Whether it’s delivering therapy through games, selling natural wine, or providing interior design services, fledgling businesses hope to take their enterprises to the next level.
Collab New Haven works to help them do just that, and it recently announced the 11 businesses it picked to participate in its 11-week Fall Accelerator Program.
Collab was formed in 2017 to help budding businesses, with a focus on nurturing entrepreneurship among people of color, women, LGBTQ+ and immigrants.
Caroline Smith and Margaret Lee, co-founders and co-directors, say their goal is to give participants the skills, confidence and connections they need to help their businesses grow.
The entrepreneurs will take part in a series of workshops, receive coaching and mentorship, and connect with potential funders.
The participants include:
- Dorlé Collection, which provides professional clothing handcrafted in West Africa that allows women a convenient avenue to confidently express themselves.
- Dragon Haven, which offers therapeutic groups that support youth and families in meeting their social and communication goals via collaborative storytelling games, like Dungeons & Dragons.
- Health Equity Analytical Lens (HEAL), which provides public health research and advocacy training using a proprietary application to assist residents and public officials with building healthier communities through policy change.
- Honey Catering, a food delivery service providing delicious, healthy, and customizable meals for those who can’t cook for themselves, or just don’t want to.
- Kelewele, which celebrates the African Diaspora through flavorful, affordable vegan foods, beverages, and desserts that feature and reimagine plantains.
- More Than Walking, an international community of peer mentors and therapists building free online video courses and sharing local information to inspire and equip spinal cord injured patients pursuing independent living.
- Natural Wine Shop, a female-owned and run neighborhood wine shop offering exclusively natural, organic and biodynamic wine.
- rsgrdn., which provides sustainable, plastic-free, natural skin and hair care that soothes the mind, body, and soul.
- Sankofa, which offers tailored, culturally competent interior design and professional organizing services for those seeking harmony and synergy between themselves and the spaces they inhabit.
- The Notorious P.I.C., which creates immersive and imaginative photographic experiences for people who want to celebrate life and the milestones in between.
- The Midnight Oil Collective, an artist-led investment group striving for economic and racial justice through equitable art project development.
