CO+HOOTS, a globally-recognized entrepreneur support organization, is announcing that its robust digital educational and technical assistance platform called HUUB will now be available to Phoenix-based small businesses and entrepreneurs. The City of Phoenix’s partnership with CO+HOOTS further supplants Phoenix’s commitment to revitalize and strengthen its small business community during the COVID-19 pandemic through the #PhxBizConnect platform.
HUUB, which has been a resounding success in Mesa and Gilbert, will bring community partner organizations and leaders together to help small businesses in Phoenix, specifically entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities. In one central place online, business owners will have access to engaging and relevant webinars that will provide tactical on-demand solutions, invaluable peer-to-peer groups and funding opportunities.
According to a study conducted by the Kauffman Foundation, people of color are hurt disproportionally by the cost of and lack of access to capital. Data from this study has shown that 47 percent of business owners from underrepresented communities do not seek additional follow-on financing beyond startup capital, despite needing it because they believe that a lender would not approve it. #PhxBizConnect wants to provide minority business owners with the knowledge and resources they need to bridge this gap.
“HUUB has proven to improve business resiliency within communities as well as improve efficiency for local governments,” said Jenny Poon, founder and CEO of CO+HOOTS and HUUB. “But collaboration for the greater good of the community has always been at the heart of everything we’ve done in our 10 years of entrepreneurial support experience. So utilizing our digital platform while partnering with the City of Phoenix and the several other amazing organizations in this city will only help build even better businesses through these challenging times. When more underrepresented and underserved entrepreneurs create jobs and thrive in their businesses, we all win.”
One of HUUB’s main objectives is to directly help entrepreneurs launch, grow and scale their businesses. And because the platform combines CO+HOOTS’ community-building and incubation framework with technology, it also provides the necessary tools for local governments to measure success, manage consultants for technical assistance and make smarter decisions. The detailed reporting and impact tracking gives economic development teams the ability to scale their support through technology and quickly identify the changing needs of their business community, allowing more time to focus on retaining businesses and recruiting new ones.
To qualify for free access to the platform and funding resources, Phoenix entrepreneurs and small business owners can apply at phoenix.myhuub.com/. Applications are open right now and are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
CO+HOOTS, founded in 2010 as central Phoenix’s first coworking space, is an entrepreneurship ecosystem accelerator that provides educational resources and collaborative, self-sustaining spaces to grow the entrepreneurial, startup and small business communities. A globally-recognized entrepreneur support organization, CO+HOOTS is a major catalyst and driver of local economic development.
