CUL Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Business Coaches
The Chicago Urban League Entrepreneurship Center has a first class faculty of coaches, volunteer subject matter experts, and organizations to provide you with superior counsel for your business.
Kevin Davenport
“Kevin P. Davenport is the Director of 2 programs at the Chicago Urban League’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center: NextDEAL (9-week cohort based intensive course on how to apply for your MBE/WBE Certification with the State of IL) & NextLevelExchange (12-month cohort based business development and 1 on 1 mentorship program). Kevin is also the Founder and CEO at TheIdealCandidate.org. The Ideal Candidate is dedicated to unlocking the full potential of individuals and organizations through our transformative soft skills training programs. The Ideal Candidate was awarded “Most Influential Business of the Year 2023” by the NorthWest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Kevin is the author of The Ideal Candidate Book – a quick guideline to self-sufficiency and living with an attitude of gratitude. & Kevin was nationally recognized for his social impact work in 2023 with the Microsoft Tech Maker Award.”
Hours Available: Virtual Only: Monday and Thursday 9am-10am
Subject Matter Expertise
PPP Technical Assistance
Business Strategy
Leadership and Management
Marketing/ Branding
Pitch Preparation
How to Start a Business
Social Media
Non Profit Formation
Access to Capital
Procurement
James Parker
James Parker is Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program Manager at Chicago Urban League Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. He is also founder of Best Date Night, an app that creates date nights for couples.
Hours Available: Virtual Only: Every Friday from 11am-1pm
Subject Matter Expertise
PPP Technical Assistance
Business Strategy
Leadership and Management
Design (UX/UI)
Marketing/ Branding
Pitch Preparation
Technology / Innovation
How to Start a Business
Social Media
Leslie Williams
Leslie Williams is the Technology and Innovation Program Manager at the Chicago urban League. He has over 15 years of experience in the IT industry serving as a System Administrator, Tech Support Specialist and Consultant.
Hours Available: Virtual Only Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 11am-3pm
Subject Matter Expertise
Digital Business Transformation
Website Design
Social Media Management
CRMs
Cloud-Based Business Applications
Diane McDonald-RBT Consulting
Founding Partner of Absolutely Anything Essential, a Certified Minority/Women Own Business.
RBT Consulting is the spirit of empowerment where we pass on our gift by creating opportunities for women, men, & our youth who's interested in starting their own business.
The uniqueness of our brand is that the addition to our products, vending, accessory making classes, and art classes we also have mentor other businesses
from retail businesses, event planners, bakers, caterers, painters, and more....
RBT is always looking to collaborate with other businesses to expand and Network.
Hours Available: See link for availbility
Subject Matter Expertise
Retail
Business Strategy
Social Media Presence
Vending your product
Marketing your product
Business Branding
Software technology for e-commerce sales
Karim Dure
Karim Dure is the NextStart Business Start-up Program Manager at the Chicago Urban League. He has over 14 years of experience as a entrepreneur, teacher, mentor and business coach and consultant.
Hours Available: Virtual Only Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9am-2pm
Subject matter expertise:
Business plan writing
Elevator pitch coaching
Legal matters/incorporation needs
Basics of entrepreneurship
Franchise consulting - buying a franchise or franchising an existing business