D.E.Incubator
By Buddy Nelson, Chinedum (CK) Umachi, Dimitri Zaninovich
Executive Summary
D.E.Incubator is a non-profit incubator supporting minority founders funded by the DE&I budgets of corporations looking to make a real impact. According to McKinsey, about $8 billion is spent on diversity training in the United States alone. As DE&I spending grows, we foresee that these funds could be utilized more efficiently by connecting corporations directly with minority entrepreneurs from the communities they intend to impact.
How D.E.Incubator Works
D.E.Incubator is funded and supported by corporations through their DE&I budgets and will scale based on that funding.
D.E.Incubator employs coaches, advisors, and administrators to run the program, fundraise, and onboard entrepreneurs. D.E.Incubator partners with employees of the corporations, external investors and external advisors to provide guidance and support for the entrepreneurs.
Corporations are requested to provide any of the following (preferably all): 1) Funding, 2) guidance and support for entrepreneurs, 3) opportunities for potential partnerships/ contracts. These corporations will benefit from better options to spend their DE&I budget, direct access to minority run SMEs, and impact focused metrics.
Entrepreneurs, in exchange for ongoing guidance and access to a network of corporations, founders, and advisors, entrepreneurs have the option to concede a small percentage of equity or become a future mentor.
Why the D.E.Incubator
With D.E.Incubator, we hope to create an environment that incentivizes impactful DE&I programs. D.E.Incubator is matching corporations who wish to support DE&I with minority entrepreneurs who need the support. This opens up a new avenue for corporations to support DE&I that will have a direct impact on the communities they intend to serve.
D.E.Incubator also supports entrepreneurs throughout their journey and seeks to empower minority entrepreneurs to reach their goals and make an impact. By having corporations provide active guidance, the entrepreneurs can better understand the needs of corporations and better tailor their offerings and message.
By bypassing traditional LPs and creating a non-profit funded by corporate DE&I budgets, we’re creating LPs whose main focus is on impact as opposed to returns.
On May 25th, 2022 the Redesigning Finance students presented their work to a panel of in-person and virtual panel of experts working within Apple, Silicon Valley Bank, and entrepreneurs in various industries.
