SEED SPOT

SEED SPOT’s mission is to educate, accelerate, and invest in entrepreneurs who are creating solutions to social problems. Since its founding in 2012, SEED SPOT has served nearly 4,000 unique entrepreneurs - 56% are women and 76% are underrepresented founders (women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of color, LGBTQ and gender-fluid entrepreneurs, previously-incarcerated entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of varying abilities, first-generation citizen or immigrant entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs with military status (veteran, military spouse, etc.). These entrepreneurs have gone on to generate over $350M in revenue, create 6,000 jobs, and impact the lives of over 15M people through new products, services, and technologies. These outcomes demonstrate SEED SPOT’s role in catalyzing community-led innovation and empowering underrepresented groups to work toward a radically new future.

SEED SPOT aims to achieve even greater economic and social impact by scaling support and reducing barriers for women and minority entrepreneurs across the nation who are creating solutions to our nation’s biggest challenges.

Our core strategic pillars are:
+ Deliver best-in-class/cutting edge programs for social entrepreneurship.
+ Ensure long-term financial viability and sustainability.
+ Develop mission-aligned relationships.
+ Become the go-to resource for individuals that want to solve problems in a sustainable way.
+ Build world class organizational infrastructure and capacity.

SEED SPOT is an internationally renowned incubator and is ranked as one of the "Top 3 Social Impact Incubators" in the United States by Cisco and UBI Global, and was also identified as one of the “Top 20 Accelerators in the World” by Gust. SEED SPOT also holds an Emmy for its partnership with Univision serving Latino entrepreneurs.

Since SEED SPOT’s founding, a core focus and commitment of the organization has been to advance equitable and inclusive entrepreneurship. SEED SPOT has notable accomplishments in this area that highlight the commitment to serving underrepresented founders:
- In 2020, .ORG Impact Awards named SEED SPOT as a top 5 finalist in the “Championing Equality, Equity, and Inclusion.”
- The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation funded SEED SPOT to develop a culturally responsive entrepreneurship curriculum, marketing, and an impact measurement framework to support more diverse founders.
- The Clark Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation funded SEED SPOT to build partnerships with groups serving diverse founders that did not have access to best-in-class entrepreneurship programming. These partnerships include groups, such as Black Girl Ventures, Association for Women in Science, Military Family Advisory Network, and other organizations to support specific populations access entrepreneurship.
- In 2016, Univision Arizona and SEED SPOT partnered to create Vendeme Tu Seuno, an entrepreneurship bootcamp, pitch event, and web-mini series to empower LatinX entrepreneurs. In 2016, this programming won an Emmy Award.
- The JP Morgan Chase Foundation has been a multi-year funding partner of SEED SPOT’s work in Arizona to support Low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs and traditionally underserved entrepreneurs.
- In 2019 and 2020, the Santander Foundation funded SEED SPOT’s work in Maricopa County, Arizona to support LMI entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of color, and traditionally underserved entrepreneurs.

Since its founding in 2012, SEED SPOT has served nearly 4,000 unique entrepreneurs - 56% are women and 76% are underrepresented founders (women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of color, LGBTQ and gender-fluid entrepreneurs, previously-incarcerated entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of varying abilities, first-generation citizen or immigrant entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs with military status (veteran, military spouse, etc.). These entrepreneurs have gone on to generate over $350M in revenue, create over 5,000 jobs, and impact the lives of 15M people through new products, services, and technologies.