From Street Hustling to Rising Entrepreneur

Shark Tank for Those impacted by the Justice System.

Long Beach, CA: 

Have you been impacted by the justice system and have a great business idea?

Rising Entrepreneurs is a 5-week small business academy hosted by Ronnie’s House, to support the justice impacted community, in starting a business.    

Whether you are on parole or have a past conviction, join industry leaders and mentors to learn how to launch and/or build your idea into a strong business.  

The Rising Entrepreneurs Academy will run from September until October of 2021 and will host 20 aspiring entrepreneurs to take their business from idea to launch all while integrating wellness and healing into the curriculum to help attendees navigate the transition and rebuilding process. 

The program will be supported by industry leaders such as California State Long Beach’s Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Long Beach’s Economic Development Department, and Accelerate Uptown, a Division of Ronnie’s House. 

The individual with the best idea ready to launch and go to market, will receive $2,500, 6 months of support through the collaborative partnership. 

All attendees will receive a stipend and 90 days of support with their small business idea.  Rising entrepreneurs funding is made possible with the support of the county of Los Angeles through their Transforming LA initiative.

“Recidivism in CA is 75%, so we are not getting it right. An obstacle many faces is the lack of experience and education to secure high-paying jobs, but Entrepreneurship takes that out of the equation.  We have brilliant minds; some built empires selling drugs, why not sell merchandize or creative services, or bake the next great dessert. We have to create economic pathways, to arm our Justice Impacted community with the tools to stay home by shifting their mindset, if you know better, you can simply do better” comments Shirin Senegal, executive director of Ronnie’s House. 

 Ronnie’s House has led the way in Long Beach, CA moving the Reentry discussion to the forefront, including in the City’s 2020 racial reconciliation initiative, which moved the work to a priority position in the City of Long Beach. 

 “Entrepreneurship provides opportunities for innovative individuals to create their own path to success. Programs such as Rising Entrepreneurs that targets reentry individuals provides the support needed to set the foundation for economic independence and wealth creation for individuals that the justice system has impacted,” says Wade Martin of the Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

To be part of the Academy, log on to www.lbreentry.org and sign up or call 1-888-699-3559.

  Transforming LA: Cohort

Financing for the Rising Entrepreneurs program was made possible through an LA County Grant. Ronnie’s House was chosen by Los Angeles County of Department of Mental Health and Community Partners to be a part of a Transforming LA Capacity Building Program. The Core Training Sessions, designed to support the creation of additional access points to mental health services to historically unserved, underserved, and hard to reach communities, are now underway.

Transforming LA Overview

On May 29, 2018, the LA County Board of Supervisors (Board) directed the Chief Executive Office (CEO) and the Department of Mental Health (DMH) in consultation with the Auditor Controller (A-C), the Center for Strategic Partnerships (CSP) and a cross-section of stakeholder organizations to develop recommendations for establishing a Community Based Mental Health Incubation Academy (Academy). The Academy will provide mentorship, training, and technical assistance to small and mid-sized grassroots community-based organizations (CBOs) interested in providing prevention services to the County’s most vulnerable residents within the communities they are geographically located.