Mom Your Business

The Round One Growth Accelerator is a 16-week cohort-based accelerator program where small businesses led by Women of Color are provided curated technical assistance targeted at helping the company achieve exponential growth. We lead with capital! At the start of the program, MYB carefully vets each participant to receive an infusion of capital. Participants are then matched with skilled mentors who provide specific business and technical support throughout the program. Our solution model focuses on addressing the need for capital first, and the support of services afterwards, to help a business fully thrive.

MYB will leverage its extensive relationships with subject matter experts, funders, program alumni, corporate partners, and community networks to provide participants with connections that cater their needs. This includes access to additional resources and guidance on business growth plan strategies.

Participants receive next level deliverables, mentors, life-changing and meaningful experiences that impact their community and corporate partners, and an opportunity to expand their impact. MYB believes participants are best served by those with shared experiences; personally, and professionally. Because of this, the coaches, speakers, and mentors affiliated with MYB are of diverse backgrounds that further enrich the participant’s unique program experience. 

Our program is hyper Philadelphia focused and takes no equity from participants. The entire process is customized to participant’s needs, in order to create an impact that is human-centered, not all-purpose. We understand that each participant will have unique challenges, and the framework for our solution ensures that individuals are receiving tailored assistance throughout the process.

In Philadelphia, the population is 45% Black, but only 2.5% of small businesses in the city are Black-owned, according to a study from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Additionally, women make up more than half of the population of Philadelphia, but own less than 40% of businesses. Only 3% of Black women are running mature businesses that reach the five-year mark. These women face widening wage gap despite comparable educational attainment with male counterparts. There is also a 90% wealth gap, and women are less likely to own or inherit high-return assets. Shockingly, women only receive 0.0006% of available venture capital financing. Additionally, only 29% of Black women entrepreneurs live in households with incomes over $75,000 (compared to 52% of white men).

Despite these inequalities, Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs and continue to start businesses, with 61% self-funding the startup capital needed to seed and grow their business. In the United States, 17% of Black women are in the process of starting or running a new business, compared to 10% of White women and 15% of White men. While Women of Color business creation is increasing, deep inequalities remain when it comes to accessing the financial resources and other support needed to create a business that reaches maturity.  One of the greatest barriers faced by Women of Color is a lack of access to capital, markets, and networks needed to grow, all of which are a major predictor of business’s success. Small businesses owned by Women of Color start small and stay small (or even fail) because of this.

The principal mission of Mom Your Business is to support Black and Brown women in getting out of poverty through entrepreneurship. MYB is strongly aligned with the Challenge. Round One Growth Accelerator seeks to stimulate growth of small businesses led by Women of Color entrepreneurs through the provision of intellectual, human, social, and financial capital.  Furthermore, our program is specifically targeted to supporting startup-to-growth stage businesses. MYB’s program is uniquely positioned to help Women of Color small businesses unlock their next stage by applying the growth strategies, resources and experts typically reserved for larger companies.

These resources are essential to growing, developing, and sustaining these small businesses. For example, one of our past participants, Our Empact Data Solutions, finished the program while simultaneously working on her MVP (minimum viable product) and having never pitched to investors. Through coaching and support she has secured technical support for an SAAS platform and has pitched at two of the largest pitch competitions in the region; (The Angel Venture Fair and PACT Capital Conference.) She is currently negotiating an investment with an angel investor. We call this a success!

Access to capital is critical and Mom Your Business has provided a range of assistance including pitch deck/meeting preparation, facilitating investor introductions, and providing guidance and review.. MYB’s curated model skillfully provides access to the relevant resources Women of Color entrepreneurs need to go from where they are to where they want to be.

Black and Brown women entrepreneurs are the faster growing entrepreneurs in our region and across our country. Yet, Black and Brown women are underrepresented in business ownership and face additional systemic barriers to accessing capital due to historical disinvestment in Black and Brown women. Approximately 90% of women-owned businesses are one-person entities. The global financing gap for women entrepreneurs is well over $300B.[1] To address persistent gender and racial injustices and foster a stronger local and regional economy, Mom Your Business, Zenith Wealth Partners, and WOMEN’S WAY hosted The Raise Roundup; a local pitch competition that awarded $150,000 to early stage, Philadelphia metro-based, Women of Color-owned businesses. This initiative illustrated our collective’s commitment to developing Philadelphia's ecosystem of women owned businesses by showcasing, inspiring, and investing in Philadelphia's entrepreneurial community for Women of Color, and learning what WOC entrepreneurs need in order to grow and sustain their businesses.

