If you’re building a new business in Eastern Kentucky, you already know how lonely and uphill that journey can feel.
You care about your community. You have an idea you believe in. You want to create impact and income at the same time.
What you may not have yet is a safe place to practice, refine your message, get honest feedback, and gain the confidence that you belong in the world of entrepreneurship.
That’s why this story from the 2025 Appalachian Conference on Social Enterprise (ACOSE) matters.
Because what happened there shows what becomes possible when you step into the right room with the right support at the right time.
Solving the Biggest Challenges Eastern Kentucky Entrepreneurs Face
Many early-stage founders struggle with the same obstacles.
They know their idea is good but explaining it clearly is hard. Funding barriers slow them down. Technical language gets in the way. Their confidence wavers because they’ve never pitched before.
They want to grow, but they don’t always know how.
ACOSE is built to change that.
It’s an annual gathering in Portsmouth, Ohio, designed for people creating businesses with a mission, people who want their work to make life better for others.
The conference helps them gain skills, relationships, clarity, and momentum that move a business forward faster.
This is also where SOAR Innovation and the Social Enterprise Accelerator come in.
SOAR Innovation equips entrepreneurs and tech-enabled startups in Eastern Kentucky with the resources, mentorship, and coaching to turn ideas into viable businesses, grow their ventures, and scale for long-term success.
The Social Enterprise Accelerator is a part of Shaping Our Appalachian Region’s Eastern Kentucky Runway Program. It serves founders building businesses that provide a social good to their community. Participants in this program are called fellows. That simply means they’re a part of a small group receiving mentorship, hands on training, and ongoing support as they develop their business models and move toward launch.
The SOAR Innovation team attended ACOSE this year to help early-stage entrepreneurs who have talent and grit but need practical tools and encouragement to take the next step.
We connect them to coaching from experts who translate complex ideas into clear action. We help them practice telling their story. We remind them that their work matters and that they have everything it takes to succeed.
Stepping Into the Spotlight: Four Founders, One Big Step
A highlight of ACOSE is the live Kricker Innovation Pitch Competition.
This is where entrepreneurs present their ideas to judges and receive professional guidance at no cost.
They learn how to deliver a message that’s simple and compelling. They learn how to answer questions without getting flustered. They learn how to talk about the people they serve and the change they want to create.
This year, four Social Enterprise Accelerator fellows stepped onto that stage.
For the Pre-Revenue Track:
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Sarah and Robert Greer with Transformation Transportation: A service offering peer mentoring and a responsive taxi service for vulnerable populations in Eastern Kentucky.
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Misty Panther with Oh Rising Phoenix: A service providing transitional housing and a workforce program for women with PTSD.
For the Revenue Track:
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Khaled Sabry with Orascom Construction: A service providing housing construction and repair for vulnerable populations in Eastern Kentucky.
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Scott Stuckey with ROIHire™: A tech-enabled hiring platform that bridges employers, workforce agencies, and job seekers.
Stepping into the spotlight isn’t easy. It’s quick, public, and requires clarity.Yet every one of them showed courage and growth that you could see in their body language and hear in their voice.
And it paid off: Robert and Sarah Greer earned second place in the Pre-Revenue track.
They received $750 that will allow them to purchase a taxi license, which has been a major hurdle in launching their service.
This is more than a prize. It’s momentum.
It’s the kind of push that moves a business from idea to operation.
Their fellow competitors also gained something powerful: They left with stronger communication skills, real feedback, new connections, and a clearer sense of what is possible.
The Real Impact Behind the Pitch
What happened on that stage is bigger than a competition.
It’s about people rebuilding their lives and finding confidence in themselves.
One fellow said it best in a message they sent to the SOAR Innovation team after the event:
Thank you for your encouragement and pushing and helping to go from just being drug addicts to business owners. It is truly overwhelming for us and by God’s grace this has happened. SOAR Innovation is amazing, and we are so grateful for the opportunity.
This is the heart of our work.
Eastern Kentuckian’s discovering they can build something meaningful. People realizing that their past doesn’t disqualify them from opportunity. People claiming ownership of their future with the support of a community that believes in them.
Build Your Business Future with SOAR Innovation
SOAR Innovation will continue supporting these entrepreneurs as they apply what they learned and turn their concepts into real, working businesses.
Their courage is a reminder that progress happens one step at a time.
Your step might be next.
If you have a business idea or an early-stage venture and you want support, clarity, or community, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
SOAR Innovation offers free entrepreneurship education and accelerator programs designed specifically for people in Appalachia who want to build something that matters.
Your idea deserves a chance to grow, and we would love to help you take the next step.