Throughout the pandemic and subsequent years, we saw a shift in how businesses approached diversity and equity. However, it is clear that if we want to continue improving our ecosystems, we still have a long way to go before we can close that divide. This week, episode 8 of Entrepreneurship on the RISE Podcast is about human-centered solutions and technology to help entrepreneurs scale. 

RISE Collaborative is striving to create a more inclusive and vibrant regional economy in which makers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and service providers interact organically and collaboratively. Our mission is to enhance equity and access to entrepreneurship and innovation for people who have been underserved based on geographic location (anyone who lives, works, or owns a business in Southern Virginia), and for people who have been underrepresented based on race, gender, religion, or other factors. We are doing this by creating regionally-relevant incubator services and accelerator programs that can be accessed at many locations across our service area.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship on the RISE Podcast, Jacob and Lauren, joined by their guest Todd Waldo are sharing why entrepreneurship may not be the answer to all of our problems and the responsibility existing businesses have to use their platform to move past performative practices and prioritize meaningful actions towards equity and inclusivity. Some of the talking points we go over in this episode include:

• How Todd’s engineering background impacted his ability to improve operations and efficiency within the organizations he works with in his current role. 
• The four main areas Hugh Helen focuses on when working with their clients.
• The cultural shifts and attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion that have come out of the pandemic and where we go from here. 
• Using technology to intentionally close the diversity gap while being cautious not to create new barriers along the way. 
• Finding a balance of tools and effective strategy in your business.
  
  

Learn more about RISE Collaborative at https://sovarise.com/ 

CONNECT WITH TODD WALDO:

Hugh Helen

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone by James Baldwin

The Jackson Ward Collective Foundation

NC State University: Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Robert Russa Morton Museum

[Article] The Closing of Prince Edward County’s Schools

Discover Durham: Black Stories of Durham’s Past & Present 

Smithsonian: Remembering Tulsa

Venture Richmond: Jackson Ward