Community Business Accelerator

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Despite being home to thriving tech and creative sectors, securing employment is challenging for women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ communities. Grid110 has supported 302 companies and created 622 local jobs across 40 industries through 26 cohorts. 77% of our founders identify are People of Color and 70% as women, and reflect the diversity and potential of our community. Our average net promoter score of 98.5 underscores the effectiveness of our curated & community-first approach. This proposal is a response to direct feedback from 9 years of programming for underrepresented entrepreneurs in Los Angeles: "Hyper curation - longer onboarding session, peer problem sessions, more 1:1. Start with a larger than expected pool and include an offramp."
As a testimonial to our work: "My general feedback is that this program is life changing and I can't wait to see what I'll be able to do because ya'll believed in me. It has made a big difference not just in my business but in the trajectory of my life.”

This grant will support Grid110's 16-week accelerator program designed to empower underrepresented entrepreneurs in LA, addressing critical needs identified through direct feedback. Our longest program has been 12 weeks, without a long onramp and without built-in breaks for execution. This new curriculum covers essential aspects of business growth, including product development, operations, and market strategy, all customized for creative industries. Participants will benefit from one-on-one mentorship with industry experts, ensuring personalized guidance and valuable network connections. We will engage dedicated program consultants from a pool of over 400 partners and mentors, providing specialized support and direct introductions to clients and vendors. While we prioritize a high level of excellence through our curriculum and network, building community is at the core of a sustainable business ecosystem. Our founders stay engaged years after the curriculum ends, strengthening peer support and taking advantage of practical workshops and celebrations of their progress, and truly fostering collaborative and supportive pathways to employment in the creative economy for underrepresented entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. This program builds on Grid110's existing track record as a community-based organization while scaling our impact & creating a rising tide that lifts not only the entrepreneurs but also the neighborhoods they serve.

On the "about" section on our website, our mission reads: "We believe that anyone with the goal of becoming an entrepreneur should have the chance to pursue it and receive support along the way. Our work impacts individuals who are often overlooked by traditional startup ecosystems -- that’s what drives us to make the entrepreneurial path more equitable, inclusive and accessible."
If our work is successful, Los Angeles County will see a thriving ecosystem of underrepresented entrepreneurs who are well-supported, connected, and capable of scaling their businesses. Our program will help create a robust network of creative and community-based businesses, leading to increased local job creation, revenue growth for businesses, and more representation for women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. We plan to scale our model to serve entrepreneurs at earlier and later stages. We are building an LA County where everyone wins when our small business backbone wins.

We define success through job creation, revenue growth, net promoter score (NPS), connections made, and funding secured. For this expanded program, we will measure impact by tracking the number of jobs created, increases in participant revenue, and improvements in business sustainability. Our average NPS of 98.5 reflects high participant satisfaction and program effectiveness.
Evidence of our program’s success includes the creation of 622 local jobs and the support of 302 companies across 26 cohorts, with 77% of our founders being People of Color and 70% women. Over 2/3 of our companies report revenue growth and increased community impact post-program, including raising over $123M in funding. We will continue to collect data on these metrics and conduct regular follow-ups with alumni to assess long-term outcomes and maintain, if not increase, our impact. We believe our expanded program will increase our capacity to better serve our founders.