Local entrepreneur Kewan Drayton, who was named the 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, recently achieved another incredible feat in the business world when he was selected as a 2024 Truist Foundation Fellow. The Truist Foundation Fellowship, run by the Watson Institute, is a fully funded, 16-week program designed for budding entrepreneurs, business owners and nonprofit founders in Georgia. More than 220 applicants applied for this year's Truist Foundation Fellowship, and Drayton was awarded one of 18 spots in this year's cohort. He is one of only two fellows from Savannah. He learned about the opportunity when he saw an advertisement online.
“I applied in October or November of 2023 and then at the end of the year I got a message saying they wanted me to interview to be part of the 2024 cohort,” Drayton said. “I interviewed and then in early January of 2024 they contacted me and told me I’d been accepted for the fellowship.”
In February of this year, Drayton and other participants began their fellowship program, which consisted of an in-person immersive experience in Atlanta, weekly virtual workshops, expert-led training modules, an impact speaker series, Basecamp workshops led by participating fellows in their local communities, and a final summit where fellows pitched their business ventures to local leaders, funders, and entrepreneurs.
The program began with an overview and the opportunity to pitch a business idea on the spot, which Drayton found difficult.
“The presentation was a total flop. I was out of Savannah that day. I left Savannah at like 4 a.m. and got in Atlanta at 8 or 9 a.m. The program was starting and I didn't know these people. I didn't know what I was getting into and I didn't know what business I wanted to present because I needed to learn more about the program. So I just randomly presented a concept I was working on and it didn't go well. Everyone was very friendly and accepted what I did but I'm my own harshest critic and I knew it didn't work,” Drayton said.
Despite initial difficulties, Drayton excelled in the program and won the top Venture Development Scholarship at the end of the program. In addition to the mentoring aspect of the fellowship, a big part of it was the Basecamp events that the fellows conceived and hosted in their communities. This aspect of the program posed challenges, but Drayton overcame them, hosting a community film screening and panel discussion event.
“I'd never done anything like that before,” he said. “This program inspired me to create a community-focused event, and I used it as a way to highlight the people in our community who were doing great business and as an opportunity for other entrepreneurs, business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to come and learn. We've had a really positive impact, and I'm really excited that it happened, because I don't think I would have been able to do this without the fellowship.”
The Basecamp event, held at Kingdom Life Christian Fellowship on Thursday, May 23, featured a screening of the documentary “Roots & Revolution” by Drayton's venture-backed Red Eye Film Productions. The film follows several Savannah-based entrepreneurs and imparted words of wisdom to an audience of over 160. The screening was followed by a panel discussion featuring various entrepreneurs and professionals from the banking, accounting, insurance and legal industries. The audience was able to ask questions and gain valuable insight from the panelists. The event concluded with a mini-pitch competition, where three participants won a total of $600 to invest in their personal venture companies.
After the Basecamp event, the Fellowship culminated in a Summit where Fellows had to deliver polished presentations to a variety of leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors. Initially, Drayton, who has led several successful businesses, was undecided about which venture he wanted to present. For most of the last year, he had been working on a new business idea called Big Ambition Guild (BAG) and decided to present it at the Fellowship. After extensive preparation and planning, Drayton delivered a successful presentation that got the business leaders and funders in attendance excited about the concept.
“Big Ambition Guild is something I've been thinking about for a long time because of the funding barriers that a lot of minority entrepreneurs face. … People think about money and raising money for business and investments as something that's so daunting. People get into analysis paralysis, and there's so much to think about. [funding]said Mr Drayton.
He came up with the idea as a way to solve the lack of funding for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Courtesy of Kewan Drayton
“I wanted to create a platform where millennials can co-invest with other people who are in the workforce who are not necessarily full-time entrepreneurs. So, if you're a regular civil servant or a regular 9-to-5 job, but you have a desire to be an entrepreneur, instead of quitting your full-time job, you invest a portion of what you earn into a larger pool of capital with other aspiring entrepreneurs and collectively invest that money in business ventures. It doesn't matter if it's in your local area or your state. You can even choose to connect with other entrepreneurs at a national level,” Drayton said.
The way BAG works is by providing a platform where aspiring entrepreneurs can invest in each other. The minimum investment is $1,500, and with the funds raised, BAG will find business deals in which the backers can co-invest.
“Take my business, Mailbox Cafe, for example. When Mailbox Cafe becomes a business that's on the market for sale, Big Ambition Guild puts the business on their platform and different people who are interested in investing say, 'I can put up $1,500. Maybe I can put up $5,000. Maybe I can put up $20,000,'” he says. “We're just a catalyst to help form those partnerships and execute business deals while also providing a space for business acumen. You can learn how to build a business or how to buy one. It's a one-stop shop for training, investment opportunities and networking.”
Big Ambition Guild offers people who lack the capital, innovation and network to start their own businesses the opportunity to come together and pool their resources to invest in other opportunities without taking on nearly the risk of starting a business alone. After pitching BAG, Drayton received a $6,000 reward for exemplary performance during the fellowship, which he plans to invest in his latest venture. His short-term goals with BAG include launching a website and putting together a team of foundation members to use as a control group to prove the concept. He also plans to hold workshops and events in the future to help people develop business acumen. In short, BAG is about making entrepreneurship more accessible. Interested parties can learn more at bigambitionguild.com.
Since completing his fellowship, Drayton has been focused on building his existing business and developing his personal brand, but is also excited about the great opportunities the fellowship has provided him. Due to his outstanding performance during the program, Drayton was selected by organizers to attend the One Young World Summit in Montreal, Canada this fall. The annual summit brings together the most talented young leaders from around the world for critical networking and educational opportunities on global entrepreneurship and leadership.
“I'm really looking forward to networking with people on a global level because these days my entrepreneurial skills have been mostly used at the local level. … The fellowship has allowed me to make a bigger impact at the state level,” he said. “And now, like this opportunity through the Truist Foundation and the Watson Institute, this summit allows me to take my entrepreneurial skills to a global level, so that's one of the things I'm most looking forward to.”
Drayton is looking forward to the summit and hopes to expand his impact, and remains committed to helping aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs make the most of available resources and opportunities, such as the Truist Foundation Fellowship.
“I want to thank the Truist Foundation and the Watson Institute for this opportunity and I want everyone to know that I want to share this information with the community so others in the community can apply for this fellowship,” he said. “I think this was a great opportunity to show that Savannah has some great entrepreneurs doing great things.”
For more information about Drayton, visit kewaandrayton.com/
