H20 Connected manufactures wireless-enabled products like LeakAlertor to help property management and hospitality businesses deal with leaking, overflowing, and running toilets. The startup was incubated in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, to utilize the city’s Qualified Opportunity Zone program to help scale their growth moving forward. We recently spoke with Susan Springsteen, the president of H20 Connected, to learn more about Opportunity Zones, her startup’s work, and the steps that she believes lawmakers should take to strengthen the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses affected by the ongoing pandemic.

Pine Bluff is known as the ‘Bass Capital of the World’ because of its numerous recreational opportunities and bass fishing tournaments, but a group of local citizens and entrepreneurs is working to turn the city into a hub of business development. Go Forward Pine Bluff (GFPB), a non-profit organization, is working to improve education, local government, infrastructure, quality of life, and economic development in the city. The organization created an innovation hub in 2017 to help drive their economic development efforts. Known as The Generator at Go Forward Pine Bluff, the innovation hub is working to improve the digital skills of entrepreneurs, improve the city’s lagging broadband access, and support the long-term success of small businesses.

The Inclusive Innovation Incubator (In3) is the first ecosystem builder focused on cultivating and supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs in the nation’s capital. Launched three years ago to improve diversity and inclusion in D.C.’s emerging tech space, In3 has held hundreds of events and supported more than 1,500 entrepreneurs looking to launch new businesses.

St. Louis is developing a reputation as a hub for entrepreneurs, ranking as one of the top U.S. cities for startups. One of the startups that calls St. Louis home is Venku, an online platform that connects outdoor enthusiasts with exciting on-the-ground experiences. Whether it’s fishing, hiking, hunting or exploring, Venku improves access to outdoor experiences by allowing people across the country to connect with expert hosts eager to take them on their next adventure.

From its conception in 1999, the Greater Nashville Technology Council has been focused on bolstering the region’s entrepreneurial community by advocating for and supporting tech startups across Middle Tennessee. The member-based organization works with a variety of local stakeholders—including tech professionals, policymakers, and other state-based entrepreneurial organizations—to promote local workforce development and tech education initiatives. We recently spoke with the Greater Nashville Technology Council’s President and CEO, Brain Moyer, to learn more about the organization’s work, the region’s startup ecosystem, and what policymakers can do to further support local entrepreneurs.

Austin-based nonprofit organization DivInc is working to drive systemic change across the U.S. startup community by fostering the growth and development of underrepresented entrepreneurs. The organization is focused on connecting entrepreneurs of color and women founders with the mentors, connections, opportunities, and resources needed to create more authentically inclusive startup communities.

As nationwide protests over police brutality and inequality continue, industries across the U.S. are reevaluating their diversity and inclusion initiatives in order to more effectively combat systemic racism within their own ranks. One startup that has been focusing on these workplace inequalities is Dipper, a platform launched last year that lets Black and Latinx professionals share and review their company experiences in order to help other professionals of color make more informed career decisions. We recently spoke with Netta Jenkins, the Co-Founder of Dipper, to learn more about Dipper’s work, the experiences of entrepreneurs of color, and some of the steps that need to be taken in order for the tech industry to better support underrepresented founders and their ideas.

Located in one of California’s busiest farming regions, Woodland-based startup Nytch is working to foster greater engagement between consumers and their local small businesses. Since small brick-and-mortar businesses are unable to put their entire inventories online, the mobile service allows local businesses to use their greatest assets—knowledge, experience, and product awareness—to provide local consumers with more convenient retail services. We recently spoke with Nytch’s co-Founder, Grant Lea, to learn more about his startup’s work helping small businesses, the Woodland startup ecosystem, and what steps he believes policymakers should take to further support the startup community.

The South Bend - Elkhart Regional Partnership includes 47 smart connected communities across Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan that are working together to improve economic development across the region. With five distinct committees focused on improving business opportunities, increasing per capita income, and improving quality of life, the largely volunteer-driven partnership is working to make the region a hub of economic activity. We recently spoke with Bethany Hartley—the partnership’s Director of Diversity & Inclusion—to learn more about the organization’s work improving diversity and inclusion programs for entrepreneurs across the region.

Based in Lincoln, fyiio is a new tutorial management platform using its patented technology to create user-centric educational guides. By combining video and written guides into templates, the startup is working to ensure that consumers and businesses are getting the most out of their tutorial experiences. We recently spoke with fyiio’s founder, Alex Kuklinski, to learn a little more about the startup, Lincoln’s startup ecosystem, and the patent process.