On the show this week we got to chat with Rochester resident and serial entrepreneur Tawonda Burks. Tawonda owns and operates the local consulting firm Elocina, which specializes in startup business assistance, especially for minority owned companies. Don’t miss out on this conversation with Tawonda today to learn more about her business, gaps she observed in the local community that needed to be filled, and trends she’s seeing in the local startup ecosystem.

Links from today’s show:

Elocina

Website: https://www.elocina.com/

Facebook: @elocinabusiness

Instagram: @elocinabusiness

Music Attribution: Jane Fonda by The Grand Affair is licensed through the YouTube Audio Library.

Episode Breakdown:

0:00 Start

2:20 Intro to Tawonda and how she got to Rochester

4:01 About Elocina

7:18 What a typical interaction with Elocina looks like

9:39 Elocina client base

9:54 Startup education and resource gaps in the local community

11:48 Finding balance

15:16 Closed mouths don’t get fed

17:49 Post-pandemic business trends

20:29 Need to simplify language in contracts

23:16 What motivates Tawonda

25:11 How to say “no” to a potential client

27:57 Closing remarks