An Open Letter to the Rochester Entrepreneurial Community

We at Collider are deeply saddened by the death of Mr. George Floyd in our neighboring Minneapolis this Monday. Our hearts go out to his family and to the suffering community in Minnesota and beyond. We as a community can and must do better.

Structural racism, discrimination, and injustice have no place in a thriving society. Yet we continue to see these conditions exist across the country, as they have for generations, including in Rochester, Minnesota.

To our friends of color, we see you. Know that we are committed to doing better for entrepreneurs in Rochester. The city’s business community needs to be a place where everyone feels they belong. It must be a place where everyone has an opportunity to contribute in order for it to have a chance at succeeding. We are committed to fight for equality within entrepreneurial programs and access to resources in our city so that everyone feels they are being seen, heard, and given a chance to prosper. 

To our friends wishing to learn more about inequity, discrimination, and privilege, there are some great informational resources available through the Diversity Council. Here are some free educational tools for you to check into:

-Diversity Toolkit: https://www.diversitycouncil.org/toolkit

-Racial justice toolkit for allies: https://thetoolkit.wixsite.com/toolkit/racial-justice-101

-White privilege: https://thetoolkit.wixsite.com/toolkit/what-is-white-privilege

-Additional reading recommendations: https://www.diversitycouncil.org/reading-recommendations

To support the change needed in our ecosystem, Collider began by taking a deep look at the state of diversity and inclusion in the Rochester entrepreneurial community over the past six months to more fully understand what is working and where there is a critical need for improvement. We listened to over one hundred different entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial service providers, of which 59% were a person of color. What we found was not shocking. The Rochester entrepreneurial community is not as open to all who want to participate as it could be. Many people are not being seen. Many people are not being heard. Many people are being left out and left behind. 

We also understand that our view of the ecosystem does not represent the whole system. There are rich entrepreneurial threads and assets that are beyond our awareness. We look forward to further expanding our understanding of the local entrepreneurial community. 

Entrepreneurship is a beautiful way to follow a passion, improve the world, and make the life of an individual and their family better for generations. When everyone cannot participate, our communities are made poorer.  

We are excited to share these findings and to co-create equitable and inclusive programming with other entrepreneurial support organizations in the community over the next few months. 

We can and must do better as a community.