City Startup Labs
City Startup Labs (CSL) grew out of an idea to do something thoughtful and of real value to address the issue of the employability of young men of color. African American men, in particular, have a difficult time getting and keeping jobs. They consistently lag behind their white and Hispanic counterparts. According to a Princeton University study, “Discrimination in Low Wage Labor Markets,” Even without criminal records, black applicants had low rates of positive responses, about the same as the response rate for white applicants with criminal records. Hispanics also faced discrimination by employers but were preferred relative to blacks.
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Mission
As an answer to this gap, CSL was created to provide an academy of instruction, training, mentoring and coaching to prepare these young men to become viable entrepreneurs, thereby contributing to not only themselves but their families, communities and the country in a fundamentally positive way. Rather than rely on others to define and write their future, it’s time that these young men to be empowered to write or rewrite their own script, by becoming a new class of entrepreneurs.
Type of Organization
- Nonprofit Organization
Locations Served
- Charlotte
- North Carolina
Key Programs and Initiatives
- Center of Excellence for Entrepreneurial Competency, Leadership and Innovation (CoE)
- Reentry Entrepreneurship Program (REEP)
Types of Offerings
- Entrepreneurial Training
- Mentoring/coaching
- Business incubation
- Accelerator
- Cohort Training Programs
Program Delivery
- Hybrid (in person/virtual)
Members of the Black Community Served
- Returning Citizens/Formerly incarcerated
- Millennials
Locations of Members of the Black Community Served
- Low-income areas
- Low to moderate income areas
- Urban areas
Targeted Entrepreneur Segments
- Agnostic
Business Stage
- Start Up : a young business that is just beginning to develop and determine a market fit.
Cost of Programs
- Free