Two Boulder-based startups were selected this week by Google and Northwestern Mutual for programs geared toward Black and Latino founders.
Northwestern Mutual announced Wednesday that it chose Pagedip, a Boulder software startup, for its Black Founder Accelerator program. Also this week, Google named Gritly, another Boulder startup, as a recipient of its Startups Latino Founders Fund.
Both programs were established in an effort to close the opportunity and wealth gap for Black- and Latino-founded startups.
Despite gains in 2021, Black founders raise a disproportionately low amount of venture capital, and Black-owned small businesses struggle to get loans, according to the Harvard Business Review. Latino-owned businesses also lag behind. Latinos are more likely to be required to provide collateral to secure loans, and Latino-owned tech companies receive an "abysmally low" amount of venture capital, according to a Stanford University study.
Pagedip, which aims to make it easier for businesses to create and share smart documents, was one of five startups selected for Northwestern Mutual's accelerator. The program is operated in coordination with gener8tor, a venture fund and startup accelerator. Through the program, Pagedip will receive $100,000 and undergo a 12-week business training program.
Pagedip was founded in 2011 by Sherisse Hawkins and has raised $2.6 million in its seed stage, according to Crunchbase. The startup created a no-code tool to make and share content and measure its engagement.
The five startups were selected based on their unique business models and their efforts to create tech solutions that help people live better lives. They chose companies that focused on either financial or insurance technology, digital health or data analytics.
“This partnership with Northwestern Mutual directly supports Black founders nationally by providing important resources, mentorship and funding these innovative entrepreneurs might otherwise not have had access to," Precious Drew, the accelerator's senior managing director, said in an announcement. "We look forward to seeing how they continue to develop their unique solutions.”
Google announced this week the recipients of its first Startups Latino Founders Fund, which provides $100,000 grants to 50 companies nationwide. Gritly, a workforce development startup, made the list.
In addition to cash, recipients will receive hands-on programming and support from Google, as well as mentorship from technical and business experts and access to free mental health therapy.
Gritly was founded in 2019 by David Lopez, who created a hiring platform to match diverse, qualified candidates to non-technical, entry-level jobs in the tech industry. His goal was to break down barriers to economic mobility for women, minorities, veterans and other populations that face difficulty breaking into tech.
"The Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund isn't just about capital for us, it's about the opportunity to join a supportive community where we can access resources that will accelerate the impact we are having on a national level," Lopez said in the announcement. "The support will be used to invest in our product development, build our brand and acquire new customers on our way to building the future of skills-based hiring."
This story was updated to refer to Northwestern Mutual’s Black Founder Accelerator.
