Detroit business owners Chinonye Akunne, Lester Gouvia, Darryl and DeKoven Humes have utilized TechTown and the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest to take their business to the next level, and have taken advantage of the resources and programs offered to take their businesses a success.
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Chinonye Akunne, Ilera Apothecary 
Chinonye Akunne is the owner of Ilera Apothecary and was both a 2019 Hatch finalist and a 2019 Retail Boot Camp (RBC) awardee. Through RBC, Akunne was able to strengthen her business by learning how to negotiate lease prices, how to price products and how to talk about her business in an engaging and impactful way. She is still very connected with both the program lecturers as well as her cohort. “The networking with other RBC business owners was amazing. Years later we are still each other’s biggest advocates and are always celebrating big milestones and wins.”
Most valuable takeaway from TechTown
TechTown Strategy Session strategists helped Akunne get in front of funders and assisted with the back end of her business. In 2021 Akunne participated in Incubator, a 90-day TechTown program of individualized coaching and hands-on assistance for revenue, which helped grow her business and get her brand in front of the right people. “TechTown has supported my business in an unimaginable way. Everything we do — how we look for funding, how we ask for resources — TechTown taught me how to do it strategically.”
Advice for new small business owners
“My advice for someone who wants to open up a small business is to be true to yourself, and always remember what impact you set out to do. I think that sometimes when you’re in the thick of it, you can get caught up on focusing on finance or growth, but you need to always remember your why. When you remember your why, you’re more intentional in everything that you do, from the products you make, to how you interact with your clients. It makes you more sustainable in how you approach all the different scenarios that will come your way.”
Lester Gouvia, Norma G’s
Lester Gouvia is the owner and founder of Detroit’s well-loved Caribbean eatery, Norma G’s. Gouvia’s first introduction to TechTown was when he walked through the doors himself to see what was available for someone like him, a person with a good idea and a lot of ambition. Originally thinking TechTown only offered tech programming, Gouvia was glad to participate in TechTown’s SWOT City, where he was introduced to the world of networking. Through TechTown, Gouvia was able to solidify his financial plan and get connected to Hatch Detroit. He became a finalist in the 2015 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest.
Most valuable takeaway from TechTown
“TechTown offered the key introductions that helped me get my foot in the door. From TechTown, I connected with ProsperUs, Motor City Match and Hatch Detroit. Through SWOT I was connected with an accountant who helped me build a solid financial plan to present to funders. He’s one of the people that I owe a lot to.”
Advice for new small business owners
Gouvia now sits on the Detroit Means Business advisory board and wants to work with budding entrepreneurs to share what he’s learned to help them through the beginning stages of their small businesses. “It’s like putting a puzzle together. There are steps that you need to take to navigate the process, and you can’t do B before A,” Gouvia shared. “A plan isn’t always enough, you need to know how to navigate. For me, I learned that networking is critical. One person can lead you to another, to another, to another, and that can open all the doors.”
Darryl and DeKoven Humes, Mature
Brothers Darryl and DeKoven Humes are the owners and founders of Mature, a premier lifestyle clothier based in Detroit, with storefronts in both the Fisher Building and 12 Oaks Mall. Together, they participated in TechTown’s Retail Boot Camp (RBC) and graduated from the program as Kickstart Award winners in fall 2017. Post-graduation they utilized TechTown’s services through Ask an Expert and Strategy Sessions, and continued the relationships with TechTown mentors and industry leaders they met along the way. “Christina Devlin and Heather Levine were crucial to the growth of our business,” said Darryl Humes.
Most valuable takeaway from TechTown
“When I think about the people at TechTown, I think of them as our unofficial ‘Board of Directors.’ They were the people we leaned on when making big decisions, and their leadership helped guide us to success.”
Through TechTown’s support, Mature’s business model grew, and in 2018 they were a Top 10 finalist in Hatch Detroit. “Our main goal was exposure. We wanted to grow quickly with the resources that our community made available to us. Hatch Detroit helped us identify people and strategies that helped us stay afloat during the pandemic. Both programs have been essential to building out our small business.”
Advice for new small business owners
“Our advice for someone who wants to open up a small business is to be patient. Certain things will happen that are out of your control, in fact, they need to happen for your own growth. Build strong infrastructure — you need to have some micro-failures to test and to bring clarity to your vision. Nothing happens overnight. Stay hungry, but be patient.”
