Comcast RISE: A Lifeline for Small Businesses in Nashville’s Underserved Communities

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s time for Nashville Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Nashville Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Mike McArdle, who is the regional senior vice president with Comcast. Welcome!

Mike McArdle: Hey, Lee. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m so excited to be talking to you about this great program Comcast is doing called Comcast RISE. Do you mind sharing a little bit about it.

Mike McArdle: Yeah definitely. And thanks for giving us the opportunity to get the word out. Um, we’re really proud of this program. And it’s part of a whole package of things we do to be invested in the communities we serve, like Nashville. Um, we’re bringing Comcast rise to the Nashville community specifically to support small businesses, because we know how important it is to have thriving small businesses. They are the foundation of the communities we serve and where we live and work and play. And this is all about supporting small businesses. And Nashville was one of five markets across the country that we serve, um, picked to do this program. Um, so we’re really excited about it and had an amazing kickoff a few weeks ago. And, uh, want to get the word out.

Lee Kantor: So what was the genesis of the idea, uh, to serve the community in this manner?

Mike McArdle: Yeah, it really, um, culminated at the height of Covid. Um, I think we can all agree probably the most impacted parts of our communities were small businesses in Covid when we had to shut down and, uh, shelter and, uh, deal with the, the pandemic. And that was really the genesis of, uh, Project Rise in 2020 to support small businesses in our communities, and we’ve continued to advance the program and deploy the program every year since. Um, across the country. And it’s really a comprehensive package to help small businesses thrive. And what I’ve learned, and having been involved in this program for a few years, uh, there’s tons of great entrepreneurs out there, great ideas, great innovations, and just a ton of hard working people that want to change their life. Um, and they just need a little bit of help. And that’s what we’re doing. And we have a number of facets of, uh, of the program that are directly geared to supporting small businesses.

Lee Kantor: So let’s kind of get into the weeds a little bit about the program. Like, um, who is open to participating and what kind of qualifications make a person kind of go through the process and be successful?

Mike McArdle: Yeah, great. Great question. Um, so we will be selecting, um, from all of the applicants. And again the application process is open until May 31st. So the clock is ticking. So for any of your listeners that are interested, get into our portal at Comcast Rise Comm and begin the application process. Um, this is targeted at small businesses, um, independently owned and operated small businesses with less than 100 employees, um, in the eligible zip codes in and around Nashville. Um, and they need to be in business for at least two years. So a couple of very targeted small business, um, criteria. But I can tell you, for those that are selected, um, it’s a comprehensive package of support that include, uh, a technology makeover, uh, support with, um, production and media and actually running a um, ad spot for 90 days. Excuse me, 180 days. Um, and then educational resources. So getting them connected with business consultation, training, um, as well as a monetary grant and coaching sessions. So really a comprehensive support to these businesses, and we’re really excited to bring it to Nashville.

Lee Kantor: Now, is this something that they have to be already a Comcast customer, or is this just if they meet the criteria then they can apply.

Mike McArdle: Yeah, they have to meet the criteria. We love for every one of them to be a Comcast business customer. And um, they’ll have opportunities to get our services through the program. Um, but it’s not limited to that. And it’s really about being in the eligible areas. And, and in this year, being in Nashville, um, because it’s such an important market to us.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned that this has been around for a while. Has it been in Nashville for a while?

Mike McArdle: Um, it has not been in Nashville specifically, but, um, during our kickoff, um, we used to run this nationwide and select from across the country, and we actually had some prior rise winners that are in Nashville. Um, that, uh, came and spoke. Um, this program, the way we’ve modified it over the years is we’ve added, uh, that list of things that the winners get. We’ve added to that list every single year. Um, and we’ve started to target 100 applicants and winner, 100 winners from specific cities like Nashville. Um, so it’s, uh, it’s pretty exciting that we continue to grow the program and continue to provide more availability in specific cities like Nashville. And, uh, the stories we hear from prior winners are just transformative. Um, in fact, um, we had, uh, Tremaine Crook, who runs a business, uh, punches and bunches, um, at one of our recent events promoting, uh, the application and Project Rise in Nashville and really talked about he was a former winner when we did it across the country in total. And, uh, he talked about the impact that it had with the technology makeover, how he’s using that technology, um, and even how it opened up a whole new revenue stream of virtual training and, um, supporting students before, Or, um, the training program actually doing their homework, um, and kind of building a blend of, um, continuous education after school program and bringing them in, um, to his business. So it was really, really impressive story. Um, and we even had slim and huskies. You may be familiar with.

