Indigenous entrepreneurs gather for Business & Marketing Essentials bootcamp 

Indigenous entrepreneurs from around Northern Michigan gathered at 20Fathoms in late September for a 3-day bootcamp focused on building their business and marketing skills – and connecting them to one another. 

“What I hear from a lot of entrepreneurs is that it feels very isolating and lonely sometimes,” Henry Jake Foreman, program director for New Mexico Community Capital and co-facilitator, told the Traverse City Record Eagle. “Even though we’re here in Traverse City, a lot of folks didn’t know each other, so to make those connections with people is always the most surprising and exciting part.” 

The cohort brought together entrepreneurs from 14 businesses including Amanda Thiebaut, who runs a crafting and beading business called Sacred Sister’s Sanctuary, LLC with family members, and Gina Stegehuis, Amber Kilgore, and Yarrow Young, owners of Rain & Revelry Events, which hosts luxury fantasy event experiences in the Midwest.  

The program is designed to be inclusive of indigenous culture and traditions including a focus on peer support and community feasting.  

“Every participant has shared gratefulness and appreciation in their own way, but I remind them all that their presence is humbling to me and that their stories and success is what inspires me to strive even harder,” Shiloh Slomsky, 20Fathoms’ CFO and Tribal Liaison told the Record Eagle. “Overall, one feedback that we hear is that there needs to be more cohorts and that is exactly what we aim to do.” 

The Indigenous Business and Marketing Essentials bootcamp will be offered again in 2025. Interested indigenous entrepreneurs are encouraged to submit an interest form. 

To read the full article about this program, visit the Traverse City Record-Eagle.