Tomodachi is a social learning platform that enables students to create unique content and present work to audiences beyond the classroom. Started by a wife and husband duo, Na Xue and Ken Lo, with the mission of creating meaningful educational connections and providing a global, inclusive learning environment. We had the chance to speak with Na Xue—a former educator and co-founder of Tomodachi—about the origins of the company, regulatory challenges in EdTech, and the challenges women founders can face when building their startups.

Melon is a Chicago-based company working to build and implement e-commerce solutions for an array of businesses that are increasingly relying on digital consumers, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryan Nicholson—Founder and CTO—told us why he founded Melon, the ongoing impact he’s seeing of COVID-19 on the businesses they work with, and how startups are looking for certainty across an array of policy topics.

WithClutch is a software company working to provide access to easily refinance car loans through credit unions. Based in San Francisco, Calif., Nicholas Hinrichsen—Co-Founder and CEO—told us how he founded WithClutch, the challenges he’s faced while navigating the immigration system as an entrepreneur, and how his company has benefitted from the innovative environment provided by a regulatory sandbox in Arizona.

Based in New York City, N.Y., Fund Black Founders is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to narrowing the racial capital access gap by connecting Black founders with the financial and community resources they need. Founder & CEO, Renee King is focused on building an organization that can provide a necessary “Family & Friends” funding round for founders who would otherwise lack access to such capital. We spoke with Ms. King about what led her to build Fund Black Founders, the importance of access to early stage funding for Black founders, and how government agencies can make existing resources more accessible to emerging entrepreneurs.