Interise Inc

Founded in 2004, Interise is a national not-for-profit based in Boston that builds diverse and inclusive local economies through small business-led economic development, supporting the growth of small businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color and small businesses located in low-wealth communities. Interise is committed to having a staff and board whose demographics and experiences are reflective of the communities in which we serve. Both our staff and our Board of Directors reflect the diversity of those we serve: 75% are people of color, and 55% are women. In addition, Interise’s CEO and Board chair are Black and grew up in low-wealth communities. Interise’s core programs, StreetWise MBA, and Small Business STRONGER, are scalable executive education programs designed to address the growth challenges of early-stage businesses. We provide entrepreneurs with a hands-on business curriculum that combines business knowledge and management know-how; a professional support network of other CEOs, instructors, and local business resources and advisors; and increased access to capital and procurement opportunities. Interise delivers programs through a network of local partners designed to achieve both scale and impact. The network approach builds capacity on three levels—individual small businesses, local partners, and the larger small business ecosystem. Our Research & Evaluation team collects 1.5 million data points from small businesses, partners, and instructors every year. We use this data to both monitor program quality and evaluate program impact-and if any tweaks or adjustments need to be made, we can do this in real time.