The Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding entrepreneurship by empowering BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) business owners.  

IFEL “leverages the power of relationship capital to create pathways to success for entrepreneurs and small business owners.” Since 2002, it has served more than 6,000 small businesses through its volunteer community of more than 1,000 business professionals.

Before the event, Amanda Hubbard, IFEL’s volunteer director, provided us with valuable insights into the impact the organization and these events make on BIPOC entrepreneurs. Watch her video to see what she told us.

Understanding the importance of equipping small business owners, particularly early-stage entrepreneurs, with the right tools and resources, we recently partnered with IFEL for a Small Business Hackathon. 

We had the pleasure of working directly with IFEL entrepreneurs to offer strategic guidance on their UX/website design, social media, marketing, and competitive analyses. Each participating business owner was matched with a personalized team of two or more dedicated Caliber employees who possess knowledge and experience in the respective training areas. 

After the event, we took time to reflect on our experience and share our thoughts. Here are a few takeaways from our team. 

“As someone who works in public relations, I’m already in a pretty creative industry, but I learned that entrepreneurs are just on a completely different level of creative. It was so energizing to be around people with this level of passion, and it was also really inspiring to be able to do something to help them make that passion real.”  

– Natalie McCarty, senior account executive

“IFEL’s program is excellent, and now that I’ve participated in it, I can truly say it was an incredible way to share our knowledge, expertise and skills with these very motivated and excited entrepreneurs, who are doing great things to build wealth in their communities.” 

– Kate Forster, culture manager

“What was most memorable to me about the entire experience was just feeling and seeing the passion that the business owner had, what they had created and what they wanted to bring to the market. Being in the virtual room with them was empowering and I really look forward to being a part of their future journey and helping other small business owners.” 

– Grace Keith Rodriguez, president