Closing the Economic Divide: How Jumpstart Helps Position Tech Entrepreneurs for Success by Montrie Rucker Adams, APR - JumpStart Inc.
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Closing the Economic Divide:
How Jumpstart Helps Position Tech Entrepreneurs for Success
by Montrie Rucker Adams, APR
It’s hard not to get drawn in by Camille There’s an App for That
Heard’s enthusiasm. Her face glows Last year, an article in Business of Apps
and her voice resonates with passion stated there were more than 4 million
as she explains FELOH (pronounced apps available. Consumers downloaded
“fellow”), For Everyone’s Love of Hair 130 billion apps between iOS and
+ Beauty. Google Play (source: TechCrunch).
Heard and Sabino are part of a growing
FELOH is a new business venture trend of entrepreneurs eager to enter
founded by 30-year-old Heard and the tech space, offering consumer,
co-founder Jacqueline Baron who were civic, and personal solutions to issues
former roommates at The University impacting individuals and cultures.
of Pennsylvania. It’s powered by Though the industry is growing, the
an app that curates hair and beauty playing field is small.
products but also rewards those who
purchase items or posts on the site. To help them move their projects
“The idea started in 2014, when I was forward, Heard and Sabino found
transitioning out of a relaxer and began assistance at JumpStart, a non-profit,
dealing with my natural hair texture,” venture development organization that
Heard explains. “I needed to find a place assists entrepreneurs in starting and
of community. There is lot of content growing their companies. JumpStart’s
out there, on YouTube and Instagram. three core focus areas include:
It’s a lot of information but hard to
navigate. I thought it would be cool Making Investments: Funding tech
to have a community for people with entrepreneurs with the capital they need
similar needs to learn from each other, to grow their startup businesses quickly.
to have a “home” for all the content and
discourse.” Delivering Services: Providing
technical assistance to help high-
Artist Georgio Sabino, III, is equally potential businesses solve problems,
enthusiastic about his new tech project drive growth and create jobs.
– The Govia Police Safety App. After
attending an event involving the consent Acting as a Value-Added Partner:
decree following the death of Tamir Working on behalf of private, public and
Rice, Sabino decided to “answer the philanthropic funders who want to assist
Camille Heard (top) and call” and help provide a solution. “The entrepreneurs by making grants and
Georgio Sabino, III app helps solve the social issues we convening networks to turn their
have with the police officers and the vision and resources
community. It provides officers more into action and
time before they make the best possible impact.
decision because they enforce the law,”
explains Sabino. “If they [police] want
community support, this app will help
them gain it. We want both parties, the
community and the police, to go home.”
JumpStart’s Ron Stubblefield
Heard has worked with Ron offering tax services and other business advice to a variety of companies. “There
Stubblefield, JumpStart’s Entrepreneur was unapologetically Black excellence coming to our family as clients,” he
in Residence, since February 2021. remembers. “I learned from their stories. Why they started their businesses: It
“He’s our ‘go to’ guy,” states Heard. was their dream - They want to leave something for their children - They wanted
“He’s helping us think through ideas independence - To not have to depend on a job - I saw a problem that I want to
and assisting us with our go-to-market address. It was amazing,” he said.
strategy.”
Stubblefield received a BS in physics from Morehouse College, an MS from
The Right Stuff Stanford University and a JD in law from the New York University School of
In this position since May 2020, Law. Morehouse confirmed his life’s purpose, “No matter what you are going to
Stubblefield has kept busy helping be, you are thinking about how you are going to be a change agent in this world.
small businesses get the traction they That’s what separates the Morehouse Man from the Morehouse graduate,” he
need to grow and scale. He’s leading a says emphatically. He’s always thinking, “How can I use what I learned to make a
Civil Rights initiative to advance Black difference in the community?”
and Brown technological economic
development. “I am doing more than Making that difference didn’t begin when Stubblefield joined JumpStart.
that,” said Stubblefield when asked if he He helped the Baltimore Development Corporation focus on early-stage
is doing what he always wanted to do. technology-based startups with incubation. He also assisted the New York City
“I advise entrepreneurs on economic Department of Small Business Services with corporate governance and economic
development, systems, resources and development research and program management. He’s also adept at designing
programs that help them on their journey. and implementing financial models and strategic plans for a variety of colleges,
I work with Cuyahoga County, Chambers financial institutions, non-profit organizations, political campaigns and foreign
of Commerce, the Hispanic Business governments. These experiences and successes are what Stubblefield uses when
Center, the Presidents’ Council, the he helps guide FELOH, The Govia Police Safety App and others to business
Business Growth Collaborative, The success.
Urban League of Greater Cleveland, a
nice range of organizations. I’m working From Art to Activism
with them to see how we are going to get Sabino speaks passionately about pursuing art since seventh grade. It wasn’t until
this right. What I am doing is beyond my singer Jill Scott hired him to work her Sugar Water Tour, with Erykah Badu,
wildest imaginations and I’m loving every Queen Latifah, and Floetry, that he became more entrenched in photography.
second of it,” he emphasizes. “I toured with Jill Scott for three years,” said Sabino. “After that, I began
shooting hundreds of people.” To his entertainment repertoire Sabino added
While growing up in Silver Springs, weddings, sports, The Ohio State Buckeyes’ National Championship, and
Maryland, Stubblefield’s parents were the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trip to the White House in 2016 to meet President
his entrepreneurial influences. They Obama after their NBA Championship win. “I enjoy the history of documenting
founded R. L. Stubblefield, CPA, someone’s experience. That’s the beauty of photography. My experience as
a painter and graphic designer excelled me toward the
camera.”
