Business Accelerator Program Promotes Generational Wealth and a Stronger, More Equitable Economy

Why this investment?

Small businesses represent about 80 percent of businesses in Pierce County, and a local survey reported that of these small businesses, 51 percent are women-owned and 31 percent are minority-owned. Yet women and minority-owned businesses faced disproportionate losses during the pandemic. Pierce County’s Business Accelerator Program was created to counter these impacts by providing training and resources to small businesses, focusing on BIPOC, veteran, and women-owned businesses. The county views the accelerator as a strategy to grow a healthy local economy by creating wealth-building opportunities for communities whose businesses suffered the greatest earnings losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is this investment?

The PCBA is an intensive six-week program designed to support veteran, BIPOC, and women-owned businesses. The focus of this program is to support businesses in the micro or start-up phase with an annual revenue of less than $325,000. The program is administered by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with community organizations including the Black Collective, the Asian Pacific Cultural Center, the Korean Women's Association, and Mi Centro.

PCBA’s application process is very competitive, with over 600 small businesses applying for 200 slots in the first year. Participants receive training on relevant business topics such as finance, profitability, marketing, and business branding. They also receive coaching to help decide what their business needs to reach the next level, and upon completion of the program, receive a $5,000 professional services grant to achieve their outlined goals. Graduates of the program with brick-and-mortar operations are also eligible to receive a lease reimbursement of up to $500 monthly for 12 months. 

A unique component of the PCBA program is that it teaches participants how to crowdfund once they graduate. Through the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, the program connects businesses to  Kiva, a crowdfunding platform, and once a business raises $10,000, the funding is matched with ARPA money.

Centering equity in the program

PCBA’s instructors come from the participants’ communities, look like the participants, and teach in the native language of the participants. “Making sure it [PCBA] was taught by people that look like them, that understand them, was really critical in the equation,” Capestrany explains. PCBA intentionally sought to partner with BIPOC community leaders to reach out to local businesses in their communities. These community groups, such as the Black Collective, Mi Centro, the Asian Pacific Cultural Center, and the Korean Women’s Association were integral in designing these programs; whether that be hosting classes, providing translation services, or conducting community outreach to engage more small businesses. 

Because each cohort is unique, the program is organized so that the structure can accommodate the communities it serves, whether changing start times to meet the needs of participants or providing food from the participants’ culture. For example, Latinx cohorts met in the evenings so their spouses could join the sessions since many were partnerships. At one time the program had four cohorts of the PCBA operating simultaneously in four different languages: Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish, and English. 

While the program's goal is to help all of the small businesses that participate succeed, the program is designed in hopes that even the businesses that do not make it still leave with beneficial skills.

Outcomes to date

Since October 2021, PCBA has graduated 339 business leaders, 91 percent of whom are entrepreneurs of color:

• 31 percent Black business owners
• 27 percent Asian
• 22 percent Hispanic
• 8 percent two or more races
• 1 percent Pacific Islander
• 1 percent American Indian
• 1 percent other 

Of the 339 leaders, 70 percent are women, and 11 percent are veterans. 

To date, 291 program graduates have raised $6.1 million of new capital through the crowdfunding program. Five PCBA participants have received Comcast RISE grants to invest in the growth and sustainability of their business, with assistance from the PCBA program in applying for the grant. One graduate from the program was able to quadruple his business sales and clients. 

The Pierce County Economic Development Department received the International Economic Development Council 2022 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award for Innovation Programs and Initiatives for the Pierce County Business Accelerator program. In 2023, the program won a VISION 2050 Award from the Puget Sound Regional Council, which recognizes innovative projects that help ensure a sustainable future as the region continues to grow.

Toward transformative change

Rather than focus on big companies to support the economic growth of Pierce County, the PCBA focuses on micro-businesses and startups and allows local entrepreneurs to come together and create a network of support. Capestrany advises other communities to tailor similar programs that emphasize supporting small under-served businesses with a focus on entrepreneurship as a means to facilitate generational wealth building. “Even if each of these companies, when you take 339 of them, let's say they all add one or 2 employees,” Capestrany says “That's a lot of employees. That's a lot that could make a big impact whether it's the City or County.”

The program, which has been a success, has just been approved for two more years, allowing at least 100 more participants to go through the program. Capestrany hopes the PCBA “becomes part of the fabric of our community” and becomes a sustainable priority that continues long after the ARPA funds are spent.