FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla – The African American Entrepreneurs Association kicked off 2025 with a successful iGniteBIZ Entrepreneurs Business Networking event held at Crave’s Kitchen & Cocktails, located at 2000 S. Oceanshore Blvd, in Flagler Beach on January 28th. The event was a fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurs to connect, build capacity, and share knowledge.

“A huge thank you goes out to all the new entrepreneurs who attended and made this event a memorable experience. Your participation and enthusiasm truly made it a standout evening,” said AAEA Founder and CEO Leslie Giscombe.

The iGniteBIZ events offer an opportunity for entrepreneurs to connect with resources including Ricavo Capital, a strong supporter of cultivating the small business community.

“Ricavo Capital is a funding source for the businesses. We do commercial lending, but it’s more than that,” said Ricavo Capital Founder Frank Cutruzzola.

“It’s a combination of a business percolator, and an entrepreneur development center along with sources. We have over 50 different sources of funding from start-up capital to expansion capital. It’s more than just money. It’s to support young business development in underserved communities.”

As a previous SCORE mentor, Cutruzzola collaborated with Ky Ekinci at Office Divvy when Entrepreneur Night was a popular meetup for entrepreneurs across the region. He sees the collaboration with the AAEA as a natural fit to continue serving the business community.

“We found it a great blend because we want to serve, not just underserved in the sense of race or religion, I’m talking about any small business is underserved. They don’t have the same resources available, and we want to be able to bring that to this area, which has been void of any kind of real entrepreneur development for a long time,” he said.

“I know how difficult it was for me to try to find capital and having to pitch everybody to just get a little bit of money. To have someone in your corner, that can show you the right direction and how to use it, that’s what we want. If it wasn’t for the mentors in my life, I wouldn’t have the five businesses I have now. Now’s the time I want to give back.”

The AAEA plans to host another iGniteBIZ event in February. For more information, please contact: www.aaeassociation.org or call 800-671-1397. Photos courtesy AAEA.