Grid110

Miki Reynolds is the Executive Director of Grid110, an early stage startup accelerator and community development non-profit she co-founded in 2014. She has 15 years of experience working in tech, ranging from digital marketing and creative services to software development and e-commerce. After managing digital projects at global entertainment corporations like MGM Studios and 20th Century Fox, and heading up operations/product for a software development startup, she launched the Downtown LA location for tech education company General Assembly. Miki's current role at Grid110 focuses on activating the startup ecosystem in Los Angeles, fostering community, and connecting the dots for entrepreneurs through access to critical resources.

Miki has accepted commendations from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, has been recognized by LA Biz Journal as a Woman of Influence, was named to Techweek’s #Techweek100 and sits on advisory councils for two of the Mayor's diversity & inclusion initiatives: PledgeLA and WiSTEM LA.

Economic growth suffers when entrepreneurial activity is unevenly spread socio-economically, demographically, and geographically. But in order for entrepreneurs to create new business ventures, they need access to educational resources and a level-playing field on which to compete. The path to success in entrepreneurship (and tech specifically) is starkly homogenous. We’re here to change that. 

Grid110 provides entrepreneurs with free access to mentors, critical resources, and a like-minded community so their businesses, neighborhoods, and cities can thrive. Our mission is to foster the most thriving, inviting & inclusive community for entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. 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 entrepreneurial ecosystems. That’s what drives us to make the entrepreneurial path more equitable, inclusive and accessible.

73% of Angelenos identify as a person of color, but our startup ecosystem does not reflect that. The path to success as a startup founder is starkly homogenous and typically attributed to access to networks, capital and critical resources that marginalized communities have been locked out of. We’re working to level the playing field and create a pathway that is more accessible and inclusive through our program and community development.

California boasts more women owned businesses than any other state and Los Angeles County has more minority owned businesses than any other region in the country. As of 2018, there are more than 544,000 women-owned firms in the Greater Los Angeles area alone. But on average, women and minority-owned businesses received less than 2% of available VC funding and less than 4% of available loans. Grid110 connects local entrepreneurs with mentors, critical resources, and a like-minded community so their businesses, neighborhoods, and cities can thrive.

Given the mere fraction of funding/loans allocated to women and people of color particularly, it’s imperative that support be prioritized to historically marginalized communities in an effort to level the playing field for economic mobility.

Our mission is to create a more inclusive startup ecosystem in Los Angeles by empowering diverse entrepreneurs, championing innovative ideas and ultimately supporting the growth of a vibrant community. Our goal is make the entrepreneurial path more equitable, inclusive and accessible.

Grid110 is an economic and community development non-profit that connects early-stage entrepreneurs to mentoring and critical resources through free accelerator programs. The focus is to activate community and help entrepreneurs realize sustainable growth paths that allow them to scale their businesses (and teams) right here in Los Angeles.

Grid110 runs two core programs:

The Residency Program is a 3-month program to support early-stage teams (1-5) with defining/refining their milestones and addressing specific needs through weekly roundtables, 1:1 mentoring, and skills development sessions. The program allows founders to focus on their day-to-day business operations, while layering in critical support where needed.

Idea to Prototype (I2P) is the first step towards viability for any serious business founder. This program supports founders at the earliest stages of their journey to build a strong, defensible foundation for their respective ventures. The main priority is to help entrepreneurs move closer to finding and further validating their problem-solution fit, early-adopter customer segment, and product-market fit.

73% of Angelenos identify as a person of color, but our startup ecosystem does not reflect that. The path to success as a startup founder is starkly homogenous and typically attributed to access to networks, capital and critical resources that marginalized communities have been locked out of. We’re working to level the playing field and create a pathway that is more accessible and inclusive through our program and community development.

Grid110 was founded with the desire to build community where we felt one didn’t exist and to foster a more inclusive ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive. Our mission and unique model have enabled us to attract and support a community of founders whether their company is venture scale or sustainable growth, tech or non-tech, for profit or non-profit. As a result, we’ve supported over 160 companies, with 70% led by female founders and 67% led by founders of color.

The majority of Grid110 entrepreneurs come from historically underrepresented communities: of the 160+ companies, 70% have been founded by a woman and 67% by a person of color, both of which have historically face barriers to business ownership and funding support. Our team has intentionally focused on fostering an inclusive audience across founder, team and product. Program participants are building businesses across a multitude of verticals: mobile apps, SaaS, e-commerce, social enterprises, non-profits, food, health/wellness, commerce, mobility, education and sustainable fashion. They represent both tech and non-tech verticals that are bootstrapped and venture-backable alike.

