• About
  • Article PDF
  • White Papers
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Advertising & Sponsorships
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Times Of Entrepreneurship
Growth and Equity for a Changing World
Times Of Entrepreneurship
No Result
View All Result

The Changing Nature of Entrepreneurship | EforAll

The Fastest-Growing Group of Female Entrepreneurs Are Women Of Color - We Need Better Systems like 'EforAll' To Support Them.

by Seth Levine
May 19, 2020
in New Builders
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Entrepreneurship in the United States is changing pretty dramatically – in ways that many of us have failed to notice or understand. Specifically today’s American entrepreneurs are more likely to be female and non-white. In fact, the number of women-owned businesses has increased 31 times between 1972 and 2018 according to the Kauffman Foundation (in 1972, women-owned businesses accounted for just 4.6% of all firms; in 2018 that figure was 40%). Meanwhile, the fastest-growing group female entrepreneurs are women of color, who are responsible for 64% of the new women-owned businesses being created. There’s a lot more to dig into here, which I’ll do in future posts. But it’s urgent that we begin to understand this because we’re failing to build systems to support these new entrepreneurs. This has become especially clear in the current economic crisis, as I pointed out in this piece I wrote with Elizabeth Macbride a few weeks ago for CNBC as well as this post from last week. Relief money authorized by congress under various programs of the CARES Act and other initiatives is failing to reach many women and minority owned businesses and is highlighting structural issues with the way we support entrepreneurs in the United States. For example, it has been widely documented that women and minority owned businesses are not accessing aid through the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) – see for example, here, here, here, here, here. This program requires businesses to have relationships with certain approved SBA lenders, which women and minority owned businesses are less likely to have. Its initial roll-out excluded certain types of financial institutions (most notably CDFIs) which disproportionately bank these businesses. It also left much of the underwriting criteria up to the banks themselves, who favored other customers. And the program itself – based on W2 payroll and primarily benefiting businesses that were in a position to open up quickly – failed to address the kinds of businesses most likely to be started by this new generation of entrepreneurs.

We can and must do better.

Which is why I’d like to highlight for you a great program called EforAll.  Launched in 2013 with a mission of partnering with communities to help under-represented individuals successfully start and grow their businesses, EforAll is a pretty special organization. I’ve gotten to know them well over the past two years (Brad and his wife Amy, as well as Greeley and I are financial supporters of EforAll). EforAll combines immersive business training, mentorship and an extensive support network to help support their entrepreneurs. It’s incredibly compelling and urgently needed – now more than ever. EforAll is up and running in 9 communities in Massachusetts and Colorado and, to date, they’ve supported entrepreneurs in starting almost 350 businesses, 83% of which continue to be actively pursued by their founders. About a year ago we launched in Longmont and that program just graduated their first class (I attended the virtual demo day/graduation – it was inspiring).

We’ll be starting up another Longmont program this summer and are looking for mentors in Boulder and the Front Range (although potentially for this one anywhere – we anticipate much of this summer’s program will end up being virtual). This is a fantastic opportunity to help female, minority, and immigrant entrepreneurs pursue their business ideas.

A few stats:

EforAll National
– Over 500 ventures graduated
– Nearly $35M in capital raised
– Over $25M in 2019 revenue

EforAll Longmont
– 9 businesses (11 entrepreneurs) went through first Longmont accelerator
– Those entrepreneurs were from the North Metro area, Boulder County, and Weld County
– Ventures in the first program ranged from gluten-free beer & pastries being made from ancient grains & traditional Peruvian recipes, to a financial literacy app for elementary school students, to a husband & wife duo manufacturing adaptive underwear for individuals with sensory disabilities
– Highlights from the first accelerator include an entrepreneur securing her first two grocery store clients for her plant-based meat product, an entrepreneur raising 40k from friends and family, and an entrepreneur launching their first online marketplace for disability-focused products
– EforAll Longmont was also mentioned in this href=”https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/your-money/entrepreneurship-philanthropy-gururaj-deshpande.html”>New York Times article, received support from Google, and worked with more than 50 volunteers during our first accelerator (including about 30 mentors)