His activism was sparked while capturing the images of the
civil protests throughout the country, documenting the
people’s fire and fight, and watching news channels like
Aljazeera, CNN, Fox, and NPR.
“I went to an event in 2015 where the Cleveland community
came together to talk about Tamir Rice and the consent
decree. They asked us how we can solve this problem.”
Sabino says, “The Lord gave me the answer in my dreams.
With this app, I could have stopped George Floyd, Michael
Brown, Philando Castille and Eric Garner. The goal is the
love of people.”
Explaining his app, Sabino says there are various community
members that can assist when the police are in pursuit or
when they have pulled someone over. It will prevent civil
rights abuse(s) and provide due process of law for anyone
who is unjustly detained or stopped by law enforcement.
Mitigating Disparities
“We are creating a social media company,” explains Heard,
“and we are very conscious about the way we want to pursue
From left, Camille Heard; Zarin Hamid, Chief
it. One thing that I find disturbing about social media is it Administrative Officer for FELOH; and Jacqueline Baron,
perpetuates ideas of success, such as having lots of followers Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer for FELOH.
and getting lots of likes. Companies are profiting off
your eyeballs, generating data and making millions, if not
billions, of dollars. For us,” continues Heard. “We don’t Tech is the New Black
want to incentivize people amassing lots of followers. If that That both of these companies are in the tech landscape is
happens, great. We want to level the playing field. We are moving the needle in the right direction. “Simply put, Black
literally sharing some of our profit with our users because we and Latinx communities are grossly underrepresented and
wouldn’t be successful without them. That’s the least we can under-included in the tech space,” mentions Stubblefield.
do in this social media economy. It a conscientious way of “This can be seen financially, with less than one percent
giving back and bringing everyone up with us.” of Black and Latinx founders nationally being able to
successfully access Venture Capital dollars per Brookings
“We are definitely melanin-focused,” Heard continues, “but Institute and National Venture Capital data. Locally,
anybody can use these products. Seventy percent of our Cleveland is a majority-minority city according to US Census
sellers that are on FELOH today are black owned. We are Bureau data. Yet, to date, this fact has not been reflected
growing a social community created by two black women. within Cleveland’s tech ecosystem. Addressing this
We are very conscious about being inclusive in the imagery disparity is necessary as tech is the key
and in the content. Our overall goal is to create a digital driver of economic growth and
beauty eco-system that independent brands, no matter who job creation that can
they are, can leverage. There are a lot of barriers to entry, make a difference
getting into Target, Walmart and other stores. No matter in equitably
who you are, if we can get a group of people together, we changing
can help them get exposure, make their brand stand out and Cleveland’s
make sales. No matter who they are.” trajectory.”
Both Heard and Sabino are grateful
for the assistance JumpStart and
Stubblefield provides. Heard’s
weekly power sessions and Sabino’s
connections have given them the
fuel to compete in the tech space.
Sabino describes himself as a “pre-
seed.” “I am in the very beginning
stages of being an entrepreneur
with a new technology idea,” he
explains. “The skills and connections
outside of Cleveland and the ones Georgio Sabino, III, getting an autograph from President Obama
he’s [Stubblefield] leveraging in during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trip to the White House in 2016 after
Cleveland have propelled this their NBA Championship win.
project forward in a lot of ways,”
adds Sabino. “The focus groups and “Be patient and keep stepping forward,” says Sabino. He encourages people
having other business assistance like to, “Live your dreams and keep stepping forward. Put on the shoes of
the Presidents’ Council, the Urban responsibility. Every time you take a step it should be closer to your dream.”
League, gBeta (at CWRU) have
helped tremendously. Getting it done Heard suggests connecting with people who can help you. “You cannot do it
and pushing to make it go further has alone. Align yourself with people who see your vision. Not everyone is going
been tremendously helpful.” to get it 100 percent. Not everybody is meant to get you to that next step.
Align with individuals that propel you forward,” she adds.
There’s Room for You
Though the entrepreneurial Helping You Know and Grow
landscape is wide open, it takes As more people are finding an interest and desire to move into tech,
a certain type of individual to JumpStart provides the assistance they may need for exploration, guidance,
see an idea or project through. financial assistance and tools for growth. It has engaged more than 6500
Stubblefield suggests the person companies and invested over $61 million in 125 Ohio tech startups. Of
have a compelling “why.” The reason those startups, 44 percent were owned by women and people of color and 20
must go beyond making money. “It’s percent were led by African American or Latinx entrepreneurs.
the person who says, ‘I can make
this service work,’ or ‘I want to leave Technical services and investment capital are available through funding
something for my children.’ They are from the Ohio Third Frontier. These funds are designated for tech startups
willing to listen and learn more than and healthcare technologies in the state of Ohio. The services are provided
they are willing to sell, and is curious through the Entrepreneurial Services Provider (ESP) program which is a
about what the market really wants, collaboration of multiple organizations. JumpStart is the lead organization in
this is who experiences success,” Northern Ohio, but other organizations who are part of the network include
offers Stubblefield. “It takes a lot of MAGNET, Bounce and Youngstown Business Incubator. You can find
grit and determination because there additional information on this website: https://startupneo.org/resources/
will be a lot of down days starting
out. Whatever it is, you must be As Heard and Sabino continue to advance their businesses with JumpStart’s
passionate about it. You have to assistance, they encourage others to also seek out their resources. “I didn’t
think, ‘I get to play this game and I know much about the entrepreneurial ecosystem when I first started out,”
get to have fun with it every day.’” shares Heard. “JumpStart helped me tremendously.”
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