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On February 20, 2023, we were pleased to launch Innovate Huntsville Week with the Entrepreneurs & Innovators Panel, held at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber. This event was in partnership with Innovate Huntsville and is an initiative of the Chamber’s Economic Inclusion and Diversity work.
Have you heard about the Fulbright Fellow who started Huntsville Magazine, or B&H Bubbles, or the young man who brought co-working space to the kitchen? What about the young woman who is bringing healthy hair care to thousands of households? (Yes, thousands!) If you haven’t, don’t worry. This is your chance to meet them and hear about their entrepreneurial journeys.
Our featured panelists were Jonathan W. Hambrick, owner of MyKitchen; Takara Swoopes Bullock, CEO of Huntsville Magazine; Stanley McCaulley, owner of B&H Bubbles; Kaylah Joseph, Founder, LAID Hair Care. Here’s more about each of them:
Jonathan W. Hambrick, owner of MyKitchen, is a dedicated servant-leader who delivers practical, messages to motivate, encourage, and instruct God’s people. His passion is to Embrace, Unite, and Empower: embrace and love people where they are, unite communities, and empower through the education of biblical and economic principles. Hambrick has been preaching since 2002, ordained in 2012, and has earned his Bachelors and Masters degree of Biblical Studies. He is currently enrolled to complete a Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Leadership from Huntsville Bible College. In 2016, he founded The Violas House, a food bank which aims to reduce hunger in the community.
Hambrick is also a strategic business owner, establishing The Stone CDC in 2012 to support early child development while providing necessary childcare services for working parents. He is the owner of MyKitchen, a commissary/incubator in the community with a concept to bring Foodservice professionals together. Hambrick is also the owner of Big John’s BBQ, Big John’s Philly, Big John’s Catering, and part owner of the food truck concept, The FryBox Huntsville. He is the future husband of Laura Hyter, the esteemed son of John and Pamela Hambrick, and a devoted father to Samuel and Taylor. He enjoys fishing and car restoration projects in his leisure time.
Takara Swoopes Bullockis the founder and CEO of Huntsville Magazine, your go-to source for discovering and experiencing all things culture, travel, entertainment and more in the Rocket City. She is a digital marketing manager and content creator with more than six years of experience helping businesses grow using digital content creation, search engine optimization, web optimization, analytics and metrics understanding. An alumna of Howard University, Bullock is a Charles B. Rangel Scholar and Fulbright Fellow where she studied in Sendai, Japan. Following her Fulbright fellowship she worked as an executive search recruiter in Tokyo for five years, recruiting for U.S.-based tech startups in Japan.
Stanley McCaulley, owner of B&H Bubbles, is a native of north Huntsville, Ala. He attended The Academy for Science and Foreign Languages and the former J.O. Johnson High School. During his time at J.O. Johnson, he was president of the Magnet Program. After graduating high school, McCaulley received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering in 2008 from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Upon graduating college, he began working as an engineer for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).
He is currently serving as a senior level cost engineer at MSFC where he supports NASA’s missions by providing extensive cost analysis for higher level programs and projects across the agency. McCaulley is a proud Eagle Scout member as well as a member of The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. He is active in the community by uplifting and mentoring the youth and young minorities around him. McCaulley is the proud owner of B&H Bubbles 100% Hand Wash and Detail. Through his business, he provides jobs to young ambitious minorities with hidden and aspiring potential to not only be great but do great things in life.
The multi-hyphenate and award-winning innovator, Kaylah Joseph is disruptive. Born a prescription away from legal blindness, she will always mention that the absence of sight is not a deterrent to being able to fulfill God’s vision. A rising leader in the beauty sector, LAID Hair Care products are now available for her thousands of customers in beauty supply stores and large retailers, including Fortune 1 company, Walmart. Her wellness brand, which features the viral sensation that is Space Dummy Gummies, can also be found in thousands of independent retailers and is reaching new customers every day. A 2017 graduate of Oakwood University, she credits Huntsville’s entire ecosystem, including Biztech Huntsville, under Kim & Larry Lewis’ leadership, for helping her create a strong foundation!