About
Accelerate UP offers free, confidential, and personalized consulting and coaching services to individuals and business owners, who want to Start-Expand-Diversify a business in Marquette County.
Vision:
Entrepreneurial start-ups and small businesses are thriving, strengthening the economic fiber of our community, and creating jobs and financial well-being for individuals, families, and the community.
Mission Statement:
We empower entrepreneurs and propel small businesses to start, build, and expand through a system of business coaching, peer assistance, and community support.
Values:
We provide confidential and accessible services to empower our clients to achieve their goals for their business.
We serve as trusted advisors, providing honest and objective business coaching services.
We cultivate a peer-to-peer community network with a wealth of resources to support client success.
How it Works
Board of Trustees
Accelerate UP is directed by a seven-member volunteer Board of Trustees which provides the organization with strategic vision and financial oversight.
Resource Team
Accelerate UP’s Resource Team is comprised of a dedicated group of civic leaders, community professionals, small business owners and economic development practitioners. They engage with our Executive Director to provide creative suggestions and advice to support the success of entrepreneurs and small business owners in the community.
Meet Our
executive director
Alex Kofsky, an Upper Peninsula native, is a strategically-minded individual ready to help entrepreneurs follow their passions and fulfill their dreams. He has worked and traveled through all corners of Marquette County and the U.P. during his time as a small business consultant, interim EDC director, business developer for a marketing firm, and co-restaurant owner.
“In the Upper Peninsula, we fight hard to make a living and create opportunities for our community. I believe we do this because of love and passion for our home,” said Alex of his career/community experience. In his role as Accelerate UP Facilitator, he looks forward to brainstorming solutions to both entrepreneurial problems and possibilities.
Off the clock, you will find Alex hiking, hunting, fishing, and traveling (weekend trips in the U.P.’s backyard and occasionally international for perspective).