BizStarts, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs through one-on-one coaching, cohort-based programs and other resources, is opening a new office at the St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care-Bucyrus Campus, located at 2450 W. North Ave., according to a Monday announcement.
The move is part of a phased shift the organization is making to focus its efforts on supporting underserved entrepreneurs, including people of color and individuals with low or moderate incomes, said BizStarts executive director Patrick Snyder.
“We want to be represented in the community where we’re doing the work, and where many of our clients live,” Snyder said in a statement.
The new office will open in July and will be open at least four days a week for BizStarts administrative staff, coaching and mentoring sessions with entrepreneurs, and potentially events, according to the announcement.
"We’ve even discussed hosting outdoor vendors markets on the Bucyrus Campus grounds, where our clients could sell their products,” Snyder said.
BizStarts already has a presence at the St. Ann Center-Bucyrus through BizStarts Institute, an entrepreneurship bootcamp program that started in September 2020 and is held at the St. Ann Center's Bucyrus campus, according to the announcement. The program costs $1,000, according to BizStarts' website, but scholarships are available.
When BizStarts was founded in 2008, it started off supporting more privileged entrepreneurs, Snyder said. Snyder became BizStarts' executive director in 2019 and has focused on shifting the organization's approach.
Snyder said BizStarts plans to open additional locations within the next three to five years, including at St. Ann's Stein campus at 2801 E. Morgan Ave. in Milwaukee, as well as in the city's Havenwoods and Riverworks neighborhoods through partnerships with the local economic development corporations there.
BizStarts is currently located in Schlitz Park at 1555 N. River Center Drive, Suite 210. The organization is on a month-to-month lease and plans to leave that office when its current landlord finds another tenant — likely within six months, Snyder said.
In 2020, BizStarts served more than 600 entrepreneurs, and 83% of the businesses it served were owned by people of color, according to the organization's annual impact report.
