Originally published in American City Business Journals
By Tami Door
Many cities have resources dedicated to helping women and minorities start and grow companies. These programs are often funded and operated by the public sector and typically provide training and guidance.
Public-sector programs are important and provide great value to aspiring entrepreneurs. But let’s face it: Under-represented populations also need the mentoring, expertise and contacts that only the private sector can provide. They need to have the opportunity to learn from the dealmakers themselves — from the people who know firsthand how to make a sale and a payroll.
The best way to bring diversity into any city’s startup sphere is for businesses, assisted by nonprofit organizations and governments, to create more and better environments for budding entrepreneurs from all backgrounds. Just like our cities, our startup scenes become stronger when everyone is represented, when everyone has the chance to thrive.
There’s no doubt that startup culture has made great progress towards becoming more diverse and inclusive. Today, the issue of including women and minorities is less about barrier to entry and more about what happens beyond the access point. Is there a strong enough platform for aspiring entrepreneurs to network, build meaningful relationships and do constructive work?
In Denver, where I live and work, civic leaders have created several public-private non-profit startup programs that strive to be welcoming and practical for females and minorities, among other under-represented populations.
One of these efforts, The Commons on Champa, is a one-of-a-kind, community-focused hub dedicated to helping all kinds of entrepreneurs at every stage start and grow their businesses. Last year alone, nearly 5,000 entrepreneurs went through various programs run by The Commons with the help of 395 mentors.
The Commons’ CO.STARTERS program — which primarily serves under-represented aspiring entrepreneurs — is a nine-week program designed to help those who are in the very early stages of entrepreneurship. Participants work closely with mentors and other entrepreneurs who have been through the startup process themselves.
Like programs at The Commons, Denver Startup Week provides aspiring entrepreneurs with access to not just the startup community at large, but to some of the best, brightest and most seasoned entrepreneurs from around the country.
Now in its seventh year, Denver Startup Week is taking place Sept. 24-28 this year and is expected to bring together 20,000 entrepreneurs plus scores of local and state leaders for over 370 events that cover all areas of business, and are applicable to every stage of the startup journey.
At Denver Startup Week, diversity again is at the fore, and not just among the attendees. Planners are making sure that women and minorities are represented on the stage so that they’re showing the audiences the possibilities.
After all, people need to see people like themselves — whether it’s somebody in their age demographic, their industry, their ethnicity, you name it — when they go to events like Startup Week.
Lastly, in addition to Startup Week and The Commons on Champa, public-private-nonprofit partnerships in Denver run several year-round affinity programs for women and minority entrepreneurs. They are designed not just to bring women and minorities into the room but have leaders approach attendees and discuss how community members can help each other, which, surprisingly, may be more important than mentoring.
If events like these keep making a difference for women and minorities and our entrepreneurial ecosystem, I predict the term “underestimated entrepreneurs” will be a thing of the past. We’re already well on our way.
Tami Door is the President and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership.