Non-conventional by design: A new conference puts scaling entrepreneurs at the center

For entrepreneurs who have spent years building a business outside the traditional startup playbook, finding the right resources can be difficult. Many business conferences are designed around launching a company, raising capital, or pitching the next big idea. But there is another group that often gets less attention: the business owners who have already built something and are ready to figure out what comes next.

That is the space the Non-Conventional Entrepreneur Conference is designed to fill.

Returning this year after originating in 2019, Non-Con will bring entrepreneurs, founders, creatives and community leaders to SparkHaus in Covington on September 12th. The one-day conference is focused on people building businesses on their own terms, with an emphasis on practical lessons, connections and the realities of scaling.

Kareem Simpson, owner of SparkLight Creates and one of the conference organizers, said the idea began with a desire to create something for entrepreneurs who did not necessarily fit the conventional definition of a business owner.

A conference built for the businesses already in motion

Simpson first developed Non-Con in 2019 in partnership with the Center for Great Neighborhoods. The timing was different then, before the pandemic and before the gig economy and side-hustle culture became such a significant part of the entrepreneurial landscape.

When Simpson began discussing bringing the conference back, the goal became more specific.

Rather than focusing primarily on startups, Non-Con is aimed at entrepreneurs who have already been operating for several years and are ready to grow.

“I thought, I’ve been working with the Covington Business Council on ways of trying to be a little bit more inclusive with whom we reach out to,” Simpson said. “So, I proposed bringing back this non-conventional conference and kind of targeting those businesses owned by individuals that may be marginalized in the space of small business and that are ready to scale.”

That distinction is important. For a business owner who has already survived the early stages of building a company, the challenges can look very different from those facing someone with an idea but no established operation.

Non-Con is designed to meet entrepreneurs at that point in the process.

Scaling without a traditional playbook

The conference is intentionally industry-agnostic. Rather than building the day around one sector, organizers are bringing together speakers and sessions focused on concepts that can apply across different types of businesses.

“We want to stay broad and provide concepts that are transferable to all industries,” Simpson said.

That includes businesses in fashion, real estate, food and beverage, body art, and other industries represented by this year’s speakers.

The conference’s primary audience is entrepreneurs who are ready to scale, but Simpson said newer business owners should not count themselves out.

“If you are a small business and you’re interested, you’re at the beginning process, there are still many key takeaways that you can get from this conference,” he said.

The programming is also designed to recognize that scaling does not happen at one specific moment. Entrepreneurs can be preparing to scale, actively navigating growth or figuring out how to sustain a business after expansion.

Putting lived experience into the conversation

The speaker lineup reflects the conference’s focus on entrepreneurs who have actually navigated the challenges being discussed.

Catrena Bowman, founder of InspiredFashion, Anthony Bradford of A.M. Titan Real Estate Development, Dr. Dawn Wade, co-founder of West End Gin, and Brea Lippitt, owner of Body Art Empire, are among the featured speakers listed for this year’s event. The group represents different industries and different approaches to entrepreneurship, but each has experience building and growing a business.

“I think people might be surprised that all of the speakers, all the presenters, the individuals that are putting this on are Northern Kentucky or Kentucky entrepreneurs of color,” Simpson said.

That representation was not necessarily something organizers set out to manufacture. It grew naturally from the people involved in building the conference, the businesses they represent, and the experiences they can share.

Simpson said that practical experience is central to what attendees will take away from the day.

“The main thing that individuals will get from each one of these sessions is individual perspectives from each level or each stage of that scalable side,” he said.

That includes conversations around what happens before a business is ready to scale, what it looks like in the middle of that process, and how owners continue operating after significant growth.

Some of the conference’s concurrent sessions are still being finalized, but Simpson said attendees can expect candid conversations with minority business owners about the obstacles they have encountered and the ways they navigated them.

“You’re going to be able to talk one-on-one or in a panel discussion style and get their perspective of what they had to go through specifically because they’re minority-owned businesses and get advice on how to navigate through those pitfalls when you are navigating your process of scaling up,” he said.

Building a stronger entrepreneurial community

Simpson is joined by co-organizers Renee Reeves of Mosaic Intel and Arian Green of NKY AI. Simpson has owned SparkLight Creates since 2004, a professional and personal development business that works with nonprofits, small businesses, and entrepreneurs looking to reach their next level of success.

For Simpson, organizing a conference focused on business growth is an extension of the work he has already been doing.

“My business is helping businesses get to their next level of success,” he said. “It takes on different paths. It may not be just helping one business one on one. It could be working with other scalable businesses also working to put a conference like this together.”

That community focus is also part of why the organizers chose SparkHaus as the venue.

Simpson, who has lived in Covington for years, described the location as personally meaningful.

“Being able to live and work and manifest this kind of passion and this mission of entrepreneurship and helping people get to their next level – in a space, and in a city that I consider home – it’s magical,” he said.

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What: Non-Conventional Entrepreneur Conference (Non-Con)
When: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: SparkHaus, 727 Madison Ave., Covington, Kentucky
Cost: $50
Learn more and register: https://www.wearenoncon.org/

Editor’s note: Kareem A. Simpson is a longtime contributor to Soapbox Cincinnati.