EforAll Mentoring Ask – Mentoring with EforAll is a fantastic way to support small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs in your own background. Accelerator Mentors come from a variety of backgrounds and use their business and leadership experience to guide new entrepreneurs through the process of starting or growing a business. Mentors work in teams of three and are matched with an entrepreneur based on schedule availability and desire to work together. The team meets as a group to help reaffirm topics and themes raised during classes, while also strategizing with the entrepreneur on how to reach their specific goals during the program. Mentoring with EforAll is a 90-minute per-week commitment from July-September and all meetings between entrepreneurs and mentors will take place virtually. For more information, you can click here and you can also email EforAll Colorado Executive Director, Harris Rollinger, at [email protected]


Also published on Medium.



This story and others on Times of E are made possible by a sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography. The Kansas City, Mo.-based foundation uses its grantmaking, research, programs, and initiatives to support the start and growth of new businesses, a more prepared workforce, and stronger communities. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.

Source: VC Adventure
Tags: EcosystementrepreneursPeople of ColorVenturesWomen
Seth Levine

Seth Levine

Hi, I'm Seth Levine, a Boulder, CO based technology investor and managing director at Foundry Group. While I love technology I’m also a husband, father, avid cyclist, snowboarder and outdoors guy.

Related Posts

Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

by Nina Roberts
January 25, 2023
0

Regina Trillo is the founder of Nemi Cactus Sticks, made with Mexican nopal. Photos: Nelipot Project, collage: Nina Roberts. Authentic...

TK

With A New Way to Make Furniture, Locally, Baru Has Nearly $1M In Revenue After Two Years

by Nina Roberts
December 23, 2022
0

Tino Go is the founder of Baru. Could “decentralized manufacturing” be the next industrial revolution? Tino Go, the founder of...

Vermont Farmer Creates A New Drink Category With Roots In The Past

Vermont Farmer Creates A New Drink Category With Roots In The Past

by Nina Roberts
November 23, 2022
0

Matt Sayre is the founder of Shrubbly, a sparkling shrub drink made with aronia berries. Photo collage: Nina Roberts The...

The Passion of The Christian Hip Hop Entrepreneur James Rosseau

The Passion of The Christian Hip Hop Entrepreneur: James Rosseau

by Lori Ioannou
November 10, 2022
0

James Rosseau of Holy Culture Radio, bringing Christian hop hop to the forefront. Since its beginnings in the 1980s, Christian...

a red triangle with the words System Hacked on it

Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small Businesses

by Elizabeth Macbride
October 20, 2022
0

There's a new and booming market for cyber protection and cyber insurance services for small businesses.  The market started to...

More Americans Are Embracing Entrepreneurship

More Americans Are Embracing Entrepreneurship

by Elizabeth Macbride
October 6, 2022
0

Evidence continues to build that Americans are re-embracing the idea of entrepreneurship as a career, path to wealth and a...

Subscribe to Times of E’s Free Weekly Newsletter

Learn about the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders

Popular

  • Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

    Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 20 U.S. University Entrepreneurship Competitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trailblazer: An Audacious Denver Entrepreneur Recruited An Xbox Creator To Develop Her Gaming Vision

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Capital Returns Are More Skewed Than People Realize

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent

Homepage Header

Opportunities for Entrepreneurial Leaders: Miami, Pittsburgh, Virtual

January 27, 2023
Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

January 26, 2023
Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

January 25, 2023

Recommended

  • Health
  • Climate
  • Deep Tech
  • Finance
  • Education
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Mentorship
Two girls texting

Many of The Top Entrepreneurship Programs Are In the Midwest, According To Princeton Review Ranking

1 year ago
Weekly Newsletter: Lessons from Plato, Labor’s Rise, and Pick the Right Social Media Platform

Weekly Newsletter: Lessons from Plato, Labor’s Rise, and Pick the Right Social Media Platform

10 months ago
  • About
  • Partner
  • Bespoke Research
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy

(703-966-7357)

© 2020 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
No Result
View All Result
  • Research
  • Finance
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • New Builders
  • Ecosystem
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Editor’s Note

© 2022 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Support Times of E

Times of E covers the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders.

With your support of our journalism, you will receive our weekly newsletter and one of these resources for free: 

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?