A New Way to Support Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Entrepreneurs

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Envolve Entrepreneurship and Generation Titans are proud to announce REUNION (www.joinreunion.com) - a disruptive, innovative, non-equity crowdfunding platform for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous entrepreneurs.  

REUNION allows Black, Latinx, and Indigenous founders to share their stories, get real-time feedback on new products and services, and raise the necessary funds for their businesses to thrive -- at no cost to the entrepreneur. The platform has launched today, showcasing an initial 12 carefully curated entrepreneurial businesses seeking financial support in order to realise their commercial goals. Reunion expects to expand the platform, creating a future in which many more diverse entrepreneurs can access funding, story amplification, and validation.    

On REUNION, supporters become culture promoters to boost stories, expert advisors to validate tactics, and financial supporters through unrestricted crowdfunding that invests in their communities.

"Over time, we want to build a movement and community that is an alternative to the current broken methods of raising early-stage capital for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous entrepreneurs. REUNION is about creating a new friend and family network for curated groups of founders where supporters can help by validating solutions, amplifying stories, and donating for impact."

- Jessica Lynch, Founding Partner, Generation Titans.

With generous pilot funding from the Kapor Center, the team has worked with local partners -- Native Women Lead, DivInc, and Blnded Media -- to source an initial 12 Black, Latinx, and Indigenous early-stage founders located in Albuquerque, Austin, Washington, DC, and other select locations. The platform will rely on a starting database of nearly 1,000 supporters to generate assistance for the initial round of businesses with plans to expand its supporter network aggressively throughout the fall and next year.

"The current crisis has put an additional stress test on our startup and small business ecosystem, especially for entrepreneurs of color. It's clear there are disproportionate impacts that Black and Latinx companies experience. We must act now, not because of the moment, but simply because it matters, and this is the moment! With the launch of REUNION, we feel strongly that we have developed a creative solution and something that will be impactful, particularly for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous founders. Structural challenges were prevalent pre-pandemic, and persistent issues such as accessing capital and resources have been long standing challenges these founders are all too familiar with… but now is the time, simply put, we're doing our part to address this. We believe Generation Titans and Envolve's combined efforts around REUNION will deliver on this and we welcome others to join in!"

- Christopher Upperman, Envolve Board Member.

With support from REUNION, selected Black, Latinx, and Indigenous entrepreneurs will have access to enhanced social capital networks, more opportunities to test strategies and tactics, and increased access to emergency funding without sacrificing equity. By tapping into the strength of our communities, entrepreneurs will weather this tremendous storm and emerge stronger than ever.

About The Partners

Envolve is a 501(c)(3) organization, founded with support from the Libra Group, that advocates for an equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem where all business owners can prosper and grow. We are committed to helping diverse and underserved entrepreneurs bridge the gap in access to critical monetary, educational, and support resources.

Generation Titans is part of a movement -- powered by people of color -- fighting for a fully equitable economy. We develop market solutions so that entrepreneurs of color can access the early-stage funding, social networks, and customer validation they need to thrive.

SOURCE Envolve Entrepreneurship