Georgia State University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute (ENI) has selected a diverse and innovative group of founders for the second cohort of its Main Street Entrepreneurs Seed Fund (MSESF).

The second cohort is supported by donations from the Georgia Power Company and Georgia State alumnus Ahmet Bozer (‘83), a retired executive vice president at Coca-Cola.

The Main Street Entrepreneurs Seed Fund is a part of Georgia State’s effort to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem of resources to support entrepreneurs and innovators. With an emphasis on fostering inclusive entrepreneurship, the MSESF is a six-month program created to support underrepresented students, recent alumni and Georgia State community entrepreneurs with seed funding and mentorship to start and grow new ventures.

“Nearly 130 Georgia State undergraduate and graduate students, alumni and community members applied to participate in the second cohort of Main Street,” said Jennifer Sherer, director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute. “It was very difficult to narrow the pool to just 13 companies.”

The selection process included two rounds. In the first round, applications were scored by Georgia State faculty and staff. Forty companies advanced to the second round where they pitched their businesses virtually to a panel of reviewers consisting of investors, serial entrepreneurs and community partners.

The companies and entrepreneurs participating in Cohort 2 include:

• Buzz Coffee and Winehouse – Tremayne Perry, Georgia State community member

• Retrograde – Darrielle McCray, Film and Media, College of the Arts

• CXMMUNITY – Ryan Johnson, Sports Administration, College of Education & Human Development

• Edusophic Curriculum and Development Solutions – Marques Herrington, Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Development

• Eidi – Meraj Ahmed, Media Entrepreneurship, College of Arts & Sciences

• EKAT Productions – Emily Wilson, Film and Media, College of the Arts

• EthioPay – Daniel Hadgu, Finance, Robinson College of Business

• Food Upcycles – Yazdan Navabi (’20), Business Economics, Robinson College of Business

• Karaoke Noir – Rejess Marshall (’10 & ’19), Business Administration, Robinson College of Business

• Meet & Innovate – Jonathan Cornelius (’20), Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

• READI Consulting – Elissa Russell (‘20), Literacy Education, College of Education & Human Development

• The Cheesecake Specialist – Victoria Blount, Finance, Robinson College of Business

• Tikler – Omar Adam (‘17), Computer Information Systems, Robinson College of Business

The business accelerator program has received global recognition and was a recipient of the Award for Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers in 2020.

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