Here is this week’s fortnightly edition of The Pursuit Newsletter, which brings the latest news and comments about small businesses and entrepreneurs directly to your inbox on Wednesday morning. Click here to get the newsletter list!
L.Last month, Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of small business administration, joined Vice President Kamala Harris in announcing the reform of Community Advantage: a pilot loan program through which the agency aims to provide equitable access to low-income borrowers and people from disadvantaged communities. Some capital changes include extending the length of the program by two years until September 2024, and extending the maximum loan size from $ 250,000 to $ 350,000.
“We’re excited about this because it’s based on the pace of our work with the Community Development Financial Institution and other mission-driven lenders who have already given us billions of dollars to help disadvantaged small business owners,” Guzman said. Forbes Contributed by Rhett Butt. “With the announced changes, we will be able to scale the program, build a wider distribution network, and ensure that opportunities are more accessible to more entrepreneurs pursuing the American dream of starting and growing a successful business.”
Looking ahead, Guzman says his goal is to “solve the existing capital problems in the market, especially since it affects our smallest entities, women, people of color, the elderly and rural communities where there is often a lack of strong distribution networks.” For more from their conversation, read on.
Ryan Breslow
Aaron Kotowski for Forbes
Story spotlight
Millennium billionaire Ryan Breslow has created Buzz, and Enemy, Invader Stripe and Shopify. He’s just getting started.
Bolt’s Ryan Breslow aims to make uninterrupted, one-click checkout major for small businesses and local chains. He has raised the price of his fintech on the moon by promising Amazon-style checkouts to millions of online retailers. Now the new billionaire billionaire is making a lot of noise – and powerful critics – are challenging the culture of the technology industry. With a $ 11 billion valuation in the face of widespread skepticism, Breslow is determined to prove that Bolt is nothing more than a flash in a pan, and that he is nothing more than an electric rod.
Original Quote: “I am not afraid to annoy some strong people. If I’m not going to talk about the darkness I see in Silicon Valley, then who? – Ryan Breslow, Founder, Bolt
Must read across Forbes
Calendly was built out of frustration. Nine years ago, founder and CEO Tope Autona started the company and poured জীবন 200,000 into his life savings, then quit his job selling software for EMC. Today, the company has 10 million users and counts Lyft, Ancestry.com, Indiana University and La-Z-Boy among its customers. The scheduling app is valued at $ 3 billion এবং and is the subject of a heated Twitter spot among Silicon Valley elites.
Today there are 114% more women entrepreneurs in the United States than 20 years ago Now, Behind the Leaf, a non-profit organization, is helping underprivileged women use small business ownership as a means of economic advancement. Here’s how its two female founders are helping women business owners secure funds.
As a senior adviser to AARP, Heather Tinsley-Fix spearheaded efforts to equip employers with resources and guidance to support a multi-generational workforce. He discusses the company’s new initiatives to help employers adapt their skills to meet new labor market demands, as well as how AARP supports older small business owners.
We are all guilty of ignoring the importance of cyber security. Threats are constantly changing and increasing, and hackers are looking for ways to steal information from you and your customers. Here are six reasons why cybersecurity needs to be a top priority for entrepreneurs.
It is important to represent entrepreneurs. Otherwise, it is impossible to grow and protect a business. Here’s how to improve your representation skills.