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The nonprofit Accelerator has helped dozens of New Haven people succeed in business.
Sadie Bograd
staff reporter
Vibab Sharma
Tea Montgomery started sewing on her own in 2017. To explore new artistic mediums, he created clothes for himself and his friends.
The waiting list for his product is now 3 months.
Montgomery credits the success of his bespoke apparel and accessories business, Threads by Tea, in part to the business accelerator he graduated in 2019. The accelerator was run by Collab, an entrepreneurship nonprofit founded by two former Yale students. Now in its sixth year, Collab’s workshops provide technical assistance and mentorship to aspiring New Haven entrepreneurs, especially women and people of color.
Executive Director Dawn Leaks said: “Often the people who come to us are our first contact with business education.”
Collab operates four main programs. A pre-accelerator to materialize a business idea, a flagship 12-week accelerator, city seed and the “Youth Accelerator” summer program. We also offer one-on-one his 30-minute coaching sessions.
According to Caroline Tanbee Smith ’14, Co-Founder and Director of External Relations and Organizing at Collab, the main accelerators focus on “the fundamentals of different types of businesses,” from marketing to accounting. increase.
In addition to weekly workshops, the program includes individual coaching, fundraising, pro bono services, and culminating in pitch days.
“Pitch day was really great because it gave us the challenge of telling our story,” said Montgomery. “Collab has always been about building our story, who we are and what we present, and knowing how to talk about it.”
The Food Business Accelerator also provides entrepreneurs with 10 hours of commercial kitchen space, food handler certification, and the opportunity to sell their products at the CitySeed Farmers Market.
Equally important, Leaks said, is the emotional side of Collab’s support.
“The focus was not just on starting, scaling and growing a business, but on helping entrepreneurs build the confidence and self-esteem and the kind of mental toughness they need for the journey. There was also,” Leakes said, explaining why she wanted…to work for the group. “People talk about the flashier side of entrepreneurship, the more glamorous side, the success, but not the fact that it’s hard, and it can sometimes be a lonely journey.”
Montgomery agreed, explaining that the social connections he made were his favorite part of the program. He said that having one was “really exciting and encouraging.”
Collab also offers wraparound services such as childcare, interpretation, and transportation. His commitment to accessibility aligns with his Collab mission to help historically marginalized communities achieve economic stability.
Smith explained that he sees entrepreneurship as part of a broader system for achieving economic change. It won’t replace basic safety nets or solve deep-seated wealth inequalities, but it’s “an accessible path to building wealth for yourself, your family and your neighborhood.” .
Inspired by the citywide activism they witnessed as college students, Smith and Margaret Lee ’14 launched in 2017 as a series of events to help Yale students and New Haven residents work together to build power. Co-founded the collaboration.
In these first conversations, participants shared countless ideas for improving their neighborhoods. But time and time again they said they lacked the resources to turn their ideas into viable ventures. There were also some late-stage investment opportunities, but little effort to help companies in what Smith called the “early stage of bidding.”
“There were a lot of people in this community who had really great business ideas, but didn’t have the resources or know-how to bring them to life,” says Leaks.
Many of these early ideas have become thriving companies that give back to their communities. Smith cited accelerator alumni such as his Peels & Wheels, a bike-based composting service, and Havenly, a restaurant that provides vocational training and education to refugee and immigrant women. Leakes mentioned Ghanaian sauce company Oh Shito!, where he won $10,000 at her CTNext Entrepreneur Innovation Awards last year, and her Alegría Café, which just opened its food truck on Grove Street.
Collaboration is also growing and changing. Lee resigned last year, and Smith will resign in a few months. I explained that I wanted
Leaks was hired as executive director last February. Previously, she ran a digital media company for female entrepreneurs.
“I wanted to continue helping entrepreneurs,” Leakes said. “Having experience as an entrepreneur … there are perspectives that you can’t fully understand unless you really do it yourself.”
The Collab Spring Accelerator application deadline is March 19th.
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