Closing the Gap with Alicia Oddi, Rev1 Ventures

614Startups

On this episode, Elio interviews Alicia Oddi, Managing Director at Rev1 Ventures. Rev1 Ventures provides seed-stage venture capital funding in Columbus, Ohio along with startup services, space, mentoring, and connections. Alicia discusses two Rev1 programs that are aimed at underserved entrepreneurs. The Grow To Scale Mentor Program is fueled by a $1.4MM grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) “Build to Scale” program, and paired with a $1.4MM Rev1 local match with funding secured through returns from Rev1 investments. The program aims to accelerate technology entrepreneurship for concept and seed-stage businesses by increasing inclusive access to business support and startup capital. So far, eight startups have joined the first cohort of the program, and it is available to all current Rev1 clients with diverse leadership – either women or entrepreneurs of color. Diverse founders working on a tech-enabled, high-growth idea can https://www.rev1ventures.com/grow-to-scale-at-rev1/ to get started.
The Rev1 Ventures Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Grant Fund pairs funding with educational workshops to help level the playing field for women and founders of color who are building high-growth companies. Franklin County and the City of Columbus join Rev1 in seeding the grant fund, which plans to distribute grants initially through 2023 and will have two funding cycles per year.
Early awards have been provided to three client companies: Fleri, Equitek, and Color Coded Labs. For more information visit https://www.rev1ventures.com/dei-grant/
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To learn more about Alicia Oddi, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-oddi-4a62798/
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