The Startup Accelerator Launches with Support From Google and Teads

She Runs It, a 501c3 organization that champions women across the marketing industry, announced a partnership with digitalundivided, the leading non-profit leveraging data, programs, and advocacy to catalyze economic growth for Latina and Black women entrepreneurs, to launch the She Runs It x digitalundivided: START Program. This new program is an early-stage, start-up accelerator modeled on digitalundivided’s decade-long history of providing coaching, mentorship, and grants to women founders at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey.

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She Runs It x digitalundivided: START Program launched to propel women of color entrepreneurs in marketing, media, and tech. (Graphic: Business Wire)

“Our Foundation Board selected digitalundivided as a launch partner for this accelerator based on their history of propelling Latina and Black women entrepreneurs into new successful business endeavors,” said Lynn Branigan, President, and CEO of She Runs It. “We are focusing on women of color because our industry is profoundly under-indexing on these workforce populations,” Branigan added, citing the organization’s #Inclusive100 research which indicates a decline in Black and Latina representation across the industry. “This program is designed to bring the powerful ideas and emerging business concepts of women of color to fruition for our industry.”

The 10-15 person cohort will be selected by a jury of industry leaders in marketing, media, and tech. Participants will be matched and mentored one-to-one by the She Runs It Foundation Board and other industry mentors through a 10-week curriculum designed specifically to give innovative founders the support and access to business tools and strategies needed to bring their ideas to fruition. Applications are available online and must be completed by August 7, 2022.

“Our START program is digitalundivided’s first entrepreneurship program supporting hundreds of early-stage women of color founders over the years as they take their business ideas to the next level,” said Lauren Maillian, CEO of digitalundivided. “Our She Runs It x digitalundivided: START Program signals the first time we have partnered on this initiative with a focus on recruiting women entrepreneurs in marketing, media, and tech. This partnership will help jumpstart their emerging businesses at a pivotal time, as the pandemic continues to bring swift industry disruption and workforce change.”

The curriculum will culminate in a demo day in early December during which the selected entrepreneurs will present business plans and funding pitches to industry leaders.

The two organizations partnered to bring this START program to the marketing and media industries in the wake of the global pandemic, which forced many women to step back or out of the workforce entirely. The goal is to provide a timely resource to women of color, impacted by the pandemic, who are looking to get their businesses off the ground.

“We couldn’t have a better partner than digitalundivided,” added Branigan. “Its impact has been seen across the startup ecosystem, influencing how venture capital firms are founded and operated, how entrepreneurs find resources and mentors, and how the ecosystem moves towards racial equity.”

For more information on the program and ways to partner, please contact info@sherunsit.org.

About She Runs It

Founded in 1912 as Advertising Women of New York (formerly AWNY), She Runs It is a 501c3 organization that exists to pave the way for women of all backgrounds, experiences and ethnicities to lead at every level of marketing, media and tech. Membership stands at over 7,000 women, men and corporate alliance partners spanning 38 states and 9 countries. To learn more about She Runs It, visit Sherunsit.org.

About digitalundivided

Founded in 2012, digitalundivided is the leading non-profit leveraging our data, programs, and advocacy to catalyze economic growth for Latina and Black women entrepreneurs and innovators. Our goal is to create a greater world where all women of color own their work and worth. Our mission moves the entrepreneurial ecosystem forward, to increase funding, access, and opportunities for women of color in business and innovation. We were the first to debut authoritative research on the state of Latina and Black women founders with the ProjectDiane Report. The legacy of ProjectDiane inspires our expanded research efforts, conducted by women of color and focused on women of color in entrepreneurship and the businesses they lead. Our programs -- START, BIG Pre-Accelerator, BREAKTHROUGH, Do You Fellowship, and the New C-Suite -- mobilize community, best-in-class resources, advisory, and investment to support women of color founders at all stages of their entrepreneurial and funding journeys. digitalundivided’s work is based in the United States, but our impact on advancing inclusive innovation resonates globally. For more information, visit: www.digitalundivided.com and follow us on Twitter (@digundiv), Instagram, and Facebook (@digitalundivided).

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