Partners & Funders
Organizations on the same team
You built it. We bring the systems and infrastructure for what's next.
Melon 29:7 is a preparation platform built to function across two lanes — Launch Pad for entrepreneurs who haven't yet registered a business, and Legacy for owners of registered businesses stabilizing, scaling, or preparing for transition. Both lanes run through the same infrastructure: registration, banking relationships, money readiness, and digital presence in the right order, not as standalone services.
Founded and led by Odell Palacio, Melon brings over two decades of practitioner experience across retail banking, real estate, and community economic development — branch management, micro-lending decisions, foreclosure and redemption transactions, and corporate-community partnership development with major SE Michigan institutions.
Melon channels that experience into a single focused model: clearing the practical barriers — registration, banking, money readiness, digital presence — that keep capable entrepreneurs stuck, then building on top of them. The platform is early, and it is built to grow.
Knowledge must have infrastructure to act on. Infrastructure must have knowledge to operate. The platform builds both — because either alone leaves the entrepreneur unprepared when opportunity moves.
What every entrepreneur needs to know before opportunity moves. Money readiness coaching, business modeling, financial projections, and industry-specific curriculum built around the actual situation. For new entrepreneurs, this is the foundational thinking that earns grant eligibility. For established business owners, this is the strategic analysis that drives the next move.
What gets built around the entrepreneur to make their business operational. Business registration, banking relationships, custom websites, digital presence, and capital readiness packages. Plus access to vetted referral networks for legal, accounting, certifications, and insurance — the partners every business needs in place before they're needed.
A cash injection without preparation is temporary. Financial education without infrastructure is incomplete. Melon builds both — in the right order, with the right people.
For entrepreneurs who haven't yet registered a business. No LLC, no EIN, no business bank account — not because you haven't been working, but because the work has lived off paper. Launch Pad is where we file the registration, open the accounts, and build your first real digital presence, together.
For owners of a registered business who need to grow it, protect it, or pass it on. The cleaning company winning its first RFP. The franchise owner preparing to sell. The established business ready to invest in a website rebuild (paid service). The owner already operating elsewhere and formalizing in Michigan. The owner who has never had a full needs assessment built around what they actually have.
Each engagement scoped during our first conversation.
Organizations on the same team
Launch Pad and Legacy walk in through different doors — the first for entrepreneurs building registration, banking, and a first digital presence from scratch, the second for registered owners stabilizing, scaling, or preparing for transition. The spine is the same: money readiness scoped to the situation, one-on-one coaching, a vetted network for whatever comes next, and an open door when life shifts.
No templates. A plan that fits the person in front of us.
Get StartedEvery plan begins with a money readiness assessment built around your situation — before any business curriculum is delivered.
LARA filings, EIN, and warm referrals to low-barrier business banking partners. The paperwork happens with us, not as homework.
Custom website built by Melon, owned by you. Verizon Digital Ready curriculum runs alongside — industry-specific, grant eligible.
Stable income managed with intention is a wealth-building tool. Our free weekly job board covers Southeast Michigan.
Browse Open Jobs →Loan packages, capital readiness audits, and lender introductions for the next stage of growth or transition.
When the work needs a specialist — certifications (WOSB, MBE, MWBE, ACDBE), legal, accounting, insurance — we connect clients to vetted partners we trust.
Specification analysis, compliance gap identification, and submission support for the contracts that move the business forward.
Sale, succession, and acquisition coaching. Buyer matching, exit planning, and the team to walk the handoff through.
Removing the barriers that keep good entrepreneurs out of the system. Registration, banking, and digital presence come first — so when the next door opens, the business is ready.
Don't take our word for it — hear from the small business owners we've had the honor of working alongside.
Very efficient work, Odel! Thank you so much for your support in starting my business.
Working with Mr. Odell Palacio has been phenomenal. He has given me direction and resources to help my business grow as well as tips for establishing professional development.
Let us know which track fits your situation and we'll be in touch within 48 hours.
Prefer email? hello@melon297.org for general inquiries · partnerships@melon297.org for funders and corporate
No payment required. Legacy service fees are discussed during our first conversation.
Melon 29:7 partners with organizations and individuals who approach economic inclusion as strategy. Through this work, entrepreneurs build the infrastructure that turns hustle into a fundable business — and established business owners build the operational and capital readiness their next move requires. The conversation starts with what you want your capital to accomplish and how fast it needs to move.
Start the ConversationEvery contribution goes directly to program delivery for entrepreneurs who've been locked out of mainstream support. Choose the path that fits you.
Your gift directly funds education and digital inclusion programming — for the entrepreneurs most systems overlook. Every skill we teach leads somewhere. Tax-deductible. All amounts welcome.
Corporate partnerships fund program infrastructure, cohort delivery, and long-term capacity. Partners receive visibility, community trust, and the satisfaction of directly expanding economic inclusion in Southeast Michigan. Inquiries via check or formal agreement — let's talk.