#ThanksObama
“So far, Rising Tide Capital has helped 250 business owners in the state of New Jersey. So imagine if they could help 500 or 1000 or more, all across America. If we empower organizations like [Rising Tide Capital] think about the number of young people …whose lives we can change, the number of families whose livelihoods we can boost, the number of struggling communities we can bring back to life.” Barack Obama, 2009
Today as Rising Tide Capital (RTC) is about to graduate 204 entrepreneurs–the largest class in our 12-year history–I couldn’t help but think back to 2009 when President Barack Obama recognized RTC and our founder Alfa Demmellash in a speech at the White House.
He asked the White House guests on that day to imagine what it could look like if RTC could help 500 or 1000 more entrepreneurs all across Across America. It was a call to action that truly resonated for us at Rising Tide Capital. No matter your affiliation, can you imagine what it must be like for your work to be recognized by the President of the United States?
Our organization was just about five years old at the time, and like the president said, till that moment, we had served 250 entrepreneurs through our Community Business Academy (CBA). As a matter of fact, when I was hired not too long after, we were getting ready for our first semester with two simultaneous sessions of the Community Business Academy in Jersey City.
Today, just eight short years later, Rising Tide Capital offers the CBA in five Northern New Jersey towns and cities across three counties, in both English and Spanish. After tonight’s graduation our graduate pool will be 1,770 entrepreneurs deep. In 2017, we will enroll and serve almost 550 New Jersey entrepreneurs through our Community Business Academy.
But these numbers only represent part of the growth of Rising Tide Capital over the past 8 years. When Rising Tide Entrepreneurs graduate from the CBA, most of them enroll in our second layer of programs, Business Acceleration Services . Last year, 343 entrepreneurs graduated from the Community Business Academy, but RTC worked with almost 1,000 entrepreneurs.
That’s about 650 entrepreneurs receiving services like business coaching through our Action Planning program, being connected to small business resources through our HelpDesk and Credit to Capital programs, or participating in New Jersey’s largest business pitch competition, The Start Something Challenge.
What does working with hundreds of Rising Tide Entrepreneurs look like? Equal parts courage and community. Whether our entrepreneurs are in business yet or still actively planning, they are leaders in their communities. They are mentors and role models, elected officials and community crusaders, job creators and innovators. They might work with at-risk youth or open restaurants and retail stores, but really, they are meeting the needs that exist in their neighborhoods–”bringing (their) communities back to life.”
We see our role in their lives as equipping them to attain their goals of creating the kinds of businesses and communities they want to be a part of; coaching them to set achievable milestones, connecting them to resources, and holding their hands for as long as they need us. It’s inspiring, fulfilling work, and our team is honored to serve this mission.
There is one more piece of President Obama’s speech that we’re currently working towards. In 2013, RTC began working with Sunshine Enterprises, an organization on the South Side of Chicago, to replicate our programs. Not only is Sunshine delivering our Community Business Academy and Business Acceleration Services to entrepreneurs in Chicago, but as of last year, they are also using our database and metrics so that we can keep track of the collective impact of our programs. This is our first step towards the goal of helping entrepreneurs all across America.
When President Obama talked about changing lives, boosting families, and transforming communities, he spoke to the very heart of our mission at Rising Tide Capital. He understood that the impact of entrepreneurs goes beyond their own lives. It’s something we see in our work every day; as we equip people to build businesses, they build platforms of opportunities for others. We are creating the change we believe in, one entrepreneur, one small business at a time.
And so we at Rising Tide Capital want to say #ThanksObama. We’re grateful for your entrepreneurial vision that has contributed to the spirit and the work of this organization for the past eight years.
