Located on the Navajo and Hopi reservations, Change Labs is a nonprofit organization working to foster small business development and increase economic opportunities for Native American entrepreneurs. We recently spoke with Heather Fleming, Change Labs’ Co-Founder and Executive Director, to learn more about the nonprofit’s work supporting Native entrepreneurs, some of the challenges that startups and small businesses face on the Navajo and Hopi reservations, and the steps that need to be taken to advance Native American founders.

Miami-based startup CitiQuants uses “decisional data” on cities’ livability, workability, sustainability, and governability assets to help other startups and established businesses make important hiring and expansion decisions. The focus on city-level data has also pushed the company to start developing tokenized city stocks that can be used to generate public investments in local communities. We spoke with Philip Peters, CitiQuants’ Founder and CEO, to learn more about his startup, his PEV Token concept, and steps that policymakers can take to support growing startups—particularly those affected by the pandemic.

Dr. Edouard Siregar, a former researcher with NASA, founded Sofia Labs as a way of using human-centered artificial intelligence to help users lighten their workloads and finish complex projects. We recently spoke with Dr. Siregar to learn more about his company’s product, what policymakers should do to support startups affected by the pandemic, and how the government can best advance emerging technologies.

Postagraph is a recently launched social messaging app that works to connect verified users with their family and friends in a private environment. By focusing on creating a digital community free of filtered falsehoods, Pelumi Olatinpo—Postagraph’s CEO—is working to create an authentic user experience for those tired of the digital noise and lack of privacy on other social media and messaging platforms. We recently spoke with Olatinpo to learn more about Postagraph, his thoughts on social networking platforms, and steps that lawmakers should take to support the startup community and underrepresented founders.

Based in El Paso, Pioneers 21 is a nonprofit incubator working to unleash the creative and economic potential of the U.S.-Mexico border by supporting startups and small businesses. We recently spoke with Pioneers 21’s Executive Director, Carlos Martínez-Vela, to learn more about the organization’s work supporting local entrepreneurs, the El Paso startup ecosystem, and the importance of attracting talented workers.

With an entrepreneurial background and experience with influencer-based marketing, Monica Merrill—the Founder and CEO of FlipperSplash—created a platform where small businesses can partner with large or small influencers to effectively market their products and services to a wider audience. We recently spoke with Monica to learn more about FlipperSplash, how brands have been affected by the pandemic, and the goals of the startup moving forward.

MyAgData is an agricultural-focused data analytics startup that allows farmers to utilize acreage reporting software to simplify their reports for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and for crop insurance as well as giving lenders and insurers unique insights into their customer’s acreage productivity and health. We recently spoke with MyAgData’s CEO and Co-Founder, Deb Casurella, to learn more about the firm, their access to funding opportunities, and how policymakers can work to encourage young talent to stay in rural communities.

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.