TAMPA, Fla — The Kurators Kafein Tampa is so much more than the brewed beverages you'll find up front.
The owner, Kimberly Hemmingway said their focus is on providing a space where BIPOC business owners, content producers, and organizations can heal, create, network—and most importantly dream.
"This is much more than a business incubator. It is really a place of evolution," she said.
It's a mission that is very personal to Hemmingway, who pivoted to full-time entrepreneurship after her corporate career ended abruptly.
"I would go every day and I would feel [like] 'What else is there to life?'" she said, "Before returning to work, again, I got into a bad car accident. That was the last day, Friday was the last day, that I was actually in anybody's office from the corporate perspective."
And no one knows a pivot better than the owner of Cocoon to Wings Publishing, Stephanie Outten.
"I spent 22 years in human resources. That's my background," she said.
She told ABC Action News that a divorce and a corporate shake-up led her to authorship, and eventually to publishing and coaching.
"We publish fiction, nonfiction, self-help, journals, you name it," she laughed.
Since Kurators Kafe opened a year ago she's been working in the space and with Hemmingway.
"This is a space for innovation and collaboration," she said.
The fruit of that labor can be seen in this virtual co-working platform they're launching—which is based on the layout of Kurators Kafe.
As both women continue chasing new dreams, Hemmingway leaves the following advice for those who are still on the fence about living out their dreams:
"[You have to] Get a better understanding of who you are and then understanding that with anything you have to leap into it," she said.
Kurators Kafe will be celebrating its first anniversary on April 19-20.
To learn more, click here.
Kurators Kafe will also be holding a 'Black and Brown Book Bazaar' on June 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Outten said it will allow attendees to network, buy books, and attend writing workshops.
The event is free to the public. But if you're looking to become a vendor, Outten asks that you contact her here.
