Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Diverse Companies Get Better Results.

Rev1 is all about helping entrepreneurs building successful companies. That’s why we champion inclusive entrepreneurship.

Diversity is good for business:

Companies that commit to diverse leadership and participation are more successful.

Ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform the national industry norms and achieve better financial results.*

Gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to exceed their peers.

  • Women and minorities deliver an abundance of talent and expanded perspectives. Talented resources are too precious to waste.
  • Women and minorities represent huge markets for innovative products and services. Who better to understand leverage these opportunities and needed solutions than women and minorities themselves?

We are creating inclusive opportunities for innovation and leadership.

At Rev1, 38 percent of the startups we’ve funded this year are founded or led by a woman, minority or veteran.

This is 4X the national average, but we have lots more work to do, starting with initiatives that cause more minorities and women to consider entrepreneurship earlier in their careers. The breadth of inclusive entrepreneurship is directly related to the diversity at the top of the entrepreneurial talent funnel.

  • Outreach: We are undertaking initiatives to encourage more women and minorities to recognize entrepreneurship as a career possibility. From Startup Weekends to our Founder’s Story lunches, we are striving to capture more mindshare from women and minorities.
  • Deal Flow: Customer Learning Lab is the Rev1 starting point for entrepreneurs who have ideas for new companies. Recent classes are averaging about 52 percent diverse. Participants have ranged in age from 13 to over 50 years. We leverage the diversity of our strategic and innovation partners to bring more women and minority-sourced innovation into our pipeline.
  • Funding: Engaged clients with fundable companies become prime candidates for funding opportunities through Rev1’s funding mechanisms, which include X-Squared Angels, an Ohio-based angel group that invests in women-led startups.
*http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/why_diversity_matters