Promoting, supporting & connecting Charleston's entrepreneurial community
November 17, 2025
Members: Schedule your Podcast Episode!
The Optimization Specialists
Founded by Jon Clark
The Optimization Specialists help growing businesses scale without the chaos of constant hiring. We design and implement custom operational systems using tools like ClickUp, Monday.com, and our proprietary CRM—The Optimization Toolkit. Our clients are agencies, franchisors, and service-based businesses with small teams who need to do more with less.
Instead of throwing people at problems, we help leaders streamline workflows, automate tasks, and build scalable processes that empower their teams. From CRM automation to project management to systemizing franchise operations, we bring clarity and consistency to the back-end of your business so you can focus on growth.
We’ve helped franchises sell out locations before opening and agencies cut admin time in half. Whether you're preparing to scale or cleaning up after growth, we’ll help you build a business that runs better—with or without you.
➤Friends of Chucktown Service Provider Spotlight
Elliott T. Friedman, Holistic Business Advisory
➤Members in the News
Donna M. Netzley
Sensible CFO & Consulting
1. What is your startup's elevator pitch?
I'm a Fractional Controller. What that means is organizations hire me on a part-time basis to analyze their financial data to improve profits. Essentially, a Controller bridges the gap between a bookkeeper and a business owner. I manage the bookkeepers, the budgets, and the accounting systems, allowing an owner to focus on growing their business.
2. What is your ideal customer profile and plan to reach them?
My ICP is companies in the $1M-$15M range with existing bookkeepers (if not, we can provide one from our team). I'm looking for strategically-minded owners and CEO's who want to understand their financial data better to increase their profits.
I try to hit all the networking events that have these business owners as well as bankers who are a great referral partner for me.
3. What is the next key milestone in your startup's journey?
My next key milestone is branching out my services to include Private Client Financial Management services.
4. How can Chucktown Startups and the local startup community best support your startup?
Word of mouth when they hear of potential opportunities for me.
5. Wildcard- What else would you like the community to know about you and your startup?
The secret sauce to my startup is we are a husband-and-wife team where Scott provides the CFO services, I provide the Controller and Private Client Financial Management services, and I oversee a team of bookkeepers.
Please reach out to schedule an in-person or Zoom meeting. Feel free to email me at toby@chucktownstartups.com or text 843-830-7452.
Thanks for being part of Chucktown Startups. We’re excited to see what happens next as we connect the dots in Charleston’s growing startup scene!
Cheers!
Toby Palmer, Founder
Chucktown Startups: Promote. Support. Connect.
RSVP
OhmIQ, Frederique Pirenne (CEO)
OhmIQ is advancing scalable and sustainable energy solutions built on centuries-old electrical principles. Backed by IAG Capital Partners, OhmIQ holds over 135 global patents and is paving the way for cleaner, more reliable energy across industries.
OhmIQ catalyzes businesses seeking enhanced performance and efficiency through sustainable energy solutions. Its patented Ohmic Array Technology (OAT) offers a unique method of heating liquids with intelligent controls and adjustable electrode arrays that respond to a liquid’s properties and environment. This enables faster, cleaner, and more consistent thermal performance while reducing buildup, wear, and maintenance needs.
Based in Charleston, South Carolina, OhmIQ supports food and beverage processing, real estate, water treatment, pools and spas, and industrial applications. The system integrates seamlessly with other products and can be licensed globally.
One of OhmIQ’s leading innovations, InstIQ, is revolutionizing hot liquid systems. Intelligent automation delivers immediate thermal performance while avoiding inefficiencies of conventional systems. A zero-scaling design ensures consistent functionality and long-term reliability. The compact structure allows for easier integration and cost-effective deployment.
As it grows, OhmIQ is creating high-skilled jobs and boosting Charleston’s economy while positioning the city as a clean tech hub.
Members: Schedule your Podcast Epsiode!
Roberta Moore
The EQ-i Coach
At The EQ-i Coach, I help emotionally intelligent and emotionally curious leaders transform how they lead—starting from the inside out. Using the science of emotional intelligence and the art of deep listening, I guide executives to strengthen their self-regulation, empathy, and presence. This isn’t checkbox coaching—it’s transformation. Because when leaders grow in emotional mastery, their people, culture, and results grow with them.
