Vison 2 Product System

Entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of work in the United States. Nationally, 81.9% of small businesses operate as sole proprietorships (with no employees). With the average small business owner earning $69,119—approximately 16% above the national average salary of $59,428—this represents a workforce of nearly 27 million people. Our system supports underserved entrepreneurs by providing access to high-quality training, affordable production spaces, and marketing development, guiding them from the initial idea to a successful product launch. Considering that 44% of all U.S. workers are low-wage earners, fostering entrepreneurship presents a powerful pathway to broader community prosperity and social reconciliation.

The Genesis Block Foundation solution is to provide wraparound services from the first stage of the idea being formed through the various stages of entrepreneurship all the way to revenue generation and scaling.  Our system includes 5 phases which include training and technical assistance, production spaces to test and develop products and marketing platform to strengthen the brand and build loyal customers. 

Video link here 

Our target population are minority groups and underserved entrepreneurs in rural and disadvantaged communities.  Over 90% of the founders we service are women owned firms and over 85% are Black, indigenous and people of color. Some of the challenges that entrepreneurs face in these communities are lack of programs targeted at inclusiveness, community engagement and curriculums designed to support community and Main Street entrepreneurs.  Our solution and structure is cohort based and builds trust, collaboration and creativity in an inclusive environment with systems and mentors designed for their needs. 

Since its founding in February 2020, Genesis Block Foundation has become an anchor organization in the Cape Fear Region in North Carolina for the advancement of entrepreneurship particularly in the sector of minority, women owned and BIPOC Population. Our organization is a member of The Coalition, which represents a network of entrepreneur support organization and economic development entities. We have partnered with Cape Fear Community College to establish Block Eatz, the first food hall incubator in southeastern North Carolina.  We also partner with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Northstate Bank and Novant Health to support Conversations to Contracts, a marketing and education platform that connects diverse owned businesses to contract opportunities and enhance the regional supply chain workforce.  Over the last 4 years we have supported 87 founders with training, Block Eatz has served over 11,000 meals impacting local food Entrepreneurs with new markets and our marketing programs have connected diverse owned businesses to over $1 million dollars in contracting opportunities. 

We launched the first components of our solution in 2021 with our first Back on the Block Accelerator.  Since then we have added production facilities, a technology platform to organize the ecosystem and multiple regional and state partnerships to increase our capacity to service entrepreneurs and build pathways to Upskilling the workforce.

https://genesisblockilm.com/fo...

In 2023, Genesis Block received the Community Activator Award from the Carolina Small Business Development Fund as part of the North Carolina Small Business Awards. As part of our mission, we developed Genesis Bridge, a technology platform that creates digital identities for entrepreneurs and small business owners. This platform offers tools for marketing, brand development, certification management, and direct messaging for contract opportunities.

Our vision is to leverage predictive analytics to match entrepreneurs with tailored Upskill training, connect them with relevant vendors for contracting opportunities, and provide access to digital financial products. By doing so, Genesis Bridge reduces barriers to capital and contract opportunities while unlocking business networks and enabling scalable growth at a lower cost.

Our goal is to expand our capacity to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the 44 counties that comprise eastern North Carolina. Our solution provides the digital and physical infrastructure to support thousands of entrepreneurs in the region.

Here are the components our entrepreneur ecosystem and our 2025 Impact Goals.

Conversations to Contracts

Objective

Supplier diversity marketing platform supporting diverse owned business growth, integration into regional supply chains, workforce training and community engagement. The quarterly event connects local diverse businesses to large organizations and anchor institutions. 

Impact Goals

• $2.5 million in supplier diversity contracts

• 40 Minority businesses certified in Walk Thru events

• 200 Diverse owned businesses participating 

• 1000 attendees

Objective

Expansion of Block Eatz incubator into a regional food innovation center that supports local food entrepreneurs and fosters innovation in culinary arts. The 11,700 facility will host Block Eatz food incubator, serve as a test kitchen, operate a licensed shared use kitchen commissary and support community initiatives related to food security and food as medicine

. 

Impact Goals

• $6.5 million in client revenue

• $7.5 million in economic activity

• 11,700 food innovation center

• 60 Culinary Workforce Graduates

• 850 program and event attendees

Objective

Establish an entrepreneurship and innovation research hub to serve as the gathering place for entrepreneurial activity, networking, incubators and training.

Impact Goals

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research Center

• 75 graduates Block Academy

• Shared coworking space

• Business Incubators & Accelerators 

• 2000 attendees for workshops and networking events

Genesis Bridge 

Objective

Supplier diversity technology platform providing digital marketing, certification management, vendor pairing and connecting divers businesses to contracting opportunities

Impact Goals

3000 Entrepreneurs by end of 2025

300 Anchor Companies/Organizations

$75,000,000 Contract conversions on platform

Tracey Newkirk

Girard Newkirk

Aariene Hansley

Michelle Epp

Zac Tyhacz

Wheat Holt

Granit Training Group

Cape Fear Community College Small Business Center

Our organization was founded in February 2020. We began launch the first cohorts and entrepreneur Hub in January 2021.  We began the first product development in February 2022 and we now have a 3 websites, mobile application and 3 data repositories comprised of a small business, entrepreneur and innovation index.  We begin the Cape Fear Regional Innovation Survey on January 21,2025 that encompasses 6 counties and give us a framework to scale for the balance of the 44 counties in eastern North Carolina. Our aim if for this to become a solution that can scale nationally.

The founders of the organization are African American and all of our team members represent women, BIPOC and a diverse background of ethnicity and orientation.  Over 90% of the entrepreneurs and businesses we support our women owned.  Our organizational emphasis on diversity is embedded in our culture and we are community leaders in advocating equitable economic development .

Our business models are as follows

Genesis Bridge

Subscription based

Marketing/Advertising

Sponsorships

Block Eatz

Shared revenue 

Kitchen Commissary memberships

Sponsorships

Block Academy

Sponsorships

Our plan is to build sustainability by initially focusing on building network density.  We currently use the platform for 71 companies and 32 organizations to manage vendor pairing and networking. We aim to increase to 3000 companies and 300 organizations with the completion of the Cape Fear Regional Scorecard project in partnership with University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the Swain Center and University of North Carolina Wilmington Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.  Our strategy is to pool together entrepreneur hubs throughout the region and integrate them into Genesis Bridge as one collaborative platform providing education and Upskilling, access to capital products, providing local/state stakeholders with gap analysis and vendor pairing. 

Genesis Bridge

Subscription based

Marketing/Advertising

Sponsorships