For Subscribers

Underrepresented Communities Are Building Their Own Funding Networks - and Thriving Forget seats at the table. Now's the time to build a completely new table.

By Liz Brody

This story appears in the December 2020 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Courtesy of Reunion
Max Skolnik, Jessica Lynch, and Raymar Hampshire, founders of Reunion

About two years ago, Max Skolnik and Jessica Lynch were at SXSW in a room packed with entrepreneurs of color discussing how to improve access to capital. A woman stood up and said, "You're talking about adding seats to the table. We don't want seats. We want a new table."

Based on what's happening today, the future of entrepreneurship may be full of many new tables.

Related: Why Not Getting VC Funding Might Be Better for Your Business

To start, there's Reunion — a company that launched in July and was inspired by the SXSW moment. (It's cofounded by Lynch and Skolnik, as well as Raymar Hampshire.) The crowdfunding platform is for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous founders, and it works with partners to share webinars and resources to help these entrepreneurs navigate the specific barriers they're facing. "Race is at the forefront of so many conversations now," says Lynch, who is Black, as is Hampshire. "What we're trying to do is say, "How do we use the power of community? How do we democratize the space where there's not been a lot of access?' "

Reunion is just one of many new, alternative solutions powered by underrepresented founders, who want to support the entrepreneurs in their own communities. Among them is Latinx Incubator in Chicago and BLCK VC, a nonprofit that aims to increase the number of Black venture investors. There's also a movement known as #BankBlack. Advocates believe that more Black-owned banks, with larger assets, can circumvent the high rates of rejection founders of color face from traditional financial institutions. Costco and Netflix both announced shifting $25 million of deposits into Black-owned banks this year, and vocal champion Michael Render (a.k.a. rapper Killer Mike) started one called Greenwood with former mayor of Atlanta Andrew Young and TV exec Ryan Glover. A digital bank, Greenwood will give a $10,000 grant each month to a Black or Latinx business.

Related: Smashing the Glass Ceiling in VC Funding and the Workplace

Women, another notoriously underfunded group, are doing the same kinds of things. Pam Kostka, CEO of the nonprofit All Raise, which works to boost both female funders and founders, sees more women breaking the old patterns in the VC system —­ like Mallun Yen, whose Operator Collective brings in female operators as LPs, turning them into investors who can then offer founders deep expertise in building their companies. "We started in the Silicon Valley Me Too moment," says Kostka of All Raise. "And here's a new injection this year, which is long overdue for social justice. I think it's the same thing — a moment that's turning into a movement. So I do think you see this disruption that is coming in, gathering steam and momentum, and there's no turning back from it."

Liz Brody is a contributing editor at Entrepreneur magazine. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

How to Build Endless Passive Income With This Simple Online Hustle

Autopilot stores aren't just income streams. They are passports to freedom, flexibility and finally working and living on your own terms.

Side Hustle

This 29-Year-Old's Side Hustle Brought People 'to the Dark Green Side.' It Made $10,000 Within 2 Days and Sees 6 Figures a Month.

Nikki Seaman began work on her business when the pandemic led to grocery store shutdowns.

Business News

ChatGPT's New Update Can Create PowerPoint Presentations and Excel Spreadsheets for You

The new AI agent can generate Google Sheets and slide decks, making it a powerful new office tool.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Health & Wellness

This Is the Newest Real Estate Trend You Can't Miss — and It's Worth $438 Billion

A rapidly emerging new trend is sweeping the global real estate sector, powered by humanity's collective desire for longer lives and healthier lifestyles. Here's what entrepreneurs should pay attention to to capture the new market.

Business News

Here's How the CEO of the Biggest Bank in the U.S. Spends His Downtime: 'This Gives Me Purpose in Life'

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, 69, recently said that his top three priorities are his family, his country, and his purpose, which is working at the bank — in that order.