The EQ-i Coach serves emotionally intelligent or emotionally curious leaders—often recently placed in new roles—who are ready to grow from the inside out. They value self-awareness, empathy, and people-first leadership. These are executives, directors, and high-potential professionals who understand that real transformation isn’t cosmetic—it’s emotional, relational, and systemic. They’re open, coachable, and committed to evolving their leadership through emotional intelligence. Whether leading a team or an entire organization, they’re seeking more than performance—they’re seeking presence, purpose, and impact. My social media team creates content that goes out in newsletters, speaking engagements, Linked In posts, and Forbes articles.
Establishing a local and regional footprint in the Charleston area, since I recently moved the business here from St. Louis. This includes expanding my network and service offerings to corporations in this area.
I'm looking to connect with emotionally curious executives, leadership development professionals, and culture-forward founders who are: new to their roles or organizations, navigating leadership transitions, or focused on people-first strategy and employee engagement. Roberta’s coaching is built for leaders in transition—those who are open to rebalancing their emotional intelligence to become more authentic, effective, and human-centered in their leadership.
Roberta is a seasoned executive coach with both corporate credentials (MBA, CPA) and therapeutic depth (Ed.S. in Marriage & Family Therapy). EQ-i blends business acumen with emotional intelligence science to help leaders lead with presence, power, and humanity.
In a world of performative leadership and burnout, EQ-i Coach offers a gentler way—one rooted in emotional clarity, empathy, and strategic growth. If you’re building something that matters—your business, your team, your legacy—you need more than strategy. You need emotional intelligence. You need presence. You need to be seen, heard, and supported in becoming the kind of leader people remember for how you made them feel.
Event Sponsorship Available:
Download Event Sponsorship Prospectus
Dall Solutions, founded by Shanesha Dallas
Dall Solutions is a woman-owned, compliance and diagnostic services company based in Charleston, SC. We specialize in DOT and non-DOT drug and alcohol testing, DNA testing, background checks, and mobile health services for employers, transportation professionals, court systems, and families. With over a decade of industry experience, Dall Solutions helps individuals and organizations meet state, federal, and industry-specific regulations with accuracy, speed, and professionalism.
Our services include employer testing programs, pre-employment and post-accident screening, probation and parole compliance testing, CTPA program support, and CLIA-waived laboratory setup assistance.
Bill Billotte of Veritas Exoscience
(Truth in Wearable Technology Innovation)
Bill hosts and produces the official podcast of the Chucktown Startups community: Lowcountry Revolutionaries
Schedule your podcast recording session with Bill.
Stephanie Dasher, Co-founder
Gnosis Wellness Collective
Gnosis Wellness Co. is a trauma-informed collective offering multidimensional, integrative interventions that bridge counseling, coaching, and education. Through collaborative referrals, coach training, and upstream approaches, we address disconnection from oneself and the community, thereby transforming lived experiences into purpose, connection, and sustainable well-being.
At Gnosis Wellness Co., we collaborate with individuals and organizations that are interested in exploring an integrative approach to healing and personal growth.
Individuals: Adults/teens who feel disconnected from themselves after loss, trauma, or significant life transitions. They’re ready for care that blends counseling, coaching, and embodied practices.
Organizations: Mission-driven teams and community programs that want to build evidence-based, emotionally intelligent systems of leadership where people can truly thrive and connect to their purpose.
Emerging Coaches, Therapists, and Practitioners: People who feel called to turn their own healing into service. Through our training programs, they become coaches and community leaders, extending care upstream into the spaces where people live and work.
Plan to Reach Them: Our growth is rooted in relationships, education, and community engagement. We’re building a referral network among local clinicians, coaches, and organizations who share our values. Workshops, retreats, and online learning experiences provide individuals with a direct experience of our integrative model, often serving as the first step toward counseling, collaboration, or coaching training.
We’ll continue to grow through word of mouth, partnerships with universities and nonprofits, and a strong online presence that shares real stories and practical tools. Our approach isn’t about selling services; it’s about creating a connected ecosystem of care that supports purpose, belonging, and healing at every level.
