Collab supports Connecticut’s entrepreneurial leaders to shape our communities from within.

Collab is an organization that empowers individuals and families to use entrepreneurship to gain autonomy, build wealth, and shape their communities. We prioritize serving people of color and women — particularly Black and Latinx entrepreneurs — who face persistent and significant barriers because of structural racism and sexism.

Entrepreneurship is a way to create economic stability for families, and also for individuals to have agency and ownership in their lives and their communities. Our core belief is that entrepreneurship (which we define as the act of taking a risk on behalf of our community) should be accessible to every single person, no matter where they come from. 

We see our work as being a part of a wider ecosystem of entrepreneurship support resources, funding, and programs in our community. Our work within that ecosystem has 3 components:

• Programming: We provide entrepreneurship programming that combines high-quality business education with a heart-based leadership development curriculum. Our programs are high-touch and provide wraparound services like childcare, transportation, and interpretation to make sure individuals can be supported and successful. 

• People: Our entrepreneurs gain access to a broad network of mentors, advisors, pro bono partners, and funders who form a net of support, expertise, and technical assistance.

• Power: Our entrepreneurs are more powerful when they move and work together. We bring our 100+ graduates together to act as a coalition to advocate for themselves and our community’s collective good.