Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | February 22, 2021 | wbjournal.com more than 150 sets, and is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise additional funds. In the future, he hopes to see the card game concept expand to include other cultures as well. Entrepreneurship for All Price conceived of and launchd BlackedOut Game last summer, but as of January, he's receiving mentorship and guidance through Entrepreneurship for All, a Lowell nonprofit running business accelerator programs across Massachusetts. Known primarily as EforAll, the organization began preparing for its first Worcester accelerator last year, with sessions officially starting in January. EforAll partners with the communities it operates in to help groups under-represented in the business community start new companies and get them off the ground. Participants in EforAll programming have launched more than 500 businesses and, of those new businesses, 74% are owned by women, 58% are owned by people of color, 46% are owned by immigrants, and 39% are owned by people who were previously unemployed, according to EforAll. "It's about community," said Liz Hamilton, executive director Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, one of three mentors guiding Price through the accelerator, which culminates with a pitch contest. Price's other two mentors are Lisa Mancini, head of Notre Dame Academy in Worcester, and Bruce Gold, president and founder of Aurum Advantage, a marketing agency in Lincoln, R.I. roughout the program, all three mentors meet with Price each Friday, to discuss what he's been learning in biweekly EforAll classes and help him set his agenda for the week to come. ey cover topics like business registration, fundraising, marketing and legal questions associated with starting new companies. "So it's really about listening and learning and finding out what Dominique's goals are and helping him achieve them," Hamilton said. In progress Price's project is one of at least two Black Lives Matter-inspired startups currently getting off the ground in Worcester. Another, Radical In Progress, was founded by 22-year- old Clark University senior Gari De Ramos. De Ramos felt compelled to take action in the wake of Floyd's death last May, and similarly put her attention on craing accessible educational tools to help others learn about, among other things, key concepts related to racial and social justice. De Ramos' lightbulb moment came in the form of online- accessible social justice syllabi. At first, these were tools she put together for herself while trying to make sense of a world which, in 2020, felt like it was unravelling. "On top of the pandemic, it was a kind of overwhelmed and stressed I hadn't felt before and I was like, 'God, to be a human being in this century you need to be engaging in this movement, you need to be educating yourself,'" De Ramos said. De Ramos, originally from the Philippines, grew up in Hong Kong before immigrating to the U.S. with her parents in 2016. On top of keeping up with the unfolding Black Lives Matter movement, she said, she was trying to learn about the history of racial justice in a new country. She was concerned, however, in a decade or so, she'd have trouble remembering the specifics of the various anti-racist writings she was now making her way through. Examples of the kinds of reading she has been working on include "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi and "Abolition Democracy" by Angela Davis. "So, I started making study guides for future me," De Ramos said. "And then I was like, 'Wait a minute, you could put this on a website and share with the world.'" Aer an independent study course craed to help keep herself accountable, De Ramos launched her website on Jan. 11 and is now participating in a local accelerator program – the Ureka Challenge at Clark University, which is aimed at promoting and developing student ventures. Like EforAll, the program culminates in a pitch competition and a cash prize. Since the website's launch, Radical "We're a community bank and this is why we are here - to support our neighbors when they need us the most. If you are a business in need of support during these trying times, call us!" Michael Welch, CEO Connecting all offices: 800.578.4270 • www.unibank.com Member FDIC/Member DIF Paycheck Protection Program Loans Apply at unibank.com or call 800.578.4270. Continued from Page 11 The BlackedOut Game from Dominique Price is similar to Cards Against Humanity. PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT

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