The Raise Roundup applicants and finalists told us that they need both investment capital and other resources to grow their businesses. Many Women of Color in our region do not have early-stage risk capital that gives them the ability to experiment and find their market fit. They also need support in areas such as marketing and strategic partnership development, human resource management, use of technology, financial management, and leadership development. 

[1] International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, 2017

Round One Growth Accelerator is a variation of our Founders to Funders Business Accelerator; a holistic educational and business development program serving Women of Color ages 35+ in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania region including Southern New Jersey and Delaware. In one year, we have held three cohorts and helped WOC founders create a strategic and marketing plan focused on the next stage of growth. 

Since December we have helped WOC founders raise over $180,000 in non-diluted capital. We have continued to support these founders through coaching and mentoring and prepared them to secure additional capital when needed. Those funds have been used to purchase inventory, marketing, automating processes, and hiring. As the only Black female-led business accelerator for WOC in the city of Philadelphia we thrive on providing these entrepreneurs self-care resources that help with blending work, family and other responsibilities.

The mission of Mom Your Business focuses on equipping Women of Color within the business sector by aiding them in both launching their small businesses and sustaining already existing small businesses. Specifically, we focus on assisting women who have started a business out of need, in order to support themselves, their families, or their communities. We achieve these mission efforts by equipping these female founders with the tools and resources they need for success, all while providing them access to capital. In doing so, we help build generational wealth through entrepreneurship.

What assumptions are we making?

• Providing WOC founders with the capital, support, and resources they need through our program will significantly impact the success of their businesses

• A 16-week program will be adequate time to prepare participants for success in the small business sector

What is the desired 16-week goal?

• 15 WOC business owners within the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area will have the necessary business-related skills, capital, support, and resources necessary to run and maintain a successful small business.

What are the preconditions to meeting this 16-week goal? 

• MYB seeks to work with Women of Color in Philadelphia who are either looking to start or are in the growth period of their small business 

• Assumption: When MYB provides WOC founders with capital at the start of the program, they will be better equipped for success in the sector

•              Participants are given access to capital

•              Access to capital gives participants a fair chance in the small                     business sector

•              Participants can now utilize their own funds on other resources                 (e.g., maintaining quality of life), rather than investing those                   funds on startup capital 

• MYB will learn more about each participant and their unique needs.

• Assumption: MYB will provide a level of support that matches the unique needs of program participants and helps them build on the skills they are lacking.

•               Participants are welcomed into a community of mentors that                    provide them with the knowledge, skills, and experience                          needed to run a successful small business

•               Mentors are able to guide participants and are receptive to the                  participant’s needs

•               After the 16-week program, participants can continue building                  on the connections formed with others involved in MYB 

• Within the program, participants will be taught important skills through videos, events, workshops, mentorship and coaching circles.

• Assumption: 16-weeks is enough time to prepare participants for success in the small business sector.

•               In a 16-week timeline, participants will be given the resources                  needed to further grow their skills related to the sector

•               By the end of the program, participants are able to                                  meaningfully impact their businesses (e.g., clients and                              customers, staff) as well as the overall community through                        newfound revenue.

To date, we have and continue to serve 35 alumni companies and 85 WOC entrepreneurs across the Philadelphia region, Washington, DC, Florida, and New York. Next year, we plan to accept a cohort of 40 additional companies across 3 regional areas. In the next 5 years we anticipate having 150 total companies in our alumni portfolio with 400 founders across 5+ regional areas.

Mom Your Business serves WOC female entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia region (including Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties) South Jersey, and Delaware. In this region, less than three percent of small businesses are Black-owned.

Through our partnerships and relationships with community-based organizations, entrepreneurial service providers, community development financial institutions, and corporate partners, we provide a successful infrastructure to support small, Women of Color-led businesses within the Philadelphia area. We work closely with the Venture Café at the University Science Center to provide resources, education, and support. Our mentoring Partner is Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT) , a resource for fast growing companies, and a driver of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Philadelphia region.  

Women’s Way’s Gender Wealth Institute is our partner on Phirst Market Ventures, a community development venture fund. Together with Zenith Wealth Partners we are raising $2 million to invest in Women of Color entrepreneurs.