Lee Kantor: The, the pizza chain.

Mike McArdle: Huskies. They’re they’re a former winner as well. And they helped us kick off the whole program a few weeks ago.

Lee Kantor: And so there’ll be a hundred winners in Nashville.

Mike McArdle: That’s correct, that’s correct. So, um, we select 100 winners from each of the cities, each of the five cities across the country. So, um, most important thing is, uh, get your application in. The clock is ticking. You know, we got ten days to go. Um, we want to make sure we hear from all of the small businesses that are looking for for help. And we’ll be awarding 100 winners in the city of Nashville.

Lee Kantor: Now, how did you kind of determine the, uh, like you mentioned, it’s for select zip codes. How did you determine the the geographic areas that were going to be eligible for this.

Mike McArdle: Yeah. We, um so every year it’s a it’s a it’s a fun process across the country. As you know Comcast we we serve all over the United States, um, and tons of major metropolitan areas. Um, I’m responsible for, um, essentially all of the southeast and um, areas like Atlanta, Charleston, South Carolina, little Rock, Arkansas, obviously Nashville, Knoxville. Um, and we we go to our leadership and tell our story about why each of these communities are important to us and why we want to invest there, uh, invest with this program. And Nashville was, um, the area that we submitted because of the growth in that area, because of our relationship with the city and with the mayor. Um, and, um, candidly, we have our own employees that live and work there and serve our customers. So it’s a it’s a thriving area, as you know. Um, and that’s why we made the case to bring it to Nashville. And we’re really proud to, uh, to be able to do that and invest locally.

Lee Kantor: And then you’re, uh, there’s an emphasis on these kind of underserved communities.

Mike McArdle: Yeah. I think it’s, um, it really is about building up communities. And we know one of the best ways to build up communities, excuse me, is to support small businesses. Um, if small businesses are thriving, that means the local restaurants thriving. Uh, the local gym, uh, the local art store, the retail store. That just makes for a really vibrant community. And, you know, that’s a big part of what we’re looking to do here is support, um, you know, help our communities become what they want to be. And that’s a growing areas and that’s that’s good for business. Um, but it’s also, for me, one of the reasons why I’ve been part of Comcast for almost 30 years, um, I think we bring a unique approach to, um, this public private partnership and the partnership with our communities doing programs like Rise. Um, we also have a comprehensive set of programs to invest in the community. We call it Project Up. And that includes our Internet Essentials program. That includes investing in what we call lift zones, actually enabling high speed Wi-Fi and community partners. So think, um, community centers, continuous education training, um, locations. So so we do a whole host of programs. Project rise is just one facet of that.

Lee Kantor: And like you said, the impact is real. Um, if you can help one of these entrepreneurs get to a new level, it not only impacts their business, their employees, but they could impact their family and their community as well. So it’s really a multiplier effect.

Mike McArdle: Absolutely. From the jobs they create from the upward mobility of their own families, expanding businesses. Um, you know, the slim and husky story was incredible. They, um, they were a rise winner and actually built a moving company. Um, but then made the decision to pivot their business plan. Sold that business and began doing, uh, the slim and huskies, um, pizza chain. Um, and they’ve actually been expanded into Atlanta, so they’ve grown to multiple locations. And that means they’re employing more people. They’re supporting more people. They’re, um, leasing space and, uh, you know, filling up commercial real estate and in the communities that they’re serving. So, yeah, it definitely is a multiplier effect. And we’re we’re just proud to play a small part in that.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned being part of Comcast for a long time, the culture to want to serve the community like that. Has this been around since the time you’ve been there? Is this a new emphasis?

