Development Manager, City of Norfolk (Norfolk, VA)
Cecilia Wessinger, Principal/Founder, Mass Collaboration (Tulsa, OK)
Tom Tom:
(Facilitator) Paul Beyer, Executive Director, Tom Tom Foundation (Charlottesville, VA)
(Facilitator) Ben Wilkes, Program Manager, Tom Tom Foundation (Charlottesville, VA)
