Breaking Down Barriers

This week, host David Ponraj speaks with Jeff Bennett, president of StartupSac, an initiative he co-founded to grow the startup ecosystem in Sacramento, CA. StartupSac has evolved from a self-funded passion project into a go-to source of entrepreneurial support and an online hub for information and resources about startups in the region. David and Jeff explore the vital role of grassroots organizations like StartupSac in creating a culture of entrepreneurship in a community (and why they should be funded). They discuss models for ecosystem building, challenges around data, and ways to raise awareness about the power of entrepreneurship in economic development strategy.

Learn more about Jeff's work at: startupsac.com

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• In Good Co. Detroit
• Startland News
• Hub & Spoke Whitepaper

Learn more about Startup Space at: www.startupspace.us

This week, host David Ponraj talks to Regina Ann Campbell, President and CEO of Build Institute, an idea innovation hub based in Detroit, MI. Regina's approach to solving the biggest barriers to entrepreneurship draws from her 20 years of experience in economic development and entrepreneurship. To date, Regina has led teams and initiatives that provided access to $21.4M+ in funding and resources for minority small business owners. The two discuss why entrepreneurial success requires programs to support the “whole entrepreneur” and depends on access to more meaningful data.

Learn more about Regina's work at: www.buildinstitute.org

Learn more about Startup Space at: www.startupspace.us

In this episode, host David Ponraj talks to Tina Kapoor, Economic Development Manager for the City of Fremont, CA. The two discuss innovation in the public sector, making the most of an economic crisis, creative partnership, and inclusive ways to make starting a business easier. Over a 20-year period, Tina built a career in economic development, excelling in the creation of innovative programs in partnership with private partners to nurture businesses and entrepreneurs. She has been honored as a Top Women of Influence in Silicon Valley and has crafted unique programs to support women and immigrant-owned entrepreneurs, small businesses, and underserved communities.

Learn more about Tina's work at: www.thinksiliconvalley.com

Learn more about Startup Space at: www.startupspace.us

This week's episode is about the value of helping people to believe entrepreneurship is for them, the challenges of effective ecosystem mapping, and what bartending has to teach us about the work of economic development. This week's guest, Jay Sparks, serves as the Entrepreneurship Coordinator at Regional Economic Development Inc. (REDI) based in Columbia, Missouri. In this interview, Sparks and host David Ponraj discuss what it takes to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem with "no wrong doors."

Learn more about Jay's work at: www.columbiaredi.com

Learn more about Startup Space at: www.startupspace.us

Evan Fay leads the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber's holistic strategy to serve entrepreneurs through creation of, and investment in, programs and infrastructure. He joins host David Ponraj to talk about pioneering the ecosystem builder role within a traditional chamber of commerce setting. Evan explains how the motto, "get proximal," informs their work and why building a more inclusive business ecosystem means focusing not only on the diversity of the region's entrepreneurs but on the diversity of resources and providers serving them.

Learn more about Evan's work: www.okcchamber.com

Check out the Launch OKC Metro platform: www.launchokcmetro.com

To learn more about Startup Space visit: https://startupspace.us

For Darlisa Diltz, opening her own center to provide other entrepreneurs with training and access to resources was a personal challenge. Serving the broader Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, Darlisa opened the North Texas Entrepreneur Education & Training Center in 2018 as a "no judgment" zone for people like her to start and build their businesses. In this conversation with guest host Jacqui Dietrich, Darlisa shares more about creating culturally appropriate programs and her experience as the only Black woman to lead a small business support organization in her ecosystem.

Learn more about Darlisa's program: www.nteetc.com

On Twitter@nteetc

To learn more about Startup Space visit: https://startupspace.us

Guest host Jacqui Dietrich is joined by Allen Woods, Executive Director and Co-founder of MORTAR, a nonprofit organization founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2014. Woods describes the five predominant barriers to entrepreneurship in their community and walks through MORTAR's neighborhood-driven approach to enabling historically marginalized entrepreneurs to access the resources needed to start and run successful businesses. The two explore MORTAR's expansion to other cities and the support system that has made entrepreneurs in the program so successful.

Learn more about Allen and MORTAR's work: https://wearemortar.com

Follow MORTAR @wearemortar

To learn more about Startup Space visit: https://startupspace.us

Host David Ponraj sits down with David Kenney, Executive Director of VertueLab, to discuss entrepreneurial solutions at the intersection of economic recovery and climate change. They explore how the acceleration of cleantech startups can contribute to shared prosperity and additional investment in a region while addressing racial inequities in both the economy and the environment. Vertue Labs is a non-profit economic development engine funded by the State of Oregon to support cleantech startups.

Learn more about VertueLab's work: vertuelab.org/about

Additional resources mentioned in this episode:

• SBIR/STTR America's Seed Fund - www.sbir.gov
• Federal And State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program: www.sbir.gov/about-fast
• Find a Procurement Technical Assistance Center - www.aptac-us.org
• EDA Build to Scale Program - eda.gov/oie/buildtoscale
• SBA Clusters - https://www.sba.gov

To learn more about Startup Space visit: https://startupspace.us

In this episode of Breaking Down Barriers, guest host Jacqui Dietrich is joined by Sarah Siders, Executive Director of Spark (Manhattan, KS), a nonprofit organization with a vision to "connect, resource, and successfully launch entrepreneurs and promote a dynamic and inclusive culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Greater Manhattan region." The two deep dive into how Spark is using the principles of relationship building to create an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem with members of the Black and LatinX community in leadership positions.

Learn more about Spark at: https://sparkmhk.com

Follow Sarah and team on Twitter: @sarahsiders

You can find out more about Startup Space at: https://www.startupspace.us

Host David Ponraj is joined by Matt Wagner, Chief Program Officer at Main Street America, a network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, that share a commitment to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Wagner shares their work to promote entrepreneurial Main Streets across the country.

Learn more about Matt's work at: www.mainstreet.org/home

Learn more about the Main Street Online tool at: https://mainstreetonlinetool.org

Find ecosystem resources discussed in this episode at: www.mainstreet.org/howwecanhelp/resourcecenter/entrepreneurialecosystems

You can find out more about Startup Space here: https://www.startupspace.us