The Minority Business Accelerator (MBA) is a program of the Tampa Bay Chamber Foundation designed to aid Black and Hispanic businesses prepare for growth. The MBA helps these businesses identify and overcome barriers, which often include limited access to capital, key decision makers, and information. By providing practical tools for change, program participants are positioned to increase capacity, create jobs, and build wealth.
Impact Metrics
The Minority Business Accelerator measures the progress of its participants by tracking key metrics such as jobs created, capital received, assets acquired, strategic introductions made and new corporate contacts. The numbers are self-reported by all of the businesses in the cohort on a quarterly basis.
| 249 | Current Employees |
| $8.77M | Gross Sales |
| 85 | New Jobs Created |
| 27 | Vacancies Filled |
| 34 | New Corporate Contracts |
| $78k | Company Secured Capital |
| $43k | New Assets Acquired |
| 34 | Strategic Introductions Made |
Does not include metrics from Cablelytics and M&G Janitorial Services.
Education Sessions and Events
Jan. 12 – Cohort ’24 Mentor Orientation
- Patrick Leask, Certified Business Coach – ActionCOACH Business Coaching
Jan. 13 – Cohort ’24 Orientation
- Bob Rohrlack DBA, CEE, President & CEO – Tampa Bay Chamber
- Rosanne Versaggi, Senior Director, Membership – Tampa Bay Chamber
- Clint Babcock, Partner – Sandler Training of Tampa Bay
Jan. 31 – Cohort ’24 Kickoff Reception
Raoul Thomas (Cohort ‘24) with mentor Michael Eubanks.
Feb. 3 – Cohort ’24 Session 1: Strategic Visioning
- Ralph Garcia, Principal – RGA Advisory
Feb. 9 – MBA Advisory Council Meeting
Feb. 17 – Cohort ’23 Session 1: Profitability and Growth
- Ralph Garcia, Principal – RGA Advisory
Mar. 10 – Cohort ‘24 Session 2: SBA Lending and Finance
Cohort ‘24 with FBDC.
- John McCabe, SBA Business Acquisition Specialist – Customers Bank
- Daniel Martinez, Vice President – FBDC
- Cedric Hall, Business Development Officer – FBDC
Mar. 24 – Cohort ‘23 Session 2: Doing Business with Pinellas County
- Pinellas County Office of Small Business and Supplier Diversity
- MBA Alumni were invited to this session.
Mar. 28 – MBA Mentor Roundtable
Mentor Leah Pearson with Pam Washington (Cohort ‘24).
Community and Chamber Events
Jan. 23 – Beck/Envision Trade Partner Outreach Event
- Ruskin Recreation Center
- Outreach event hosted by the Beck/Envision team to promote available contract opportunities for trade partners.
Feb. 16 – Third Thursday by Fifth Third Bank
- 7th + Grove
- Black Civil Leaders
Mar. 9 – Social Hour by Brooks Realty Group
- LIT Cigar and Martini Lounge
- Sherrel Sampson (Cohort ’24), Founder & CEO, Canviiy
Mar. 16 – Third Thursday by Fifth Third Bank
- 7th + Grove
- Resources for the Black and Brown Hispanic Community
- Diana Walker, Hillsborough County Economic Development; Alex Cortez, FCM Fifth Third Bank; Roy Rojas, Prospera; Mercedes Young, Tampa Bay Hispanic Chamber
Mar. 24 – 17th Annual Women of Influence Luncheon
- Hilton Tampa Downtown
- The MBA program purchased two corporate tables for current and past MBA participants to attend
March – April – Small Business of the Year Information Sessions
- All MBA companies were nominated for the Chamber’s Small Business of the Year Awards and invited to the information sessions this quarter
Cohort 2023 Highlights
Cohort 2023 Chair
Lorena Hardwick
Federal Government Relations Manager
BayCare
Cablelytics
Floyd Freeman, CEO
Ceiba LTD.
John Diaz, Managing Member
Ceiba, LTD. is working on an exciting new opportunity with mentor, David Judd – Wehr Contractors, per the recommendation of Avril.
M&G Janitorial Services
Max Volmar, Jr., President
This quarter, M&G Janitorial Services was awarded a final clean contract with The Beck Group for custodial and special projects at USF’s Honors College. M&G is also bidding on an RFP for the City of Tampa.
Mijan Constructions
Charles Jackson, President/CEO
Mijan Constructions secured two new contracts in Q1 and is on track to breaking their quarterly revenue record. The company plans to add two new staff members in May and has a projected revenue of $3.5M for the 2023 calendar year.
