Cohort 1: they came, they built, they graduated
In April 2026, a group of Louisiana business owners walked into our opening retreat with big plans and very full calendars. Six months, a lot of virtual sessions and more than a few “aha” moments later, they walked out of our October 19 closing retreat as the first graduating class of the six-month GrowthX Academy First Stage program.
Along the way they tackled leadership, finance, operations, marketing, sales, customer experience and talent. They wrote down the things that used to live only in their heads, built plans their teams can actually follow, and learned that “I’ll just do it myself” is not a growth strategy.
We’re proud of every one of them. Please join us in congratulating the Class of 2026.
The Class of 2026
Allison Brandon
“I definitely felt like I was on an island before joining this cohort, and now I feel like I’m in a little village, which is so nice.”
Annie Meserole & Raymond Smith
“I didn’t know what a cohort meant before, whenever I came to Lafayette and met all of you guys. I do now.”
Charlesetta Davis
“This has been an amazing process, a learning curve for me, being that I’m a single entrepreneur.”
Christopher Layman
“Running through the pillars and working with every instructor really helped me hone a lot of my business.”
Elissa Guillory
“That’s what GrowthX Academy and cohorts are about, getting with other people who challenge what you think, what you see, give ideas, bounce ideas.”
Melissa Herman
“You’re not alone, you’re not the only one out there struggling, you’re not the only one who has this problem. And now you have a network of people to rely on to go back to and ask questions.”
Nicole Peters
“You get training in every other job, but no one trains you and teaches you how to be an entrepreneur. So I feel like that was what this was.”
Robert Ayala
“I know who I am walking into a room now. And instead of auditioning for clients and taking that feedback sometimes personally, I just see it as data points that we can learn from and building systems to really just get better.”
Sonya Platt
“I felt like I was behind the eight ball on a lot of things that I just didn’t really understand about business, and it helped me understand it in a way that I can apply it, which is totally different.”
Steven McGee
“You guys have brought together that back office stuff, and made it seem easy, not effortless, but frictionless.”
Tara Wicker
“It does give you a little extra push on your shoulder and a little extra press on your chest when you’re able to walk in and say that I’m a GrowthX Academy graduate.”
Valerie Vides
“My biggest takeaway was firing my bookkeeper and hiring one that actually provides me with the financial report that I need.”
Jordanna Coleman
Kaala Lawla
Monica Armstead
What the program covered
GrowthX Academy began in 2024 with a first-stage cohort of 24 companies in Lafayette. Their results led to a partnership with Louisiana Economic Development (LED) for statewide LED-sponsored cohorts, each built for Louisiana companies with early traction but limited systems, leadership depth or operational structure.
Cohort 1 used a six-month hybrid model: retreats, expert-led curriculum, coaching, implementation sprints and peer accountability. It is not theoretical. It is activation focused.
Every graduate leaves with
- A Growth Roadmap and documented SOPs
- A clear financial structure and actionable forecast
- Defined marketing and sales systems
- A leadership development plan and scalable org chart
- A customer experience framework
- KPIs and dashboards to track growth
- A handoff path into LED’s Growth Leader Network
7 pillars, taught by subject matter experts
Leadership
Leading yourself first with clarity and resilience, then building the structure to guide a team, delegate and hold people accountable.
Finance
Control of your numbers with practical financial tools, better forecasting and stronger financial discipline.
Operations
Simple, scalable systems that reduce chaos and let the business run smoothly.
Marketing
Clear messaging, audience and strategy that attract the right customers.
Sales
A practical sales structure that strengthens the pipeline and supports consistent revenue.
Customer experience
Repeatable processes that increase loyalty, reduce complaints and protect your reputation.
Talent
Recruiting, developing and keeping the right people through healthy culture, clear roles and strong communication.
To our graduates: you did the hard part. Now go hire that next person. We’ll be cheering.
Want to be in the next class?