On December 10th, the Trust Center was honored to host a Speaker Series event focused on the challenges that underrepresented entrepreneurs face, and the ways that members of entrepreneurial ecosystems can act as allies,  and more, to help support these founders.

Our featured speakers were Susanne Althoff, the author of the new book LAUNCHING WHILE FEMALE: Smashing the System That Holds Women Entrepreneurs Back. She is also an assistant professor of publishing at Emerson College in Boston and has served as an adviser to women-led startups; and Jasmine A. Edwards, the Associate Director of Operational Excellence and Senior Lead of Programs at digitalundivided, someone who also has10+ years of experience in the social impact sector, and is an award winning tech and entrepreneurship champion. The program was moderated by Bo Wages, a dual-degree student at both MIT Sloan and the Harvard Kennedy School.

This wide-ranging discussion covered topics such as:

• the challenges and funding disparities that underrepresented entrepreneurs face
• how to be an ally to these founders and how to support these startup ventures
• the different “levels” of engagement one can be as an ally, such as mentor vs. sponsor, as well as what being an ally truly means and the actions it requires
• resources for educating oneself in this process of allyship
• examples of organizations that are doing a good job currently and can act as models to follow