Our next key milestone is the launch of Gnosis Wellness Co.’s integrative coach training and certification program, which will expand our work from direct care into community-based capacity building. This program will train coaches, clinicians, and organizational leaders in ADAPT and systems-oriented practices that create upstream change, ultimately helping people connect to their purpose, find direction, and become stronger leaders, which leads to sustainable wellbeing for the community.
Equally important, we are seeking a physical space designed to support this work: an indoor-outdoor environment that fosters flow, presence, and connection. The space will host counseling, coaching, and group experiences, accommodating multiple practitioners who work in collaboration. It will serve as both a community hub and a model for sustainable wellbeing, where individuals and teams can practice self-regulation, creativity, and relational repair (with themselves and others) in real-time.
Together, these milestones move Gnosis Wellness Co. toward its vision of an integrative, embodied ecosystem of care that restores connection and builds sustainable systems of wellbeing throughout our communities.
Connection and Visibility: Introducing us to aligned partners, organizations, and investors who value community-based mental health, leadership, and human-centered innovation.
Space and Infrastructure: Supporting our search for an indoor/outdoor space designed for group and individual programs, where practitioners can work collaboratively and the community can engage in sustainable embodied wellbeing.
Mentorship and Funding Guidance: Sharing expertise around sustainable growth, social entrepreneurship, and impact investment to help us expand our integrative coach training and partnership programs.
Community Amplification: Helping us share the story of Gnosis Wellness Co. as a Charleston-grown model for upstream, trauma-informed systems of care that can be replicated in other communities.
Gnosis Wellness Co. was born out of the founders’ work with the Warrior Surf Foundation, where Stephanie Dasher served as Executive Director and Dr. Maia Gill developed and implemented the organization’s integrative mental health programming. Together, alongside Warrior Surf's Founder, they helped build a model that combined counseling, yoga, surfing, and community connection to help veterans enter flow states, regulate their nervous systems, and reconnect with purpose and a sense of belonging.
The results were powerful, with significant improvements in both mental and physical health, stronger relationships, and a renewed sense of community among participants. Following this success and in response to repeated requests from other communities to extend this approach beyond the veteran population, Gnosis Wellness Co. was established to do exactly that. Our mission is to expand this integrative, trauma-informed model, making healing and connection accessible to all.
October 1, 2025
Tom Williams is a strategic technology leader, Board director, speaker, and author with a track record of turning innovation into sustained competitive advantage. He has created more than $1 billion in equity value through market-first technologies, capital strategy, and M&A — including exits to Cisco, Novell, and Ericsson, all achieved on just $60 million in venture capital. Recognized for his expertise in governance, risk oversight, and high-growth scaling, Tom has guided companies through critical inflection points toward IPO or acquisition.
In his role at Chucktown Startups, Tom will advise startup teams and growth-stage CEOs on:
Courtney Lohmann Consulting, founded by Courtney Lohmann
Courtney's mission is to empower businesses and leaders to create transformative, sustainable, and regenerative impact today through innovative strategies, purposeful leadership, and actionable change. Additionally, as a keynote speaker, she inspires the leaders of tomorrow to create the impact they want to see.
Courtney will emcee the Chucktown Startups Meet the Founders event on October 23 and moderate the panel discussion.
Carter Lewis of In The Fade
(A Branding & Design Co.)
All branding and design work for Chucktown Startups is provided by In The Fade.
Contact In The Fade at carter@inthefade.co
Bill Haber, Founder of tekrisq, inc.
Cybersecurity risks continue to explode, contributing to a $10T annual market of cybercrime. Defenseless SMBs are the new targets, but the cybersecurity industry mostly speaks past them, often focused on companies with developed budgets and skilled tech teams. SMBS often lack in house IT, don't have CISOs and don't appreciate the jargon. At tekrisq, we help SMBs adopt safer ways to use technology in business that protect them, and make them more resilient to cyber crime. Our platform helps them easily assess their unique cyber risk, remediate them in pragmatic ways and even insure them when needed.
