View from Ohio on Increasing Diversity in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Based in Independence, Ohio, MainStreet Inclusion Advisors (MSIA) is a national consultancy and entrepreneurial development firm specializing in connecting historically disconnected and underserved populations. Whether entrepreneurs or investors seek deal flow, capital or talent, MSIA focuses on building bridges between minority communities and mainstream communities.  

We connected with Darrin Redus, the President & CEO of MSIA on their strategic initiatives to advance inclusion across the ecosystem. Redus and his organization work at the intersection of job creation, economic development and entrepreneurship. Together they work to bring more minority entrepreneurs and investors into the process of creating high-growth companies that benefit the entire community.

Redus shared the vision behind the mission of MSIA, “At its core, when I unpack the day to day activities of incubators, commercialization offices, and venture capital firms, the work revolves around relationships. When it’s time to call who you normally call to identify new sources of deal flow, you rely on your existing network. What does it take to disrupt every day behaviors in a way that influences long term change? How do you connect mainstream networks with strategically aligned, but disconnected minority organizations to bring them into mainstream networks? If the day to day relationships don’t change, then the outputs of the ecosystem won’t change either.  We want to increase deal flow, access to capital, talent and growth.”

At NVCA we share in the belief that attracting the best people to work on the most promising ideas means ensuring that talented men and women of diverse backgrounds have the opportunity to build companies. We launched the NVCA Diversity Task Force to contribute to the all-hands-on-deck effort of implementing real solutions to achieve the goal of greater inclusion.

To join the dialogue on entrepreneurship and inclusion, NVCA invites you to participate in MSIA’s webinar on December 15 focused on high growth entrepreneurship and its support structures. The discussion will review the strategies and policies that must be reexamined to produce a stronger, more diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem.  Register here.