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Partner Testimonials

Target Forward Founders

Tahaji Felder

Senior Program Manager, Target Accelerators

Elevate Together

Sharu Goodwyn & Alex Price

Manager & Director, Community Investment, Elevate Together​

FAU

Kevin C. Cox, phD, MSE

Senior Instructor and Assistant Director

Founder Institute - South Florida

“VMT has been one of our program’s biggest supporters. We have had dozens of their members contribute to our sessions and mentor our founders both during and after the program.”

James Irvine

Director

1909

“I have a unique perspective on the VMT as I have been involved in every aspect of the program. My first start-up was mentored by the VMT, and I saw the power of mentorship through that experience. Now, in my role as the Executive Director of 1909, a Palm Beach County business incubator, I count on my relationship with the VMT to provide experienced, certified mentors for the businesses 1909 serves. Wanting to give back, I have become a VMT mentor myself. Each of these experiences has provided me with a network of valued friends and partners — smart, talented, altruistic individuals who are generously supporting startup founders and small business owners.” 

Shana Ostrovitz

Executive Director & VMT Mentor

Target Forward Founders

The Venture Mentor Team has been a phenomenal partner with Target Forward Founders.  While mentoring roughly 60 of the founders that were a part of the program, the mentors provided a wealth of invaluable guidance and resources.  With the additional VMT mentor expertise, the founders have been able to accelerate their brand growth and directly apply their newfound knowledge.  The mentors immediately connected with our founders, were flexible with the founder inquiries, and authentically shared their vital feedback.

Tahaji Felder

Senior Program Manager, Target Accelerators

Elevate Together

Office Depot initiated the Elevate Together program in 2021 partnering with The Venture Mentoring Team, the National Urban League and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to deliver impactful, measurable and scalable support services that foster business creation and growth opportunities for Black and Hispanic businesses.

It has been an honor to partner with the Venture Mentoring Team during Elevate Together’s launch and early stages. Their mentoring methodology and training set a high bar, and their mentors have been invaluable to our Elevate Together grant recipients.

We look forward to the VMT’s continued work with Urban League affiliates, Hispanic Chambers and other community partners to provide mentoring services to minority-owned small businesses as they grow and expand their mentoring services.

Sharu Goodwyn

National Manager, Community Investment, Elevate Together

Alex Price

National Director, Community Investment / Co-Leader, Diversity Council

Florida Atlantic University

The path taken by entrepreneurs is never a straight line and is full of twists and turns that often require expertise and guidance from professionals outside of the organization. We at 2nd Vault could not be more grateful and appreciative of the time and knowledge provided to us by the Venture Mentoring Team. Every minute spent with our mentoring team is time well spent and invested. The VMT mentoring team is a perfectly crafted group of professionals that all have meaningful direction and insights to provide. The VMT mentors keep us focused on what is in front of us systematically, helping to lead our company to scale. We feel so fortunate to have been selected as mentees of the VMT and hope to pay it forward in the future.  Thank you for all you do and the impact you have on start-up founders, as there is no price one could ever assign to the value we have received.

Kevin C. Cox, phD, MSE

Senior Instructor and Assistant Director