Navigating Barriers
Acknowledging and addressing systemic barriers minority business owners may face in entrepreneurship.
How minority business owners can overcome barriers.
Minority business owners often need to navigate barriers to get funding and resources for their small businesses. Learning how to recognize and prepare is the key to overcome these barriers, and we’re here to help. Watch our digital workshops and get advice from real minority business owners as they discuss how they were able to navigate those barriers to get funding, manage, and grow their small businesses.
Watch a replay of the minority business owner digital workshop.
NAVIGATING BARRIERS
Navigating systemic barriers to entrepreneurship
Join Jewel Burks Solomon, Head of Google Startups in the US and Managing Partner of Collab Capital, as she explores how to anticipate and recognize barriers and bias as a minority entrepreneur and identifies tactics to overcome them in the funding ecosystem and in contract procurement.
FEATURED CLIP
Lesson 1
Overcoming bias in the funding ecosystem.
FEATURED CLIP
Lesson 2
Navigating barriers in procurement.
FEATURED CLIP
Lesson 3
Building mental fortitude.
More minority business owner resources to help you get ahead.
SPOTLIGHT SERIES
How the founder of a pioneering Black woman-owned fashion magazine learned to balance work and life.
As both a mother and the editor-in-chief of Blanc Magazine, Teneshia Carr had to learn how to create balance between work and life. See how embracing new ways of working helped her grow both her family and her minority-owned business.
SPOTLIGHT SERIES
How Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery thrives between two worlds.
In the space between American and Mexican cultures is Chicano culture, a distinct community that lives and moves between two worlds. As a culture of its own that faces unique challenges, see how a one-of-a-kind gallery and gathering place acknowledges and celebrates Chicano art and life.
SPOTLIGHT SERIES
How this gender-free footwear is helping people walk taller, more confidently, and more comfortably.
When NiK Kacy of NiK Kacy Footwear couldn’t find shoes they loved in a size that fit them, they decided to make it themself. See their story of perseverance despite discrimination and boldness in the face of bias on their journey to “walk their way.”
SPOTLIGHT SERIES
How Cafe Cà Phê overcame barriers to help bring culture and community to Kansas City.
Jacqueline (Jackie) Nguyen, founder/CEO of Cafe Cà Phê, is a first-generation Vietnamese American and former Broadway actress. See how Jackie overcame the cultural barriers of owning a Vietnamese coffee shop in the Midwest and continues to build up her business and her community.
SPOTLIGHT SERIES
How a poet navigates barriers.
Poet, law student, and entrepreneur, Visionary the Poet is on a mission to create a freelancer bill of rights to strike down injustices and inequality faced by creatives. Watch her talk about code switching, networking, and "failing through your obstacles.”
How to Cultivate a Small Business That’s Resilient.
In order for a business to withstand challenging times, it must be grounded on a solid foundation that includes three pillars: mission statement, business rapport, and leadership. Here’s how to establish these key components and build a resilient company.
4 tips to stay motivated and overcome emotional inertia in your business.
The business journey of an entrepreneur can be filled with many external challenges, but what is not often discussed is how to overcome a common internal challenge of being a business owner. Read these four tips on how to keep moving forward when faced with emotional inertia.
Overcoming funding ecosystem bias.
By most accounts, raising funding for an early-stage startup or business venture is extremely difficult – especially for women and Black founders. In this article, Jewel Burks Solomon shares three ways in which she navigated the funding ecosystem for her startup and her venture fund, Collab Capital.
Learning from business failure: 3 steps to winning when you fail.
Learning from a business failure can make you stronger, smarter, and more resilient. Find out how to gain the most from every experience on the road to success.
The top 3 small business pitfalls — and ways to avoid them.
Get the facts about small business pitfalls. From what they are to how to avoid them, we can help you prepare for success.
About the minority business owner workshop expert.
Jewel Burks Solomon
Head of Google Startups in the US
Jewel Burks Solomon is the Head of Google for Startups in the US. In this role, Jewel works to level the playing field for underrepresented startup founders and communities by connecting them with the best of Google’s products, people, and best practices. In addition to this role, Jewel also serves as Managing Partner at Collab Capital, an alternative investment fund she launched to close the funding gap for Black entrepreneurs.
Prior to leading Google for Startups and Collab Capital, Jewel was Founder/CEO of Partpic, a startup that was acquired by Amazon in 2016, which streamlined the purchase of maintenance and repair parts using computer vision technology. After the acquisition of Partpic, Jewel became a product leader at Amazon’s Visual Search and AR team. She led the integration of Partpic’s technology and launched it as Amazon PartFinder in 2018 to the over 150M users of Amazon’s Mobile Shopping App.
The Magenta Edge educational content experience is an initiative to help small business owners get ahead.
These eight foundational themes cover the ins and outs of the small business journey and provide small business resources to help you set the pace for your success.
Marketing & Communications
Find out how to market your small business through smart targeting and storytelling.
Access & Resources
Insight on local and federal resources available to aspiring small business owners.
Profit, Scalability, & Growth
Learn about driving a business to profitability, scaling up, and identifying growth opportunities.
Navigating Barriers
Acknowledging and addressing systemic barriers Black business owners may face in entrepreneurship.
Business
Credit
Insights on leveraging business credit to finance a small business and building business credit during Covid-19.
T-Mobile does not offer or endorse any tax, legal, financial, or other advice; the opinions, insights, and recommendations of our contributors are their own. Contact professional advisors for advice.