In January, Prosper Portland A&O welcomed a new class of eight local businesses to its second annual JUMPSTART small business workshop. Led by design director and innovator Angela Medlin, JUMPSTART seeks to empower businesses looking to sharpen their existing brand story. The four-part, biweekly workshop offers insight into the branding process, goal-setting, and how to define consumer identity, brand attributes, products, and/or services.
JUMPSTART serves founders of direct-to-consumer brands and traded sector companies in the Athletic & Outdoor or Consumer Products space. Each session of the workshop focuses on a different aspect of business development: Founder, Brand, Consumer, and Product.
Vanessa Deets, owner of A Branch & Cord, remarked, “As a small business entrepreneur, attending a JUMPSTART workshop on brand storytelling was incredibly helpful. It gave me fresh insights into how to share my story authentically and reminded me that connecting with my audience starts with being open and relatable. After just one workshop, the experience is inspiring me to see the value my journey brings to my brand. I can’t wait to see what the next few workshops teach us.”
Kari Merkl of Merkled Studio agrees. “After years of running a business,” she says, “this is an opportunity for me to give intentional time and energy to my existing brand and product stories, to review what is serving me and what may be outdated, and to reach new customers and clients.”
The 2025 JUMPSTART participants are:
