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Thank you for your interest in the 2021 Start:ME Momentum campaign. Even though this campaign has ended, you can still support Start:ME by making a gift today!
Microbusinesses serve local needs, create local jobs, occupy local storefronts, and create local economic vibrancy. These businesses are essential to the success of our communities.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has challenged business owners financially, emotionally, and physically, and has disproportionately impacted entrepreneurs of color.
Throughout the pandemic and as we move towards an economic recovery, it’s essential that we support local ventures and the people starting, building, and scaling them.
Start:ME is a free, intensive 3 month accelerator for microbusinesses, connecting promising entrepreneurs to the knowledge, networks, and capital needed to build strong businesses. Start:ME is delivered by Emory University's Goizueta Business School in partnership with Friends of Refugees in Clarkston, the East Lake Foundation in East Lake, and both Focused Community Strategies and Purpose Built Schools Atlanta in Atlanta’s Southside.
Together, we have served 300+ promising ventures that collectively generate over $12M in annual sales, employ about 600 people, and operate 38 stores and offices in local communities. 84% of alumni ventures are led by people of color and 72% female led.
Learn more at startmeatl.org.
Start:ME is delivered for free to all entrepreneurs, ensuring that we serve passionate, committed business owners from all backgrounds. Each year, we also deploy $30,000 in peer-selected grant capital ($10,000 per community) to support the growth and development of promising ventures. A gift to Start:ME will help provide ongoing support for our 300+ alumni ventures and future cohorts serving local entrepreneurs.
More information about Start:ME at startmeatl.org.