Mike McArdle: No, I started in 1996 as a as a frontline agent in our call centers and our retail stores. Um, and I can tell you, one of the things that really hooked me about the culture of Comcast is this this focus on community investment. And for a long time, for, for decades, we had a program called Comcast Cares Day where the entire company would come together in our local communities and invest in, you know, fixing up a park or, um, painting a school, um, all around the country. That has evolved and become even more robust with our Project Up program that now includes volunteerism programs like, um, the ones I mentioned, but is also extended to our, um, lift zone investment with um, partners in the community and certainly Comcast rise. So it’s become it’s only become bigger over the, the 29 years that I’ve been here and which I love because I think it, it really underscores, um, how we’re a unique, um, partner and service provider in the communities we serve. It’s clearly about fast, high speed, reliable internet, which is critical. Um, and that’s our that’s our core product. Um, but I think we’re really unique in that we try to take it one step further and invest in the communities that we serve, beyond just the fiber in the ground and the connections in the home and businesses. It’s programs like this that, um, makes me really proud to be part of this company for so long.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re executing the, uh, what the winners get in those grant packages are the business consultation and the education. Are those all coming from, um, Comcast, or is that coming from the partners that are part of the the whole program?

Mike McArdle: Yeah. So it’s a combination. So you know, obviously the monetary grants and and the help with the production, um, we play a direct role in but we also work with such a wide range of partners, um, to, um, connect the businesses to. So, you know, when you think about educational resources and supporting the digital makeovers, um, it’s both, um, our experts in the company, um, as well as our investment, um, but also the partnerships. I mean, one of the the cool things about being a big organization is you work with a lot of different business partners that bring a lot of unique expertise. So that’s another benefit of the winners is they’re going to get exposure not just to us, but also to these other partners that we have, um, that work on educational resources, creative production, distribution, certainly the tech makeover. Um, and we consult with the winners on what is their need based on their business and then, um, kind of tailor that to their needs.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned a couple of the, uh, the national winners. Has there been any story, uh, that you heard of maybe in Nashville or maybe not in Nashville? That really kind of, uh, was maybe most rewarding where you saw that? Wow. This program really is personally impacting a lot of folks that this is just worth doing just for the human interest story that that comes about the impact we’re making for these individuals. Has anything stood out for you?

Mike McArdle: Well, you know, there’s so many and, um, I think the two, most recently and specifically in Nashville, are the two that I mentioned. One is to have, um, the owners of Slim and Huskies at our kickoff and hear their story about taking one business, reinvesting that, having the courage to sell it and and build a new business. You know, and largely, um, connected to their initial rise. Participation is one. And then, um, and then for Tremaine Crook, who was at a recent event, um, owner of Punches and Bunches. His story, um, and I heard from the team and kind of saw his his clip for the, the, uh, program we had just, just this week, uh, his story of not only building his business and creating new revenue streams because of the partnership with Comcast. Rise. Um, but also giving back, you know, running an after school program, um, for kids and making sure they’re getting their homework done and have the connections to do that and then going off and doing, you know, the physical activity and training and exercise. You know, for me that that that’s right there in Nashville, those are two incredible examples, right, in Nashville, two businesses that, um, you know, are really, um, growing and kind of that force multiplier, you kind of kind of alluded to. And, uh, like I said, we’re just we’re just proud to play a small role in that of helping jumpstart both of their ideas and businesses that have led to growth and led to more locations and other revenue streams. And, you know, and also giving back to the community from those small businesses as well.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Mike McArdle: Well, the most important thing we need is, um, getting the word out and just reminding everyone if you if you even think there’s there’s a small need for you and you qualify, go to ww.com. Get all the information about how to apply. Who’s eligible. Um and most importantly put in your application before May 31st. The cutoff is May 31st. From that point forward, um, we are then reviewing all the applications. We have an independent organization that refused that within the company. Um, and they’ll be making those selections, and then we’ll be announcing those winners, um, in the August time frame and then start engaging those winners, um, with all of the facets of, of the award. Um, so most important thing is get the word out, go to Comcast. Com and apply today. That’s the most important thing to tell your listeners.

Lee Kantor: Well Mike, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Mike McArdle: Thanks, Lee I appreciate the time.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Nashville Business Radio.