We’re passionate about helping you succeed and make an impact

 
 

We’re quirky entrepreneurs

Every member of the TACTIX team is a tried and true entrepreneur, equipped with our own battle scars and lessons learned. We know what it means to stand on the frontlines of business.

We’re brave disruptors

We believe in the power of education and empowerment, which is why our team came together to build TACTIX. With the right ideas and the right tools, you can change the world.

We’re tech geeks

Technology can open doors, build bridges, and heal communities. We celebrate our geeky superpowers by creating tech systems that help you do big things with your business.

TACTIX team

Sarah Benoit

Sarah has worked in the web design, SEO, and social media fields since 2003 and has been teaching classes on related subjects since 2006. As President of Creative Original, she has built a wide variety of small business websites over the years.

As Co-founder and Lead Instructor for the JB Media Institute, Sarah Benoit leverages her years of experience as a digital marketing strategist to create timely, relevant, and engaging training content.

Sarah speaks, trains, and presents on digital marketing topics at conferences and events throughout the year in the Southeast and beyond.

Vanessa Bell

Vanessa is a Creative Consultant based in Asheville, NC, with over 15 years experience in the entrepreneurship world.

She is a brand specialist and website designer, working with a diverse group of clients - from solopreneurs to small businesses to non-profits.

Vanessa believes in creative storytelling through imagery and layout, and loves an organizational challenge.

She also serves as Strategy Advisor on the TEDxAsheville team. 

Deanna Jannuzzi

Deanna is a lifelong, serial entrepreneur currently based in Asheville, NC. She serves as an Interim-COO, Business Consultant, and Leadership Advisor to multiple companies all across the globe. She is also a board member and volunteer to multiple non-profit organizations.

Deanna has a proven track record of success in business establishment and ownership, entrepreneurial and leadership advisement, organizational structuring, and management. She is an invaluable leader and innovator in her community, where she prioritizes transparency, authenticity and vulnerability in business. 

Aisha Adams

Aisha Adams is the founder and CEO of the Aisha Adams Media Group and partner organization Equity Over Everything, which advances equity by closing gaps in entrepreneurship and homeownership in low-resource communities.

Aisha’s other ventures include the Asheville View, a daytime-style talk show; Nappy Thoughts, a personal blog followed by thousands of people on social media; and the Entrepreneurial Accelerator, a business bootcamp that ties fledgling businesses to community resources. She is also the program developer for the Lenoir-Rhyne Equity & Diversity Institute (LREDI).

Emily Hemingway

Emily transforms communities through entrepreneurship and innovation. With over 15 years experience, she is committed to fostering equitable economic opportunity across America by empowering regions through data-driven strategic planning, public-private partnerships, and leading-edge community advancement practices.

Having worked her way from coast to coast, Emily is an economic development powerhouse, award-winning event producer, business accelerator director, public relations specialist, and nationally recognized thought leader in entrepreneurial ecosystem design.

Boomer Sassmann

Boomer Sassmann is the owner of Big Boom Design, an Asheville NC-based web design agency, specializing in the WordPress platform and focused on educating and supporting a client base of 300+ from coast to coast. His passion for web development, coupled with a drive to “bridge the digital divide”, has resulted in a unique educational approach to empowering business owners about how to use the internet.

Sassmann is a serial entrepreneur, designer, and builder who is often found under the hood tinkering with vintage BMWs, trailers, and motorcycles while exploring new destinations around the country both on road and off.

Russ Seagle

Russ Seagle is the CEO of The Sequoyah Fund, Inc., a Native Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) serving the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and surrounding communities in Western North Carolina. The Sequoyah Fund provides small business start-up and expansion capital, training, and consulting to small businesses.

Russ has been a professional speaker and trainer for over twenty years, and he speaks regularly at conferences and other events on entrepreneurship, building strong small businesses, the entrepreneurial lifestyle, and using entrepreneurial thinking to overcome adversity.