Welcome to INVANTI Founders' Stories, where Dustin Mix and Maria Gibbs interview INVANTI founders about their backgrounds, how they ended up at INVANTI, what they explored while they were here, and ultimately what venture they have built.

In this first episode, Dustin and Maria interview Cohort 2 member Nicola Brown. Originally from Jamaica, Nicola moved to South Bend for INVANTI from Miami, FL. She came with a background in community development and thoughtful exploration of new ways to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing marginalized communities.

Nicola is emerging from this 6-month cohort as the founder of KOKORO. KOKORO believes that businesses are only as healthy as the owner, and has taken research on well-being to translate it to what it means for the life of business owners, allowing them to apply the same metrics-driven approach they use to run their business to manager their well-being.

This conversation covers why Nicola chose INVANTI and entrepreneurship, how she discovered the problems that led to her KOKORO solution, and where this new company is going in the next 3-6 months.