A landscape south-facing photograph of Chattanooga, Tennessee

About Us

Meet CO.STARTERS

Our program equips your city’s small businesses with everything they need to start, grow and succeed.

We equip communities with robust programs to grow local small businesses.

We believe small business is the backbone of communities, and there are good ideas that need to be brought to market. We developed our programs for success so Main Street can flourish again.

We believe that individuals thrive in the context of community. CO.STARTERS is about bringing people together to learn from one another in order to create a strong network of support.

We believe in making concepts and language easy to understand, so business owners can focus on practical next steps and move toward their goals.
A preview of the CO.STARTERS 2022 Impact Report

impact

Our track record, by the numbers

We've spent over a decade supporting hundreds of communities and thousands of entrepreneurs. Take a look at our latest impact report to get the full picture of what CO.STARTERS could do for your community.

View the Full Report

Our beginnings

We started on Main Street.

From the beginning, CO.STARTERS pioneered a community-based approach to economic development. Beginning in 2008 in Chattanooga, Tennessee as part of a five-year revitalization effort called CreateHere. We recognized a growing need to provide business support.

We focused on real community needs—jobs, revitalization, and growth opportunities for local talent.

Through our early work with entrepreneurs, we found that simultaneous business and community support led to the ability to transform Main Street

Over the first four years in Chattanooga, more than 1,000 people went through our program. Our local work grew to support not only small businesses, but also high-growth startups.

Today the CO.STARTERS network consists of thousands of success stories around the world.

A photograph of Charlie Brock, former Executive Director of Launch Tennessee
“CO.STARTERS was, without a doubt, the biggest bang for our buck. And it’s doing the same thing in cities across the state of Tennessee, too. We couldn't even spell ‘entrepreneurship’ fifteen years ago in Chattanooga. Look at us now.”
- charlie brock, launch tn

Our Team

Enoch Elwell

Enoch Elwell

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Co-Founder & Chairman
Jose Alfaro

Jose Alfaro

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Chief Executive Officer
Rebekah Marr

Rebekah Marr

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Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
Taylor Sherbine

Taylor Sherbine

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Community Success Manager
David Kraus

David Kraus

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Marketing & Communications Manager
Barb Weber

Barb Weber

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Facilitator and Training Manager
Jocelyn Wilson

Jocelyn Wilson

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Operations Manager
Autumn Sanders

Autumn Sanders

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Community Trainer
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Birmingham, AL
Scott Pierce

Scott Pierce

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Community Trainer
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Birmingham, AL
Sammy Ortiz

Sammy Ortiz

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Community Trainer
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Dade City, FL
Kerby Meyers

Kerby Meyers

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Community Trainer
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Denver, CO
Adam Robinson

Adam Robinson

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Community Trainer
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Louisville, KY
Elise Spontarelli

Elise Spontarelli

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Community Trainer
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Lynchburg, VA
Lily Shaw

Lily Shaw

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Community Trainer
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Minneapolis, MN
Vivian Stiassny

Vivian Stiassny

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Community Trainer
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San Bruno, CA

Our Trainers

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Jonathan Simpson
New Accounts
jonathan@yugeinc.co
Bella Ridley
Bella Ridley
Key Account Manager
bella@yugeinc.co
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James Godwin
CEO
james@yugeinc.co
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Gizelle M.
Key Account Manager
gizelle@yugeinc.co
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Jan Harper
Sales
jan@yugeinc.co
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Sam Y.
Night Manager
sam@yugeinc.co
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Bruce Forsyth
Designer
bruce@yugeinc.co

Be the city that makes business boom

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