Grid110 was created in 2015. Our founding team included entrepreneurs and operators that lived/worked in Downtown Los Angeles with a shared vision to build community where we felt one didn’t exist and to foster a more inclusive ecosystem where diverse entrepreneurs could thrive. Originally, we set out to solve a problem around space vacancy for building owners looking to attract more tech & creative companies, while the available space opportunities in commercial real estate didn't make sense for young, emerging companies. What we were ultimately suggesting is that buildings adopt a communal, shared space model (coworking) as a viable option to attract young companies.

But after launching our first pilot, we recognized that the true need was that entrepreneurs were seeking community connection and educational programming. We saw that underserved entrepreneurs in particular didn't have access to the resources, networks and support necessary to thrive as business owners.We felt that much of the startup ecosystem was geographically specific, homogenous and focused on supporting high growth tech companies. We wanted to create a space that prioritized entrepreneurs across various backgrounds, industries and problems being solved. We wanted to create a space that fostered a sense of generosity, belonging, and community. 

The work we are doing with Grid110 is necessary in order to make entrepreneurial resources and support more equitable, inclusive and accessible for all, but especially for historically underrepresented individuals and communities. Having spent 15 years in the tech industry and often being the only woman on executive teams and in meetings, I've felt a strong calling to this space for a while. I have invested my time and effort into initiatives that aim to help shape the LA startup ecosystem into one that better reflects the city itself. 

The outcomes that Grid110 has achieved show that there isn’t a pipeline problem with women in tech or people of color in tech, as the majority of our success stories have been by women of color CEOs. What is clear is that the ratio can be changed when making the path wide open, accessible and engaged upon by those who desire it.

An internet denizen since the early days of AOL, I have over 15 years experience building products, services and community in the tech industry. From managing digital projects at global entertainment corporations like MGM Studios and 20th Century Fox to wearing multiple hats across operations, marketing and product at various startups, I have extensive experience leading the charge on new ideas and innovation.

I am a true people connector and active supporter/advocate of the LA startup community. Prior to taking on the Executive Director role with Grid110, I was appointed as City Manager for General Assembly, a tech education organization. I was an early cultivator of changing and building the entrepreneurial startup ecosystem in DTLA. I single-handedly developed and executed expansion plans to launch General Assembly’s second LA campus in Downtown Los Angeles, and significantly grew the community participation in the DTLA campus by over 10 times, and then helped lead the expansion to the broader Los Angeles metro area with an additional site opening in Orange County.

Over the past 5 years, I have built an exceptional reputation within the Los Angeles tech community as key stakeholder/voice. I have become a go-to leader for women in tech, and hold advisory committee seats on Mayor Eric Garcetti's Women in STEM mentoring initiative and his PledgeLA diversity/inclusion initiative.

Cash flow has been an operational issue as we've grown our organization. There have been a few occasions where delays in receiving our grant payments have led to uncertainty around making payroll. The discomfort of these situations required me to be creative and think outside the box for potential solutions that were implemented with success. Each of these moments has strengthened my commitment to the organization (specifically our team) and my resilience. I've also learned to be better at asking for help instead of trying to tackle challenges alone. 

7 years ago, I found myself at a pivotal point in my career. The company I had just spent the past 6 years helping to rebuild was shutting down, requiring us to lay off the entire team (myself included). I felt a lot of guilt, shame, anxiety around that time. I also felt that I was at a loss for what I was going to do next. I felt stuck, blocked, unfilled with my work and unsure of the path ahead of me. 

What came out of that time was the opportunity to create a future that I was invested in, passionate about and excited to build. I allowed myself the time to explore, dream and imagine what could be next. I created two pathways for myself that have forever changed the trajectory of my life: joining General Assembly to launch their second campus in Los Angeles and connecting with the individuals that would become the founding team for Grid110. These paths didn't previously exist, so I helped to pave them. I took my passion for connecting people through shared experiences and created the things that I wish previously existed.

Grid110 was founded with the desire to build community where we felt one didn’t exist and to foster a more inclusive ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive. This mindset is embraced by every aspect of our community, from our team to our entrepreneurs to our partners. Additionally, our programs are free: no cost, no equity taken. Yet we provide a similar, high caliber of curriculum, community and mentor network that founders typically have to pay into for access (fees or equity). Finally, our community of entrepreneurs reflects the diverse landscape of our city. Our focus on diversity and inclusivity is not limited to gender and ethnicity, but also industry, business model and business potential. 

Our theory of change is that if you pair entrepreneurs (both aspiring and established) with subject matter mentors, community and curriculum, that you will see two types of outcomes. One will be economic (business created, jobs created, revenue generated, funds raised) and one will be social (supported historically underrepresented communities). The economic impact will be community reinvestment, improving the business success rate and improving the ranking of the city, while the social impact will see a redistribution of well and more inclusive access to resources.

We have directly served 163 companies (~250 entrepreneurs) through our programs. We continue to provide our alumni with support through free events, workshops and office hours. Through community events and other free programs, we have supported 5000 additional individuals. 

