Georgia Alexander - SOCA Vegan Kitchen

“I Didn’t Really Know What I Didn’t Know”

After turning to a vegan diet, U.S. Army Captain Georgia Alexander had a problem: finding good vegan options in Augusta restaurants. 

So, Georgia got an idea: to open a restaurant of her own, offering vegan cuisine and leaning on her Trinidadian roots. She even had a name: SOCA Vegan Kitchen (Soca is a popular type of Trinidadian calypso music). 

Eager, but without experience, she jumped into the process: She found a natural partner in her mother, Diane Francis, an experienced home cook who developed the menu, with foods like rich red beans on rice, spiced shredded vegetables, and caramelized plantains. She scouted her dream location. She was even shopping around for contractors. Then, her loan was turned down, and Georgia’s dream came crashing down with it. “I didn’t know what it was,” she says. “But honestly I don’t think I was well prepared.” 

“Make Startups really helped out, so I was truly prepared.”

For example, she didn’t really understand what managing a business meant; in fact, when she registered SOCA, she didn’t even have a tax ID. Although she was already looking for a contractor, those contractors didn’t necessarily have experience building restaurants. She also didn’t have a good grasp on how to even market. 

That was 2019; then COVID-19 struck. Just about that time, Georgia opened an email from theClubhou.se. “Due to my position in the military, I’d registered for an amateur coding night at theClubhou.se, and I was still getting the weekly mailings,” she says. “I was going through my email, saw their advertisement for Make Startups—and I thought, ‘I’m doing this.’”

Make Startups is a 12-week evening certificate program in entrepreneurship developed in coordination with banks and investors to help entrepreneurs master the skills necessary to improve their access to capital; it also includes six months of mentorship to complete the certificate. The timing, says Georgia, was perfect. 

“With Make Startups, I came to the realization that I didn’t really know what I didn’t know,” she says. “Make Startups really helped out, so I was truly prepared.” 

The Make Startups course helped break down all of the business management knowledge she needed to be successful, as well as helping her secure funding.  “Also, one of the biggest things I’m getting out of Make Startups right now is the networking and mentorships,” says Georgia. 

“With Make Startups, I learned I can’t be working in the business; I have to work on the business.”

She was matched with Jennifer Tinsley, owner of FIELD Botanicals, an independent skincare and beauty shop, who helped her set up a bidding process to identify a contractor; that contractor put her in touch with restaurant consultants and other restaurant managers. “They’re helping me, making sure that I also become successful like them,” she says. 

Jennifer also connected Georgia with a graphic designer who could rebrand the business for a better look and better traction with the community, as well as a social media expert. SOCA is now set for an opening in early spring 2022, soon after Georgia retires from the army, and thanks to the rebrand, she says, “I have people who are finding us via our social media sites or website, who are calling and asking us where we are because they want to eat here.” 

Make Startups taught her something it often takes years and failed businesses to teach: “With Make Startups, I learned I can’t be working in the business; I have to work on the business.” 

And she also gives huge credit to theClubhou.se: “You get all this training, and the connections you’re going to make. You’re going to learn a lot, and you’re going to gain a lot. And if you have a business idea, they’ll help you develop that. They want you to be successful. If you take that risk in yourself and also in theClubhou.se, you’ll get the best out of them and out of yourself. What theClubhou.se has to offer, you can’t find anywhere else.”