A Founder's $1Million Secret

2 days ago4 min read

How grant funds led me here.

Each company I have built was created out of passion, necessity, or opportunity.

My name is Cynthia Nevels, and I am the Founder of Start. Pivot. Grow. In fact, Start. Pivot. Grow. is not a company; it's a passion project I started as a social impact initiative to help minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses survive during the pandemic. We needed each other then like we need each other now more than ever.

I am a woman with many interests, driven by curiosity and a deep passion for helping entrepreneurs thrive. Additionally, I am an award-winning culinary chef who has owned and operated three restaurants, one food truck, and one catering company in Texas. At the same time, I ran a tech and business management consulting firm that served clients such as Goldman Sachs, Capital One, Dallas College, and many many more and built those companies to generate a very handsome amount of revenue, garner great affinity for a brand but also built lasting relationships with many people I serve and admire still to this day. I would not be a businesswoman and leader without other minorities in leadership roles who believed in my product, service, vision, or abilities.

Today, I had the opportunity to celebrate the launch of a new technology my firm, Integrality, has created to help elevate ambitious business owners who are striving to reach the 7 and 8-figure revenue mark in their own businesses. Today, I appeared on ABC's WFAA channel 8 in Dallas, TX, preparing my famous vegan wings (yes, there is such a thing) for those looking for ideas for the Big Game. I took a page out of Silicon Valley, where I cut my teeth working for corporations and brands that are global conglomerates now, and I wore a branded tee created by a fellow CEO client and friend, Kia-Shun Voltz, who's the owner of the patented ShampooTime brand. I was able to showcase one skill while introducing a new product, KPIXAI, to millions of viewers.

Watch the WFAA Good Morning Texas segment

KPIXAI was created to remove barriers, introduce the mechanics of managing a business from the top, and expose entrepreneurs to the formal process of writing their strategic growth and action plans while simulating their potential for profit using our KPI dashboard and financial modeling system. This type of revolutionary technology is usually reserved for Fortune 500 corporations that hire consulting firms like Deloitte, KPMG, Accenture, and more. It was time for the little girls and guys to receive the same advantage. So I saw the opportunity to build it, and using a firm out of Africa, we built it, and we cannot wait to have you try it.

Watch the KPIXAI demo

I am thankful for the hundreds of thousands of grant dollars my firm has been awarded to carry out this passion project of mine. I started this social impact initiative to ensure you were not left behind. This economic development program has been one of the most successful endeavors of many. We've helped and seen so many entrepreneurs achieve success beyond their wildest dreams by taking advantage of the products, tools, resources, classes, webinars, bootcamps, and tech we offer. This platform is dedicated to helping you achieve your goals. We have partnered with The UPS Foundation, The Dallas College Foundation, Dallas College, the Wells Fargo Foundation, Spectrum, Encore Bank, the City of Desoto, and many more to deliver the best the market offers.

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In 2021, I used my stimulus money to build Start. Pivot. Grow. to help you thrive. I built the website, designed the materials, developed the curriculum, recruited the partners, aligned with expert volunteers, and committed to donating hours of business advising to help small business owners access capital, connect with resources to remove barriers and answer tough questions when others could not. After 23 years in business on my own, I have found that all an entrepreneur needs is a person to rely on to answer their questions honestly, a person to teach them how to manage a business the right way (sometimes it hurts to hear it), a person who doesn't gatekeep and a person who believes in them.

I am committed to continuing to do the same for us all this Black History Month.

Here's a list of resources available to you, including the new KPIXAI platform, which you can try free for 30 days. As for my vegan wing recipe... well, you'll have to wait for the recipe book for that (wink). Our Q1 Micro Grant Award Announcement is coming March 31, 2025. Follow us on Instagram, and be sure to read our newsletters for announcements and updates.