Ascend National Cohort Program

September 2024 - April 2025

Solutions-Oriented approach

Businesses that participate in the Ascend National Cohort enter with a defined opportunity/challenge that, when addressed, leads to business growth. Prior business opportunities/challenges have included business acquisition, international expansion, reducing employee turnover, and reducing inventory and production costs, among others. The Ascend National Cohort becomes a tool through which businesses access a breadth and depth of resources unavailable in other programs to meet the challenge and grow their profitability. 

The 2022-2023 inaugural cohort, 48 businesses, saw an improvement in their operations, which has led to growth rates between 5% and 50% since September 2022. 

A Program Set Apart

By 2025 the Ascend National Cohort will grow 100 businesses owned by people of color toward the middle-market. The Ascend National Cohort’s unique M3 Model melds increased access to Markets through contracting opportunities, Management skills development through business mentoring, coaching and education from three nationally ranked business schools and access to Money through loans and investments.

Businesses accepted to the Ascend National Cohort will enter with a defined opportunity/challenge that, when addressed, will lead to profitable growth. Over the 7-months of the cohort program, businesses access a fantastic set of resources that address the opportunity/challenge they have identified, including:

  • 60-80 hours of business coaching from a successful entrepreneur
  • 60-80 hours of assistance from an MBA student
  • Two consulting sessions from EY
  • Two accounting and financial management consulting sessions from RSM
  • Two capital access sessions with business and middle-market lenders from JPMorgan Chase
  • Six days of in-person instruction from business school faculty in either Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; or Seattle, WA
  • 36 hours of virtual instruction and small group work on operational excellence, B2B marketing, and organizational leadership

Highlights & Benefits of the Ascend National Cohort

Building Your Team

While most business development programs focus on just the business owner or CEO, the Ascend National Cohort is focused on building a strong executive leadership team. The CEO plus 2 C-Suite level colleagues from each company can attend in-person and virtual sessions.

 
 

  • The cohort structure of this program supports the creation of a nationwide peer network among business owners from a range of industries. Business owners learn from each other and engage as customers and suppliers. At the end of the program, business owners join an alum association that expands their business and professional networks.

  • Each Ascend business is matched with an experienced business owner or senior executive. Most coaches have grown their business to middle-market size. Coaches help business owners wrestle with the complex opportunity/challenge identified in the early stages of the program. Each coach spends at least 60 hours with each company over seven months.

  • Each Ascend business is matched with an Ascend MBA Fellow who will spend 80 hours working on an identified project based on the business’ opportunity/challenge statement. Ascend MBA Fellows can work on projects alone or in coordination with the Business Coach.

Engaging with Consulting Firms

Ascend National Cohort businesses engage with consultants from two global consulting firms: 

  • EY, one of the world’s leading professional services firms with 700 offices in 150 countries. This engagement focuses on identifying key drivers of business growth and increasing the effectiveness of integrating technology within Ascend National Cohort firms. 

  • RSM is the world’s largest accounting firm focusing on middle-market firms. The focus of work with RSM is to grow accounting and financial management infrastructure to support firms as they move to middle-market size. 

 
 

Corporate and Middle-Market Partners

A corporate or middle-market partner nominates most Ascend National Cohort participating businesses. Partners include: 

 
 
 
 

Engaging with JPMorgan Chase

Beyond the financial backbone of the Ascend National Cohort, JPMorgan Chase bankers work with firms to prepare them to be bankable as they move to middle-market size. Ascend businesses engage directly with business and middle market bankers in six hours of one-on-one and small group sessions. 

Hubs

MBEs will engage with one of five Ascend National Cohort Hubs. These business schools will each have their cohort and lead in subject expertise.

 
 

Interest

If you are interested in learning more about the National Ascend Cohort or would like to join in achieving the goal of helping businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color reach success, contact the closest Hub representative. 

● Foster School of Business at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA – Michael Verchot 

● Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston/Chicago, IL– Michele Rogers 

● Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA – Tiffany Bussey

Fill out the application.