When sixteen entrepreneurs came through SEED SPOT’s first DMV cohort ten years ago, they joined a growing regional ecosystem that was expanding access to entrepreneurship training for underrepresented founders.
Among the 653 DMV founders from the past decade is Josh Kligman, Co-Founder and CEO of Storyraise. He came up through the Impact Accelerator, a program built around pushing founders to test their assumptions through direct conversations with customers before they scale. Josh’s company started with a strong core offering of interactive, digital impact reports. Then, conversations with nonprofit and university customers revealed that they wanted more frequent ways to stay in touch: thanking donors, marking campaign milestones, and welcoming new supporters throughout the year. Josh’s team built the automation to deliver both reports and personalized videos at scale, and leading universities and global nonprofits followed as demand grew. Josh credits the D.C.-area ecosystem for supporting Storyraise’s iterative growth throughout the years.
A Decade, by the Numbers
Storyraise is one story among 653 founders who have come through DMV cohorts since that first class. They’ve built businesses and stayed connected to a network that grows more useful with every cohort. Collectively, they have generated more than $29 million in revenue, raised more than $16 million in capital, and created more than 1,500 jobs.
More than 80 percent of these founders identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color, and more than 60 percent are women. They are building across technology, education, wellness, food and beverage, and community development, often in the same neighborhoods where they live and work.
Black DMV alumni who have reported outcomes average $132,000 in annual revenue, exceeding the DC-wide benchmark for more established Black-owned businesses. SBIR and STTR grants, peer-reviewed federal awards that compete on technical and commercial merit, represent the single largest capital source across the alumni network, with 74 founders raising an average of $220,000 each.
A COLLABORATIVE MODEL
The decade of expansion reflects a sustained bet, made by multiple funders and partners, that investment in entrepreneurship directed toward underrepresented founders produces measurable regional impact. Eighty percent of all participants have been served through collaborative programming with ecosystem partners, a model built on institutional trust and aligned economic development priorities. That trust is also why the network reflects the neighborhoods these partners already serve rather than the ones easiest to reach.
Early investment from The Kauffman Foundation and Booz Allen Hamilton established the foundation, and the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation’s 2019 investment expanded that reach across the region. When in-person entrepreneurship training largely stalled everywhere else, SBA support held programming steady through 2020 and 2021. The Walmart.org partnership opened a consumer-product pathway for founders in 2023 and 2024. Partners like WACIF and Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation have connected SEED SPOT with entrepreneurs across DC and the broader region who are ready for intensive training, and the LevelUp partnership with FSC First gives those same founders a direct bridge to the capital strategies their ventures need to scale.
WHAT THE SECOND DECADE CAN BUILD
Ten years ago, the bet was that rigorous training, the right partners, and intentional access would produce founders who could compete with anyone. Six hundred and fifty-three entrepreneurs, $46 million in combined revenue and capital, and a regional network that compounds with every cohort show that bet paying off.
Storyraise now serves leading universities and some of the largest nonprofits, with a team that’s grown right here in D.C.
What the next decade builds depends on the funders and partners willing to invest in it now. If that’s your organization, reach out at connect@seedspot.org, and we’ll figure out what a partnership could look like together.
