Meet the Final Five: The 2026 Great Social Enterprise Pitch Finalists
After 10 weeks of learning, refining business models and putting their ideas to the test, five entrepreneurs are moving on to the next stage of the 2026 Great Social Enterprise Pitch.
The finalists were selected from this year’s Idea Incubator cohort following Pitch & Brew, where 16 entrepreneurs presented their businesses to local judges. Now, the Final Five will continue working with mentors to strengthen their businesses and prepare to take the stage at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse on September 10.
Each finalist is building a business designed to solve a real problem, from creating stronger pathways to employment and making wellness more accessible to improving care after addiction treatment.
Meet the entrepreneurs behind this year’s Final Five.
Julia Morrell
Custom Clean Commercial Cleaning Services
For Julia Morrell, building a successful cleaning company is also an opportunity to create better employment opportunities for women.
Custom Clean Commercial Cleaning Services provides commercial cleaning throughout Lancaster and the surrounding area, with a focus on dependable service and consistent quality. Behind that service is Julia’s larger mission to provide stable, dignified work at a living wage for women who may be navigating difficult circumstances, including single mothers, immigrants and women rebuilding their lives.
Julia started the business out of necessity, but demand quickly grew and so did her team. Through the Idea Incubator, she has been working to more intentionally shape the business, strengthen its financial model and build a company where investing in employees leads to better outcomes for both workers and customers.
Malia Burris
The Live Well Experience
Malia Burris is bringing together wellness, art and community through The Live Well Experience.
A licensed social worker, mental health therapist and artist, Malia creates community wellness experiences using sound meditation, expressive arts, mindfulness and public art. Her workshops and group experiences are designed to make tools for managing stress and supporting well-being more approachable for people of different ages and backgrounds.
Her work responds to a challenge she has seen firsthand: traditional wellness and mental health resources are not always accessible or welcoming to everyone. By bringing creative wellness practices into schools, nonprofits, community organizations and other shared spaces, Malia is creating new ways for people to connect with wellness and with one another.
Michael Bradley
Aftercare Compass
Leaving treatment can be one of the most vulnerable points in a person’s recovery journey. Michael Bradley wants to make sure fewer people fall through the cracks during that transition.
Aftercare Compass is a web-based platform designed to help behavioral health and substance use treatment providers coordinate referrals, follow-up and aftercare after a client is discharged. Instead of relying on disconnected spreadsheets, emails and paper records, providers can use the platform to better track appointments, housing referrals and other critical next steps.
Michael brings both professional and lived experience to the idea, including experience as a patient in treatment and a recovery house resident. After several years of developing and testing the concept, his goal is to build an accessible tool for smaller behavioral health providers and recovery organizations that can strengthen continuity of care and help people stay connected to the support they need.
Sharon Allen-Spann
Coach Sharon
Leadership can come with more responsibility, more pressure and, too often, burnout.
Through Coach Sharon, Sharon Allen-Spann works with leaders who are navigating expanded responsibilities and need support adjusting how they lead. Her 90-day Leadership Recalibration Experience is designed to help leaders examine their habits, better understand what belongs within their role and develop a more sustainable approach to leadership.
Sharon brings more than 40 years of experience in education and human resources to her business, along with extensive experience supporting organizations and leaders. Her goal is to help leaders move away from over-functioning and exhaustion and toward greater clarity, confidence and healthier ways of leading their teams.
Susanna Wurtz
Mountain Laurel Sewing Company
For Susanna Wurtz, sewing is about more than making something. It can be a way to learn, create, connect and give existing materials new life.
Mountain Laurel Sewing Company offers sewing lessons, garment design and production, alterations and other fiber arts experiences. The business places a strong emphasis on sustainable practices, including the use and preservation of vintage and recycled textiles.
Susanna sees growing interest in sewing, garment construction and fiber arts as an opportunity to make these skills more accessible to people of all ages and experience levels. Her vision is to eventually grow Mountain Laurel Sewing Company into a brick-and-mortar space where people can learn new skills, create together and explore more sustainable approaches to clothing and textiles.
The Final Five Are Headed to the Great Social Enterprise Pitch
The work isn’t finished yet.
Over the next few weeks, Julia, Malia, Sharon, Susanna and Michael will continue preparing for their biggest pitch yet. On Thursday, September 10, they’ll take the stage at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse to share their businesses with a panel of judges and compete for cash and prizes to help move their ideas forward.
The Great Social Enterprise Pitch is the culmination of months of work, learning and testing ideas through the ASSETS Idea Incubator. It’s also a chance to celebrate five entrepreneurs who are building businesses around real needs in our community.
