PROGRAMS & SERVICES
EDUCATION
We invest in the human capital of our entrepreneurs by providing a world-class education that is accessible to all.
Our participants most commonly describe our education workshops as hands-on, creative, collaborative, and interactive. Our teachers are subject-matter experts with start-up and small businesses experience. They utilize improvisational comedy, design thinking, and other experiential-learning methodologies to teach topics crucial to starting, operating, and growing a business.
We create communities around each of the topics we cover, enabling our participants to problem-solve in teams and build support networks that extend beyond our program. In addition to taking a collaborative approach, an iterative process is part of every workshop, teaching our entrepreneurs prototype and rebuild their solutions constantly.
TALENT EXCHANGE
Leveraging the social capital of the Washington D.C. community, participants connect and refine their skills through the Talent Exchange.
The Talent Exchange is our take on the Kiva Method, a facilitation technique developed by the indigenous people of Southwest Texas. This method is an interactive and practical process that leverages participant experience to exchange knowledge and create peer-to-peer support networks. In these sessions, we will match participants with coaches (skill-based support) and advisors (industry experts).
STREET PITCH
Peer-Selection
Street Pitch transforms the traditional pitch competition by mobilizing a collective of organizations to democratize who is involved, what they win, and how they are showcased. At Street Pitch, the top founders are identified via peer-selection and invited to pitch their companies to a panel of judges, investors, community supporters, and the audience.
Live Pitch
Importantly, through a nationwide network of over 100+ partners, the showcase is live-streamed to the world—allowing viewers to vote with their money by directly investing in their favorite entrepreneur through crowdfunding campaigns, product purchases, and in-kind contributions.
Invest
We leverage Obama-era legislation and viral community amplification to enable millions of unaccredited individuals to invest via Facebook-live and at a live event. For most, this is their first exposure to the investment world. Street Pitch replaces the “friends and family” round of capital, which is notably harder to attain for entrepreneurs of color, immigrants, and low-income.