Each year, our goal is to support 60 new companies through our programs and 1500 individuals through our community efforts.

In 5 years, our goal is to support 300 new companies through our programs and 7500 individuals through community efforts. 

Within the next year, my goal is to build Grid110 into the leading community for early stage entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, with a particular focus on underserved communities (Black & Latinx). 

Within the next 5 years, I want to building the leading entrepreneurship training program and community network in the country. We will do this either through virtual programs or by scaling out our in-person programs with a parter network across emerging startup cities. Our key differentiator is that we don't solely focus on tech companies or fundraising. Our companies range in business model, funding pathway and growth paths. Our focus is building a solid/sustainable foundation and educating entrepreneurs on the paths that align with the businesses they're building.

Covid-19 has challenged the format of our programs, but we quickly pivoted to an online program model in mid-March. We anticipate running online programs for the rest of the year, with our largest challenge being switching our focus from building community through in-person programs/events to virtual. 

In thinking about our 5 year goal, the biggest challenge is in the implementation. We began as an organization that was hyper local focused on building community. Do we take this approach to other cities or do we invest in scaling our online program model? With the localized approach, there is more time in building relationships with key stakeholders, building brand awareness and scaling locally. For the online approach, there is a need to focus on building an intuitive and engaging online experience, marketing/brand awareness and funding.

The mentorship and guidance provided by the Elevate Prize Foundation would be instrumental in helping us with our growth strategy. To help us determine the most viable, sustainable pathway and support us in obtaining the necessary partnerships needed along the way. 

Our primary partnerships are with local city government (City of Los Angeles) and coworking spaces. We also have community partnerships with various services and platforms that offer in-kind services/support/discounts to our community (Amazon, Stripe, Notion, HubSpot, etc).

While we're a non-profit, we provide a service and benefits that many for-profit accelerator programs do. We focus on work on community, network and programs. Our funding comes from government and foundation grants as well as individual contributors, all of whom support the work we do to improve our community.

Community
Grid110 has become one of the leading communities for early stage entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, with the mission to help create a more inclusive ecosystem for entrepreneurs through access to resources and community.Grid110 was founded with the desire to build community where we felt one didn’t exist and to foster a more inclusive ecosystem where diverse entrepreneurs can thrive. This mindset is embraced by everyone that becomes part of the Grid110 community, from our team to our entrepreneurs to our event attendees to our partners. 

Network
Our network includes an expansive group of subject matter experts that provide pro bono support for our programs, providing unique access that most entrepreneurs wouldn’t typically have access to. Our network also includes local city government stakeholders, the investment community and other community organizations that provide complementary/supplementary support.

Programs
Traditional small business support networks are outdated in their approach and resources. Grid110 has developed an innovative program model that meets the needs of a diverse range of companies. Our approach has been to take frameworks and learnings from the tech industry (like the lean startup framework) and make them available to entrepreneurs across various business verticals.

Our current funding ranges from government grants (currently with the City of Los Angeles) to foundation grants to individual donors. We have been approached by other cities and foundations as an operating partner for their accelerator program needs.

Prior to COVID-19, we were exploring several new revenue strategies related to partnering with innovation departments of foreign governments to provide custom programs for expanding into the US (specifically Los Angeles). We believe we have the ability to also consult other regions on how to develop thriving startup ecosystems and implement programs similar to ours.

Government funding: $350k (grant)

Foundations: $175k (grant)

Funding secured for 2020: $425k

Funding secured for 2021: $500k

Additional funding needed for 2021: $200k

Funding needed for 2022: $700k

Funding needed for 2023: $1M

Projected expenses for 2020: $425k

We turn away 85-90% of the applications we receive because we have limited space in our programs. The Elevate Prize would enable us to reach more entrepreneurs through adding additional programs and creating new programs/resources, therefore growing our impact. 

The mentorship and support of the Elevate Prize Foundation would be invaluable as we determine how to best take our organization to the next level. Our work has been very locally focused, but we believe our efforts can be amplified on a larger stage with the right partners and guidance.

We welcome support and guidance on developing a revenue model outside of the traditional non-profit fundraising strategy, particularly in a post-COVID-19 world. We're also interested in developing a content marketing strategy to better amplify the stories of the entrepreneurs we work with. Finally, as someone who believes in the importance of mentorship, I actively seek out opportunities for mentors/coaches to help me in developing as a better leader fo our team and our organization.

Google for Startups, Salesforce, Nike Valiant Labs, Shopify, MailChimp, Microsoft, Melinda Gates Foundation, Squarespace, Kauffman Foundation, Amazon (AWS, Amazon Launchpad). 

Several of these are focused on diversity in entrepreneurship. Others are services/platforms that many of our entrepreneurs build their companies on. We could also partner with them to create accelerator programs and community for their customers. There are a lot of alignment and synergy opportunities with these partners.