Reentry Small Business Incubator Program Kicks Off

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. — The County of Santa Clara Office of Diversion and Reentry Services and ESO Ventures Inc., a leader in Black and Brown Justice-Involved small business development, have announced a new partnership to launch a Business Incubator Program. The program aims to empower justice-involved individuals in Santa Clara County by providing them with the confidence, competence, and capital to start and grow their own small businesses.

The Office of Diversion and Reentry Services and ESO Ventures will host a program kickoff event on May 23, from 10am - 12pm at the Isaac Newton Senter Auditorium located at 70 West Hedding Street in San José. Individuals who have experience with the justice system, as well as community based, and faith-based organizations are invited to learn about the new business incubator program.

Silicon Valley is the global leader in high growth-high tech entrepreneurship, but small businesses in the region do not have the same level of success. In 2021, a record number of Americans applied to create 5.4 million new businesses, more than 20% higher than in any previous year in the past decade. The majority of these businesses are small businesses, and among San José’s 60,000 businesses, 98% have less than 35 employees. Access to business ownership is one of the strongest indicators of an equitable and resilient local economy, but across the nine-county Bay Area only 6% of businesses are Hispanic-owned and 1% are Black-owned. Business ownership rates among justice involved residents of the county are similarly disproportionate to their representation in our community.

The new partnership with ESO Ventures aims to help address this disparity by incubating and investing in 40 businesses owned by individuals with a criminal record over the next two years.

“If Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County are to be the global model for an entrepreneurial ecosystem, we need to create more inclusive economic opportunities,” said Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, President of the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, and a member of the Santa Clara County Reentry Network. “By providing residents who are reentering our community from custody the skills and resources they need to create new businesses, we are not only helping those individuals, but the employees they hire and for whom they become mentors.”

Employment resources is one of the services that Reentry Resource Center clients request most frequently. Of the clients who register for services at the Reentry Resource Centers in San José and Gilroy, 71% percent are unemployed and looking for work.

“Unemployment and the inability to get a job because of past mistakes is one of the biggest drivers of recidivism,” said County Executive Jeffrey V. Smith, M.D., J.D. “Creating opportunities for these residents to start their own businesses and support themselves and their families is one of the fundamental ways we can reduce our jail population and create a safer, healthier and more equitable and prosperous community.”

ESO Ventures was born in East Oakland as a new and necessary model for economic and workforce development that places entrepreneurship at the center, not the periphery, of wealth-building. In two short years, ESO has secured public and private investment to offer innovative and flexible financial products designed for early-stage Black and Brown entrepreneurs, including $18M from the State of California to launch the California Entrepreneurship Capital in the Community Initiative. Over the past two years, ESO has incubated 265 Black and Brown business owners across the Bay Area in partnership with California Community Colleges. With the launch of this new partnership with the County of Santa Clara Office of Diversion and Reentry Services, ESO will bring their 3C model (Confidence, Competence, and Capital), including a 20-week business incubator and affordable capital, to justice involved entrepreneurs in the county.

This partnership between ESO and the County will provide these entrepreneurs with access to business development training, mentorship, financial resources, and support services such as bookkeeping, marketing, and legal assistance. The program will also offer participants the opportunity to connect with successful business owners and industry experts who can share their insights and experiences.

“The partnership between ESO Ventures and the County of Santa Clara Office of Diversion and Reentry Services (DRS) is a testament to the commitment of both organizations to create positive change in the lives of justice-involved individuals and their families. By offering support and encouragement to these entrepreneurs, the program aims to create a ripple effect that will ultimately benefit the entire community,” said Javier Aguirre, Director of DRS. "ESO believes that entrepreneurship and business ownership are the way to create real social and economic mobility. Everyone deserves a second chance and the opportunity to create value for others and self-sufficiency for themselves,” said Alfredo Mathew III, a co-founder and partner of ESO Ventures. 
 
ABOUT THE REENTRY RESOURCE CENTER 
The County of Santa Clara Reentry Resource Center (RRC) opened in San José in 2012 and expanded to a second location in South County in 2015. Together, the Centers strive to build safer communities by providing resources to formerly incarcerated and other justice-involved individuals, helping them heal and reintegrate back into the community. Using a one-stop-shop model, the RRC collaborates with many community-based entities and State and County Departments such as the Sheriff’s Office, Behavioral Health Services Department, Social Services Agency, Adult Probation, Office of the Public Defender, Valley Homeless Healthcare Program, Office of Supportive Housing, Pretrial Services, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and several non-profits such as the Faith-Based Reentry Collaborative. Representatives of these organizations and departments reside in one building and work collaboratively to provide resources and services to clients. Those services include referrals for mental health and substance use treatment, public benefit enrollment, counseling, health care, education, record expungement services, employment referrals, and housing and shelter information. 

ABOUT ESO VENTURES
ESO Ventures Inc. (ESO) is an entrepreneurial support organization that provides the confidence, competence, and capital for any Black or Brown person to become a successful entrepreneur. It offers
community building, business incubation, growth curriculum, support services, and revolutionary financial products for early-stage entrepreneurs.
To learn more, visit ESO at https://www.eso-ventures.com/
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildwhereyouare
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eso-ventures/

ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA  
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multi-cultural population of 1.9 million residents, making it more populous than 14 states in the U.S. The County provides essential services to its residents, including public health protection, environmental stewardship, medical services through the County of Santa Clara Health System, child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, park services, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and many other public benefits.
 
Visit the County of Santa Clara at: https://www.sccgov.org
Like us on Facebook: http://Facebook.com/County.of.Santa.Clara/ 
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sccgov  

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Media Contacts: María Leticia Gómez, Office of Communications and Public Affairs, (408) 299-5119, [email protected]; Lynn Madden, Office of Reentry Services, (408) 535-4277, [email protected]

Posted: May 17, 2022