We also work with two community development financial institutions to provide low interest loans; Women’s Opportunities Resource Center and Vestedin. Through our national partner, Black Girl Ventures, we host and judge pitch competitions. We also work nationally with Black Innovation Alliance, advocating for Black innovation and ensuring that Black ownership is increasing through fair participation in the innovation economy.

Mom Your Business continues to explore partnerships with the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department and other elected officials who are interested in supporting our work of advancing Women of Color entrepreneurs and further developing the communities within Philadelphia.

We build trust by building personal relationships and shared experiences. Our communication methods and engagement strategies are a mixture of in-person events, such as pop-up shops, resource share, and online community conversations. Additionally, we create and host our own events including the monthly Mentors, Music and Munchies; a speed mentoring event hosted by a locally Black-woman owned business to recruit, engage, and help WOC founders. Our founder also facilitates workshops for two partner organizations; SCORE Philadelphia and Venture Cafe Philadelphia. We publish two blogs on Medium and Substack, and through our newsletter that is shared across all social media platforms. On these platforms we also share resources, tools, and feature our WOC founders. 

We have chosen these methods because we believe it provides the best blend of sharing our expertise and engaging with our alumni, all while connecting with new WOC entrepreneurs seeking community.

Our goal is to distribute two million dollars via grants, low to no-interest loans, and patient equity to WOC founders by 2024; helping those founders create jobs and move from "stay small" businesses toward growth and sustainability. 

Ultimately, we will serve as a catalyst for increasing the percentage of Black-owned businesses in Philadelphia by five percent.

We will do that by creating Phirst Market Ventures, a community development venture fund targeting Women of Color founders.

Our education goals are to complete three cohorts of thirty founders, each by 2023, and mentor 1,000 Black/Brown female entrepreneurs by 2025. 

The success of Round One Growth Accelerator is measured by the rate of growth that occurs in participants’ businesses as a result of completing the program.  For this reason, the program will be considered successful if 75% of participants achieve 50% of the milestones indicated in their business growth plan within one year of completing the program.

Successful completion of the program will result in participants developing a successful business pitch, participating in three pitch competitions, increasing financial capital, and leveraging positive business connections that grow their small businesses.

Mom Your Business is a unique organization that connects with grassroots, community based organizations, corporations, and local governments.

At the height of the pandemic, Mom Your Business launched the Founders to Funders Cultivating Female Startups Business Accelerator. We recruited participants, created a proprietary curriculum, and ran the program through donations. We have since completed two additional cohorts and, through grassroots fundraising alone, we prepared those founders for pitch completions that helped them collectively raise over $150,000!  

Our sole founder, Tanya T. Morris, has successfully led and run the organization since its inception with the help of her network of individuals who have volunteered as mentors, facilitators, and event hosts for major events. Ms. Morris has used her circle of influence to engage the best and brightest experts, entrepreneurs, coaches, and well-rounded leaders who are committed to helping Women of Color founders achieve business success. 

Despite a lack of funding, we have been able to help participants in a variety of ways. An infusion of financial capital will provide us with the resources, human capital, and programming capacity needed to help even more Women of Color entrepreneurs; further bridging the gap of disparities these women face and contributing to their success in the small business sector. 

There are various corporations and organizations who have pledged to help small businesses, specifically small businesses of color.  Looking at Truist’s track record and commitment, we view them as a potential strategic partner as they align with our work of supporting entrepreneurs of color. Since capital remains a barrier to success for Black-led small businesses, Truist could provide expertise around cash flow, fundraising, and other finance related areas that small businesses need constant support in. 

Truist is fairly new to the Philadelphia area and as a leader in the entrepreneurial ecosystem we can provide community engagement opportunities and provide a mutually beneficial partnership through grassroots community engagement. 

Building capacity.

We need help achieving these goals through training to build capacity monitoring and impact evaluation. We are currently associated with a pilot with Empact Data Solutions, a customizable real-time open-sourced platform where foundations and institutions can visualize, measure, and understand data and analytics with strategic insights.

We would like to partner with the Kaufman Foundation, AARP and a University Partner. Kaufman recently announced a $100 million Fund to grow people of color-led businesses.

Our future goals including launching an impact fund. A partnership with Kaufman through this opportunity would be a great start.