Model & Strategy

EforAll believes that the best way to revitalize mid-sized U.S. cities that have fallen into decline, and thus suffered related high rates of poverty and unemployment, is to fuel the dreams and ambitions of entrepreneurs who live in and near these cities. They believe that these entrepreneurs understand their city and its problems better than anyone else and have solutions with the potential to make their city prosper once again, while simultaneously creating their own pathway out of poverty. EforAll introduces and celebrates entrepreneurship into the local culture using pitch contests and other public events as we prepare entrepreneurs for the many responsibilities they will face.  The organization uses a year-long accelerator program that starts with a 12-week intensive session, and it supports entrepreneurs by providing a mentor team, advice, guidance and a built-in professional network.  EforAll invests in the most promising ventures through monetary incentives and awards.

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At a Glance
Founded: 2012
Economic Empowerment
Location of work: Domestic, Northeast
EforAll
Lowell, MA
Unlock your potential
Meet David Parker

Prior to joining EforAll in early 2013, David spent 15 years working on six entrepreneurial ventures, in some cases as part of the initial team and in others as the founder or co-founder. Four of these companies achieved significant success: Viaweb was sold to Yahoo, Direct Hit was acquired by Ask Jeeves, TripAdvisor continues today as a standalone public company (NASDAQ: TRIP), and SoundBite Communications went public and then was acquired by Genesys. Prior to his time with Internet startups, David worked in the publishing industry for a variety of magazine and newspaper companies, including International Data Group, Time Magazine, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

 

IMPACT

Through 2019, 525 entrepreneurs have graduated from the EforAll and EparaTodos (Spanish version) programs. More than 80% are still in business.

56% of these entrepreneurs are people of color,  75% are woman/co-woman owned, 56% were previously unemployed, and 54% are immigrant-owned/co-owned.

 

 

Cumulatively these ventures are employing 687 individuals, with total annual revenues of nearly $20M in 2018.

A total of $21.0M in capital has been raised by EforAll graduates.