As Internships Fizzled, LA Bootstrapped a Startup Program for Disadvantaged Youth
On September 21, 2020, dot.LA reported on EmbarcLA, an entrepreneurship program for youth, developed with pre-accelerator program Startup Boost and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.
"Many said they are the first in their family to go to college and some had a family member running a small business," Moaz Hamid, founder and CEO of health tech startup MVMT.AI, and co-director of EmbarcLA, told dot.LA. To build the program schedule, Hamid took cues from the students, “over 90% of them came from low-income households and a few from foster care,” he said.
The program, run by Tania Mulry, co-director of Startup Boost LA, and Hamid, aims to demystify the world of tech to youth who often don't get access to such training. Judene Small, the managing partner of CHIENET and co-founder of RootsxWings Digital, is also a co-director.
Hamid has run incubator programs and accelerators before, but those usually accept around 10 internships or 30 people per class. Within 24 hours of announcing EmbarcLA, over 110 students had applied. The program accepted all of them and began class the next morning.
The five-week workshop connected students, aged 16 to 24, with entrepreneurs and company founders through virtual classes, panels and mentorship. It was such a hit that Hamid said he expects the sessions to keep monthly sessions going until the next summer program 2021.
The program was supported by investors, executives and programs including Techstars Los Angeles, Los Angeles Cleantech fund and Grid 110.
EmbarcLA participants pitch their ideas to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti over Zoom. (Source: dot.LA)
