Apparo and Truist Launched AI Foundations Cohort to Empower Six North Carolina Small Businesses
Apparo partnered with Truist to offer a 6 week AI Foundations Cohort Program for 6 small businesses in North Carolina. Participating businesses gained the knowledge and skills needed to make more informed, strategic decisions about AI.
Each business received access to Apparo’s AI Readiness self-assessment. Working with a dedicated mentor, organizations reviewed their results to clarify strengths and gaps, prioritize areas for growth, and identify actionable next steps to advance their AI strategy. From there, each business worked through a real AI use case of its own. Guided by a mentor, participants pinpointed a specific challenge, explored practical solutions, and left with an actionable plan tailored to their business.
Cohort Structure Included:
- Program Length: 6 weeks
- Session Duration: 1 hour per week
- 1 Orientation session
- 2 Educational Workshops
- 2 Mentor Meetings
- 1 Wrap-up session
Introducing the Small Businesses
- Ross Feldman, Better Call IT
- Greg Schermbeck, SchermCo
- Brenda LaHaie, WorkWell Consulting Group
- Shawn Gough, Tactical Edge
- John Stokes, JDS Consulting
- Jamie Green, Alignestry
Truist AI cohort for small businesses wrapped up off Sept 9th, 2026.
Thank You to Our Tech Mentors from Truist!
- Keith Deininger
- Joe Fuqua
- Hollie Rougeaux
- Michael Price
- Michael Stoyanov
- Aji Peter
