"Sustaining NYC’s Entrepreneurial Boom: Helping the City’s Newest Businesses Succeed and Grow"
A Center for an Urban Future Policy Symposium

Replay of the event
Event materials

Neighborhoods across New York—from the South Bronx to Sunset Park—are in the midst of an unprecedented entrepreneurial renaissance. There were 168,000 new business applications in 2021 alone, a 30 percent increase from 2019. But it's not yet clear if most of these new enterprises will be able to survive and grow. If the past is an indicator, a disproportionate share of the city's minority- and immigrant-owned firms will close down or fail to achieve meaningful growth.

This forum delved into how to change this, putting forward specific steps that should be taken by city economic development officials, nonprofit small business assistance organizations, and philanthropy to ensure that a significant share of the city's new businesses prosper for many years to come.

Speakers included:

• Commissioner Kevin Kim, NYC Department of Small Business Services
• Council Member Kevin Riley, New York City Council
• Gregg Bishop, Executive Director, Social Justice Fund, Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation; Former SBS Commissioner
• Danielle Chery, Founder, DMC Original Art
• Blondel Pinnock, CEO & President, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
• Lisa Sorin, President, The New Bronx Chamber of Commerce
• Yanki Tshering, Founder & Executive Director, Accompany Capital
• John Maurelus, SVP, Growth Strategy & Development, East — Small Business Banking, Wells Fargo

A video of the full discussion is available here.

This symposium was made possible through generous support from Wells Fargo. We are also grateful for general support from The Clark Foundation, the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation, the Altman Foundation, and ongoing support from a number of other philanthropic funders.