Case Study: Inglis Impact Accelerator

Building a New Model for Disability-Inclusive Entrepreneurship Support

Overview

Inglis, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit with an Innovation Center in Pittsburgh, supports individuals with disabilities to live life to the fullest. In late 2023, Inglis engaged Shannon Parris Consulting to design and implement the first accelerator cohort of the Inglis Impact Accelerator (IIA). The goal of the IIA was to empower entrepreneurs with disabilities and entrepreneurs working to advance accessibility and inclusion through housing, technology, or healthcare innovation by creating a program model that not only supported early-stage entrepreneurs with disabilities but also reflected Inglis’ commitment to equitable design and accessibility.

Approach

From December 2023 through October 2024, Shannon worked as the program architect and facilitator for the pilot of the Inglis Impact Accelerator in partnership with Leah Marmo, Director, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships. Shannon’s role spanned strategic design, curriculum development, participant coaching, speaker recruitment, data collection and evaluation, and event planning for the culminating Pitch Your Niche showcase.

Key components included:

• Program Design & Curriculum Development: Created the full 15-week accelerator structure, selection process, application materials, scoring rubrics, and program materials.

• Participant Support: Facilitated weekly webinars and workshops on business fundamentals, invited expert speakers to expand learning opportunities, matched participants with business coaches and mentors, led individualized “office hours” sessions, and hosted an optional in-person entrepreneur panel event to share the businesses’ work with the community.

• Operational Guidance: Advised Inglis leadership on process and program design, marketing strategy, data management, and partnership engagement.

• Accessibility & Inclusion: Shifted the program to a fully virtual format to eliminate barriers to participation. Shannon also worked closely with participants to ensure individualized accommodations—including a collaborative process to support a blind entrepreneur’s engagement throughout the program.

• “Pitch Your Niche” pitch competition: Held completely online, this culminating event gave participants an opportunity to showcase the work they did on their businesses and to win cash prizes. Each participant was awarded $5,000, and Cookie Cookie Ice Cream won an additional $5,000 as the “audience favorite.”

Shannon Parris and the Pittsburgh Inglis Staff in front of the Assistive Technologies Lab at the Inglis Innovation Center in Bellevue, PA.

Participants and Partners

The inaugural cohort featured entrepreneurs with lived experience with disability as well as founders working to advance accessibility and inclusion with their products and services. Participants represented a wide range of disabilities, professional backgrounds, and stages of business growth, creating a uniquely collaborative learning environment. They included:

• Alexander Geht, Testa-Seat

• Connie Feda, Cookie Cookie Ice Cream

• Jennifer Price, Disability Media Network

• Robert Breen, River City Growers

• Ty Allen, Unity Concord Real Estate

In addition to program development and delivery, Leah and Shannon curated a network of partners and guest experts to expand participant learning and opportunities. These included:

• Highmark Wholecare, sponsor of the cash prizes at the Pitch Your Niche showcase

• 2Gether-International, curriculum and referral partner

• Workhorse Collaborative, Emily Willson, workshop speaker (landing pages & cold emails) and Jackie Baker, business coach

• The Wave Ventures, Danielle Cohn, business coach

• Jerry Marcus, NBCUniversal, pitch mentor

• Ibex Consulting, workshop speaker (scaling financial operations)

• Aille Design, previous Pitch Your Niche winner and workshop speaker (audience & customers)

• TJ Johnson, workshop speaker (preparing to pitch)

• CLASS, panel event presenter and coordinator of Breaking Barriers: The Employment Journey for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities

• Entrepreneur support organizations across Pennsylvania, which helped recruit participants and amplify outreach to underrepresented founders

This ecosystem-based approach strengthened connections between entrepreneurs and the broader disability innovation community, laying groundwork for future collaborations and ongoing mentorship.

Shannon Parris and Leah Marmo with the Inglis Impact Accelerator pilot participants at the Inglis Innovation Center in Bellevue, PA.

A Neurodivergent- and Disability-Affirming Framework

Shannon’s coaching philosophy centers on honoring how each entrepreneur’s brain and body work best, rejecting one-size-fits-all business and training models. The accelerator integrated this approach by emphasizing sustainable practices, flexible structures, and individualized accountability systems.

This affirming framework proved especially impactful for entrepreneurs navigating neurodivergent traits and other disabilities. As one participant shared, “Shannon gave me permission to be myself and embrace the obstacles as just part of the path. That changed everything.”

Results & Impact

The Inglis Impact Accelerator pilot was described by participants as “empowering, transformative, impactful, and meaningful.” Quantitative results demonstrated both business and personal growth among the cohort:

• 100% of participants reported gaining traction in their businesses due to the program

• 100% of participants hired new staff or formed new partnerships during the program

• 100% of participants felt more confident applying business fundamentals after the program

• 100% of participants valued the program’s focus on disability inclusion as a competitive advantage

• 100% of participants rated the program “extremely useful”

Participants cited individualized coaching and community support as the most valuable elements of the experience, underscoring the importance of relational, adaptive program design for entrepreneurs with disabilities.

A screenshot of the Inglis Pitch Your Niche event on September 19, 2024. Connie Feda, Shannon Parris, Robert Breen, Leah Marmo, Alex Geht, Jennifer Price, and Ty Allen are smiling from their remote locations.

Key Learnings & Results

The IIA pilot revealed that while structured curriculum is important, the highest-impact outcomes emerged from personalized support and accountability. This insight informed recommendations for future program design: streamlining workshops and directing more resources toward one-on-one coaching and peer support can be just as impactful as a robust program with multiple elements.

Many entrepreneurial support programs offer training for business owners, but without intentional follow-through, that learning may never translate into action. For entrepreneurs with disabilities who may be balancing complex access needs, health realities, or executive function challenges, implementation support is not optional; it’s essential.

The Inglis Impact Accelerator demonstrated that when programming is designed to meet participants where they are with flexibility, multiple options for access, and accountability built in, entrepreneurs are far more likely to apply what they’ve learned and sustain progress after the program ends. Making offerings accessible starts with accommodations and must also include designing for follow-through, ensuring that every participant has the tools, structure, and community to translate insight into impact.

Through this engagement, Inglis established a replicable, equity-driven accelerator model that can continue to serve and empower entrepreneurs with disabilities across Pennsylvania and beyond. Shannon’s work helped Inglis operationalize its vision: to build systems of innovation where accessibility and inclusion are the foundation, not an afterthought.