Ortega Custom Cabinets
Damaris & Uziel Ortega, AMBR
This quarter, Ortega Custom Cabinets completed six projects (among others) for doctor’s offices in Kissimmee, secured a construction contract through a past MBA education session speaker, and expanded their services to include staining office doors. The company has several bids out to work with a residential developer they connected with and met potential prime contractors at the “Doing Business with Pinellas County” session. Damaris also successfully completed the Turner School of Construction Management training program.
Power Civil Construction Services
Kalvin Weathersby, Operations Manager
Power Civil Construction’s Chief Operating Officer, Stephanie Bankhardt, was accepted as a committee member on NATE’s Women of Nate (WON) division. NATE, The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, is a non-profit trade association dedicated to providing a unified voice for companies in the diverse tower and communications infrastructure construction, service and maintenance industries.
Stephanie also learned how to apply for Pinellas County contract opportunities at the “Doing Business with Pinellas County” session.
Cohort 2024 Highlights
Cohort 2024 Chair
Michael Flores
Executive Director
J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Canviiy, LLC.
Sherrel Sampson, Founder & CEO
Canviiy launched their products in 600+ Walmart Stores nationwide.
In The News
A feature on ABC Action News shared Canviiy’s origin story and how their products first appeared on store shelves in My Shade & Texture, a local Tampa beauty supply store, and are now sold at Walmart’s nationwide.
Canviiy’s ScalpBliss Itch Calming Serum and Restorative Growth Serum were also featured on CBS Mornings Deals.
Chakra Zulu Crystals
Paula Hopkins, CEO
CWJ Universal Enterprises
Mildred (Pam) Washington, Vice President
CWJ Universal was connected to a safety equipment supplier through the MBA program as well as an Employment Specialist at The Grow Group, who may help them hire an additional office employee and find participants for their apprenticeship program.
Law Office of Edward J. Reyes
Edward Reyes, Attorney
This quarter, The Reyes Firm expanded their services outside of personal injury to include areas of corporate counsel and business law. Subspecialties will include trust formation, articles of incorporation, contract disputes, negotiation, and more.
“Expanding our law firm is an exciting first step for us. We have built a strong foundation of trust and reliability with our clients, and we look forward to continuing to provide them with the high-quality legal services they have come to expect from us.” - Edward Reyes
MAS Global Consulting
Monica Hernandez, CEO & Founder
Milena International Inc.
Raoul Thomas, CEO
Milena International Inc was happy to hire their first new employee since before Covid. They were also able to increase their fleet vans by one new vehicle. Milena acquired a new $50K credit card with a 2.5% cash back for their large purchases. They were also expanded their construction income to approximately $100K and closed (among others) a $66K contract with their largest client.
“Things are picking up and we are building structures to make operations smoother.” – Raoul Thomas
Optional Solutions, LLC.
Tammy Foster-Knight, President & CEO
Optional Solutions received their prototypes of construction workwear that will be manufactured here in the United States. The company is also finalizing a new business partnership with a general contractor specializing in new and the reconstruction of commercial and residential properties, as well as cleanup and remediation after natural disasters.
Dr. Foster-Knight met with her mentors – Jon Stentz, Stellar Partners and John Cimino, Valley Bank – twice this quarter to discuss her goals and vision for Optional Solutions. Both mentors attended the Cohort ’24 Kickoff Reception in January and have also attended a few of the MBA education sessions.
“I have an awesome team that is supportive.” – Dr. Tammy Foster-Knight
Paragon Cyber Solutions
Courtney Jackson, Founder & CEO
In The News
Paragon Cyber Solutions held a ribbon cutting last February to celebrate the opening of their Rivergate Tower office location. The event was well-attending, including Mayor Jane Castor, and was featured on FoxNews 13 and Telemundo.
PezCo Aquafarming
Juan-Carlos Libreros, COO, Business Development Officer
In The News
PezCo Aquafarming was featured on Tampa Hoy, NBC News Channel 8’s Spanish language newscast. The segment titled “Hermanos emprendedores triunfan en la Bahía de Tampa,” highlighted the St. Pete-based company’s success in bringing sustainably sourced trout and tilapia from Colombia to the North American market.
United One Communications, LLC.
Carl Chaisson, President & CEO
United One Communication’s Prime Contractor invited their subcontractors to compete for eight hard-to-fill positions. UOC is using organic recruiting capabilities as well as outsourcing to recruiting firms to find the best-qualified applicant within the salary range given. This quarter, UOC entered a lease purchase program for a vehicle and made strategic introductions at Jacobs Engineering, MacDill AFB, and GSA FEDSIM.