A Community-Centered Future is Possible 

When you invest in founders, you're investing in communities. Founders who are equipped to innovate, create jobs, and respond to the needs of their customers, become anchors to thriving communities - where people can live, work, and play without being displaced. 

Through a decade of building new entrepreneurial ecosystems, Founder Forward has supported founders with unrestricted funding, non-prescriptive advising, and story amplification. Through this work, we've seen firsthand the possibilities of community-centered founders. 

Together, we can continue to shape a future where both founders and their communities thrive. A future that's not just worth building, but worth investing in. 

Join us in investing in founders. Our Impact. 

• 25 states engaged
• $860,000+ distributed in unrestricted capital
• 125 founders and their businesses funded
• 85% survival rate amongst founder network 

About Founder Forward

Our mission

We provide grant funding, training, community, and storytelling that equips Black, Indigenous, and other diverse founders with the investment readiness needed to scale businesses in emerging U.S. markets. 

Our values

We are building F.A.I.R. entrepreneurial ecosystems that redistribute economic and social power. Our four key values highlight how we embody F.A.I.R.: 

• Founder First. Executing locally driven solutions should be guided by founders. 
• Access. Redistributing resources through catalytic connections expands community. 
• Impact. Valuing diverse founders as smart investments, brings equity to entrepreneurial ecosystems. 
• Responsibility. Innovating and building sustainably for the next generation inspires possibilities.

What sets us apart? 

• We redistribute economic and social capital through place-based programming 
• We work in emerging entrepreneurial U.S. markets
• We support founders to scale at their own pace
• We build with community-centered founders