In the early days of building a company, founder Nyron Burke recalls community and collaboration as two extremely helpful tools to know if he was on the right track.
Burke based his company, Lithero, at the now-shuttered IC@3401. Through the University City Science Center and Drexel University’s incubator, he had access to advice, resources and a community of founders he could commiserate and swap ideas with.
Finding those entrepreneurial support orgs (ESOs), he said, helped his company grow.
“Entrepreneurship can be lonely. It’s usually just you and maybe one or two other people, and you have this massive mountain to climb,” Burke told Technical.ly. “Having other folks who are in the trenches with you, who are going through similar things, and knowing that you’re not alone is very helpful.”
But IC@3401’s shutdown is just one example of the ever-shifting ESO landscape. New founders can struggle to find these orgs, even if Philly has plenty of them. While some are targeted at specific industries or groups of people, they all have the goal of helping founders along their journey through mentorship, resources, funding and networking opportunities.
“I’ve gotten to meet both investors and I’ve gotten to meet more seasoned entrepreneurs and people that have directly helped me with strategy guidance,” Adit Gupta, cofounder and CEO of Lula Commerce, told Technical.ly.
Two orgs stand out for helping him get his company off the ground. Gupta leaned on groups like the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies, participating in its Mentor Connect program co-run by Ben Franklin Technology Partners.
So, which org is the right fit for you? Here are 10 ESOs in Philadelphia to help take your ideas to the next level.
Entrepreneurship support organizations in Philadelphia
- Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technology is a membership organization that hosts events, offers mentorship and does advocacy work for the business community in the Philly region.
- 1Philadelphia spun out of tech education nonprofit Coded by: to bring together stakeholders in the tech and innovation space in Philly. The coalition hosts meetup events, an accelerator and a fund to support local founders’ travel to events.
- Startup Leaders, previously known as Philly Startup Leaders, offers online resources for founders, such as an accelerator, a Slack community and events.
- Pennovation Works offers office and lab space for affiliated companies at its campus in southwest Philly. It hosts an annual accelerator program and provides space for external meetup groups and events.
- University City Science Center runs multiple programs for local founders and founders from around the country to help them raise money, meet investors and meet potential partners. The Science Center’s goal is to bring more businesses into the Philly ecosystem.
- Mom Your Business specifically supports women and people of color in the entrepreneurship space. The org has hosted pitch competitions, runs a coworking space and recently launched a new online resource catalog.
- The Enterprise Center is geared towards all types of small businesses in Philly, providing funding and educational opportunities to local entrepreneurs.
- Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania is part of a statewide network of startup investors. The org also helps founders build their network.
- The Laurence A. Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship is part of Drexel University’s business school. The Institute offers an incubator, pitch competitions and mentorship opportunities for Drexel-affiliated founders.
- The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute at Temple University hosts an accelerator, pitch competitions and other programming for Temple students, staff and alumni.
