CoBuilders Mississippi partner The Meeting Place, based in Biloxi, sent three companies to the 2022 accelerator cohort: Hometown Workforce, The Magnolia Diner and Time-Touch-Take LLC. Each company will receive at least $8,000 in startup capital for completing the accelerator as they vie for an opportunity to pitch their company at Pitch Day on July 28, 2022, in Jackson.
Hometown Workforce is an Amazon-like marketplace that sells contractor services instead of books and merchandise. Founder Jason VanZant said the platform allows small businesses to create service listings, where each listing includes a price and estimated time for the job. Funds are held in escrow until the work is approved, and the platform enables you to schedule the contractor since the time for each job is predetermined. In one example from their website, Biloxi Power Washing offers services such as power washing a 60-foot driveway, a 120-foot driveway or a 180-foot driveway, with pricing and timing for each job.
The company is designing the software to appeal not just to consumers and the contractors that can reach those consumers but also to students. Using online tools, students can learn a trade and work up to running their home services or contracting business with customers easily accessible through the Hometown Workforce marketplace.
The Magnolia Diner, a Mississippi Gulf Coast restaurant, is famous for its collard-green egg rolls. So famous, the restaurant’s next step is to package and sell them in grocery stores and supermarkets. Founder NaTonya Parish is ready to go big with those famous collard-green egg rolls, thinking through the ins and outs of producing them at scale.
Barbara Coatney of Time-Touch-Take LLC developed her “Internet of Things” enabled medication dispenser when she was dealing with a relative who had lost most of his sight and had trouble keeping up with prescriptions. With a timer, alert and connection to caregivers, the dispenser makes it easier for the elderly and blind to keep up with essential medications.
Pitch Day for CoBuilders Mississippi is July 28, 2022, in Jackson, Miss., at Fertile Ground Beer Co., 800 Manship Street. General public welcome; Registration is free and sponsorships are available. For more information, contact Janet Parker at jparker@innovate.ms or register here.
