When Chicago entrepreneur Early Walker sold All Area W&W Towing to Vehicle Management Solutions, a private equity-backed company, in 2024, he could have stepped away.
Instead, he turned his attention to another mission.
Walker recently launched No Business Left Behind, designed to help struggling small businesses survive and scale through mentorship, operational support, capital, and greater visibility.
Across Chicago, small businesses continue to face rising costs, changing consumer habits, staffing challenges, and unexpected setbacks that can threaten years of hard work.
In recent months, community members have rallied around businesses facing difficult moments, from Living Fresh Market’s financial challenges to Sip & Savor after a smash-and-grab burglary. Walker says No Business Left Behind was created to step in before more neighborhood businesses are forced to close.
“I don’t want to just do like what most people do…become successful, blow up, and just disappear,” Walker told Chicago Southsider. “No, I want to be able to bring other businesses with me and I feel like we are stronger together.”
For Walker, the initiative is personal.
He says it was shaped by both his own entrepreneurial journey and lessons he learned watching his father operate as a one-man business.
His father, an electrical contractor, built a successful company but suffered a stroke, leaving the business without a plan to continue. Watching that experience unfold changed the way Walker thought about entrepreneurship, succession, and building something that could outlast one person.
Walker also remembers what it felt like to build a business without experienced entrepreneurs showing him the way.
“I want to be able to help other businesses. I want to be able to give advice. I want to be able to share some help because I didn’t get that help. I didn’t have anybody that was guiding me. I didn’t have anybody that was telling me, ‘Early, don’t do this or don’t do that.'”
That experience became the foundation for No Business Left Behind, which aims to connect entrepreneurs with the resources they need before financial challenges become business-ending challenges.
Walker has pledged $100,000 through the initiative and plans to award $10,000 to 10 businesses. But he says the program is about much more than funding. Depending on a business’s needs, entrepreneurs may receive mentorship, operational guidance, strategic planning, social media exposure, or introductions to investors.
“It’s like a mobile Shark Tank,” Walker said, explaining that every business requires a different type of support.
Although No Business Left Behind officially launched nationally this month, Walker has already been helping businesses throughout Chicago.
Among them are Living Fresh Market, Sip & Savor Coffee House, Shawn Michelle’s Homemade Ice Cream, and Chicago’s first Fatburger location.
In each case, Walker said the goal wasn’t simply to make a financial contribution. It was to rally community support, raise awareness, and help business owners connect with the resources needed to continue serving their neighborhoods.
Walker said the initiative is already expanding beyond Chicago as entrepreneurs from across the country reach out for help. He is also working with investors and partners who want to support businesses with additional capital and expertise.
Business owners interested in participating can currently apply by submitting a one-minute video (or less) through Walker’s Instagram or Facebook pages explaining who they are, what their business does, the challenges they’re facing, and the type of support they’re seeking. Walker and his team review each submission to determine next steps.
For Walker, No Business Left Behind represents more than another business venture.
It’s an opportunity to help entrepreneurs avoid some of the same obstacles he faced while building his own company and to remind them they don’t have to navigate the journey alone.
“I just want to uplift the small business community,” Walker said. “We have a huge need in our communities. It’s not just a local problem. It’s a nationwide problem as well.”
Walker hopes other entrepreneurs take away one simple lesson from his story: don’t let rejection stop you from pursuing your vision.
“When I walked off my job in 2013, everybody told me I was crazy,” he said. “I think we can set our own limitations on ourselves. We are our own worst enemy.”
Walker adds, “The biggest thing in the entrepreneurship world is to never stop. Never take no for an answer… I’ve gotten 10 no’s before one yes.”
Editor’s Note: This story is the first in a two-part series featuring Early Walker. In August, Chicago Southsider will take readers inside Walker’s entrepreneurial journey, from buying a “raggedy” tow truck with his 401(k) to building a company that attracted a private equity buyer and the lessons he learned along the way.
