When the Inclusive Innovation Incubator, housed at Howard University and operated by Luma Lab, launches in 2017, it will be financially on its own despite big name support. It will get advice and guidance from Mayor Bowser's administration and Howard, but its small staff will be operating independently.
That's why Aaron Saunders, CEO of Luma's parent company, Clearly Innovative, announced the Luma Innovation Foundation for Entrepreneurs Thursday. Currently, the foundation is aiming to raise at least six-to-12 months of operating funds, as well as 20-to-30 percent of fees so they can subsidize entrepreneurs and businesses in need.
Saunders also hopes the foundation will serve as a means to build awareness for the work Luma is doing to incubate minority entrepreneurs.
"Our hope is that through the fund and through raising awareness for this need (to help minority entrepreneurs access capital), there might other organizations in the DC tech ecosystem that are trying to solve the same problems that can benefit from the fund," Saunders said.
The foundation, or LIFE, for short, is just the next piece of the growing puzzle around the new incubator Luma is building on Howard's campus.
In March, Mayor Muriel Bowser broke ground on the new incubator which will be housed on Howard University's campus on Georgia Ave NW. Bowser's office has provided nearly $1 million in grant funds to Howard to construct the space. Luma, the tech education arm of software firm Clearly Innovative, signed on to operate the space in February.
As with most construction projects, the opening has been pushed back. And then pushed back again. And again. Initially, Howard and the District planned to build out space on the campus that focused on supporting venture capital investment in minority startups, as detailed in an announcement in 2015. They wanted to attract VC firms that planned to invest in medium-to-late stage D.C. startups, and at the time, the District was only planning to invest an unknown six-figure amount into the development. Luma didn't hop on board until that plan changed in 2016.
Today, the Inclusive Innovation Incubator is aimed at attracting minority entrepreneurs working on startups that serve underrepresented communities. And, now Saunders says the new Inclusive Innovation Incubator, or In3, will open in February 2017, which is why they need to get moving on raising funds for future In3 entrepreneurs now.
The incubator's launch is coming at an important time for the D.C. tech ecosystem, with the release of the results of the District's first Inclusive Innovation Report last week.
"I believe that sometimes you have to be intentional to address issues, and I think that by skimming the inclusion report that came out, it is abundantly clear to anyone who believes that this information is correct that this is more than a diversity issue that we’re dealing with now," Saunders said. "This is very specific around African-Americans in D.C. They’re getting left behind."
But In3 is also working to make sure that they're inclusive of all entrepreneurs who might be interested.
"We want to see a mix of people and companies that exist in this space, but we also want to be cognizant that there are specific challenges that specific groups have," he said. "It’s a very thin line you have to walk."
LIFE is just one step they're taking to inch closer to that mission of catering to everyone's specific ecosystem challenges.
"My hope is that our work that we’re doing at In3, combined with the work that we’re doing in LIFE, will raise awareness for the challenges that exist for our target audience and work through the foundation will help other organizations," Saunders said.
Editor's Note: We've updated this story to include clarification on the Howard incubator's timeline. The initial idea was announced in 2015, but Luma Lab was not involved as the operator until February 2016.
Image used via CC BY 2.0 — credit #WOCinTech Chat
