On the inaugural episode of Why Local Matters: The Business Owners Who Are Building Buffalo, host Mel chats with Derrick Parson, Executive Director at The Exchange at Beverly Gray, a Buffalo-based incubator specifically serving BIPOC entrepreneurs and business owners.
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Derrick and I chat about:
- What local business means here in Buffalo and how Buffaloans rally around our own
- How The Exchange got its start
- A few business owners they work with
- The Exchange’s “clinic model” to support business owners and who they provide support to
- Creating your own local business community to support your growth
- Derrick’s advice for other local businesses after working with over 800+businesses across the WNY region
Some highlights:
- The Exchange supported Unapologetic Coffee to grow into two storefronts, obtain $100k in funding, and expand their reach to source their own coffee beans while now pursuing distribution on national supermarket shelves.
- Half Luna Empanadas turned a three-hour strategy session with The Exchange into a deal for their empanadas to be sold at Highmark Stadium for the 2026-2027 Bills season.