A business between 2 and 200 employees, under $50M in revenue who may use technology and work with multiple clients, but hasn't paid much attention to the risks and regulations they face. Even if they have in house IT, that may not guarantee they have sound cybersecurity process and procedures in place.
tekrisq actively assesses, remediates and insures cyber risks across our customer base. We operate as a professional cyber risk assessor, a managed security service provider (MSSP), a virtual CISO and a technology-focused insurance brokerage... all in one. We are presently building awareness and traction with our TEKCHEK® software that automates risk assessments using AI avatars to address cyber risk. This provides convenience, affordability and a secure resource to use with all risk profile requests going forward.
tekrisq would like to help Charleston-area SMBs to protect themselves and be ready for the demands that growth will bring to them. We can help them to affordably understand their cyber risks, right-size their cybersecurity solutions, make independent cyber risk assessment an annual exercise, and comply with regulation law. This will make them safer, will protect their clients data, and ensure they're ready for their next big client opportunity. it will also ensure resilience in the event of a cybersecurity incident.
We intend to provide a great option to costly cybersecurity consultants with our innovative TEKCHEK® product, and offer a discount to all Chucktown startups!
September 16, 2025
Volunteer Moderator / Emcee Opportunity: We’re looking for a community member (or friend of the community) to help bring energy and connection to our events. This role involves serving as the moderator or emcee for:
If you enjoy guiding conversations, keeping events flowing smoothly, and engaging with founders and innovators, we’d love to hear from you. Interested? Reach out to Toby at toby@chucktownstartups.com
Interested? Reach out to Toby at toby@chucktownstartups.com
Jessica Turcotte, COO of Vision Benefits of America, recently moved with her family to the Charleston area. With a proven track record of building and scaling businesses, Jess is looking to connect with local startup founders that can benefit from her experience and expertise. Please reach out to Jess via LinkedIn if you'd like to connect.
Bevs to Go, Todd Fernley
Enput, Thomas Ellenburg
Tidewater, Managing Partner Ryan Covert
TIDEWATER is a private club located in Downtown Charleston featuring a cocktail bar, restaurant, indoor golf simulators, pickleball, wellness amenities and curated programming for members and their guests.
We're building a community of visionaries with pioneer mindsets that represent the rising tide in Charleston.
Opening May 2026
Instagram @tidewaterchs
Techina Jacques of Biz Buildhers
Helping purpose-driven businesses and nonprofits turn vision into visibility, marketing into momentum, and strategy into sustainable success.
Erin Pacitti, founder of Boundless Marketing Co., and Adrian Lourduy, co-founder of BuenaVista Information Systems Honored in Charleston's Forty Under 40 (September 2025, Charleston Regional Business Journal)
Thrive Data, founded by Jackie McKelvey, to Compete in 2025 Startup Word Cup in San Francisco (September 10, 2025, LinkedIn Post)
KingPool is Headed to Las Vegas! (September 11, 2025, Company Newsletter)
A Season of Connection at Tidewater (September 13, 2025, Company Newsletter)
Erika Hatfield, Founder of
Next Level Photo Education
Next Level Photo Education makes photography fun, accessible, and hands-on for all ages. From kids and teens exploring creativity to adults sharpening professional skills, we offer classes, workshops, and community events both in-person at our Charleston education center and online worldwide. Our mission is simple: empower people to see the world differently through a camera lens - because Everybody Takes Pictures.
Our ideal customers are:
We reach them through:
Our next milestone is the successful growth of our in-person education center at the Citadel Mall. This includes filling our Fall 2025 Focus Academy classes, building steady attendance for Teen Nights and Family Workshops, and expanding to adult weekend workshops with guest instructors. Hitting sustainable monthly enrollment and revenue targets will position us for rapid scaling in 2026, including expanding our online courses, hiring full-time staff and expanding community programming.
We are more than a photography school - we’re creating a community hub for creativity. Our center combines education, entertainment, and entrepreneurship, providing opportunities for kids, teens, and adults to learn, connect, and showcase their work. We value accessibility and affordability, and we’re building a model designed to scale nationally while staying rooted in Charleston.
ABOUT CHUCKTOWN STARTUPS
CONTACTS
toby@chucktownstartups.comCharleston, SC 29403
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