Project DEEP Impact Report

PROJECT DEEP IMPACT REPORT

Entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of the American economy

– but right now, women, people of color, and other underrepresented entrepreneurs do not have the same access to resources for success despite being the fastest-growing segment of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. These innovators represent a world-changing opportunity for impact and equitable wealth creation, but too much is not working for the increasingly diverse modern entrepreneur, from a fragmented resource landscape to biased funding norms to unequal COVID-19 recovery for diverse-owned small businesses.

Project DEEP (Developing Equitable

Economies Program) exists to be a part of the solution

– to disrupt the entrepreneurial ecosystem status quo and unlock equitable wealth creation by supporting diverse entrepreneurs and equipping stakeholders with power to influence the entrepreneurial ecosystem with the knowledge to better support the success of women and people of color entrepreneurs.

Project DEEP has two main components:

Technical Assistance

Project DEEP provided direct support to Utah-based women entrepreneurs by partnering with two local community organizations to deliver a new technical assistance program tailored for women solo entrepreneurs.

Programming

Project DEEP offers a series of six cinema-quality video courses centered around key topics in entrepreneurship, investing, and ecosystem building.

Project DEEP also aims to contribute to the wider ecosystem around best practices for supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs – and removing the systemic barriers they face. As part of this, Project DEEP included a strong focus on impact measurement. The insights from the project’s impact measurement activities are set out in this report.

Impact Measurement Highlights: Outcomes

Technical Assistance

66 women solo entrepreneurs supported with technical assistance

35% identified as Hispanic and/or a woman of color

91% of business goals partially or fully achieved

75% of program participants found value in the network created

Programming

489 people enrolled within 5 months

75% of entrepreneur course enrollments were women

44% average increase in understanding of entrepreneur course concepts

41% average increase in understanding of ecosystem course concepts

69% of entrepreneur course enrollments were Hispanic and/or a person of color

“As a Founder, I am finding tips that are helping to focus me on what I need to do next.”

Review of Demystifying Entrepreneurship

46% of ecosystem course enrollments were stakeholders and practitioners in the entrepreneurial ecosystem

“Excellent very relevant subject matter.”

Review of ‘Designing Economies for People and Planet’

PROJECT DEEP BACKGROUND

There is a growing body of research demonstrating that women, people of color, and other underrepresented entrepreneurs do not have the same access to resources to succeed as founders and business owners compared to their white male counterparts. The current entrepreneurial ecosystem largely favors white, male business owners; urban hubs; and a narrow slice of business models and types. One critical barrier for women and people of color entrepreneurs is access to capital, which is essential for growing a business:

• The share of Small Business Administration (SBA) loan dollars to women-owned businesses fell from nearly 30% in 2016 to 26% in 2020¹.

• In 2021, small businesses owned by people of color were half as likely as white-owned businesses to be fully funded from applications for traditional financing, such as bank loans².

• Women and minority-owned businesses also receive less venture capital funding. In 2022, only 2.1% of venture capital went to solely female-founded firms³ and over 2015-20 less than 3% of venture capital went to Black or Latinx founders4 .

The experience of women and people of color entrepreneurs in Utah is consistent with the national picture. The Sorenson Impact Center’s 2018 landscape review of female and minority small business owners in Utah found that female-founded ventures in Utah received only 1.9% of venture capital raised in 2017. This report also found that the disparity between female-owned and male-owned businesses in Utah was greater than national figures across a range of business outcomes5

One result of disparities in access to capital is that businesses owned by underrepresented groups tend to be smaller in size. Most women-owned businesses (81%) generate less

than $100,000 annually in revenue, and most women-owned employer firms (82%) employ fewer than ten workers6

These disparities exist at all levels of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, from access to knowledge to inclusion in networks to compensation and revenue status. Without change, these systemic imbalances within entrepreneurship will continue to grow and drive increasing wealth gaps. Women and diverse-owned businesses constitute a significant and rapidly growing share of the US economy. In 2018, more than 1,800 new female-owned businesses were started each day, and of them, 89% were started by women of color. These women-owned companies employ 9.4 million people and generate revenue of $1.9 trillion7. Women of color are overall starting businesses at four times the rate of business creation. Ensuring these entrepreneurs have equitable opportunity to succeed will stimulate economic growth and innovation, as well as help to close wealth gaps.

Enterprises led by underrepresented groups offer significant opportunities – they are proven to outperform other businesses, including generating higher profits. For example, a 2018 report found that for every dollar of funding, women-owned startups generated 78 cents in revenue, compared to 31 cents for male-owned startups8 .

Building an effective and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem involves recognizing the strengths of underrepresented entrepreneurs and shifting the burden of change to the decision makers in the wider ecosystem including investors, economic developers, policy-makers, and support organizations. Project DEEP aims to change the status quo around entrepreneurship by accelerating the growth of women and people of color entrepreneurs and equipping stakeholders with power to influence the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including investors, with the knowledge to better support the success of women, people of color, and other underrepresented founders.

Small businesses owned by people of color are half as likely as white-owned businesses to receive full funding from their financing applications

Technical Assistance

Project DEEP provided direct support to Utahbased women entrepreneurs by partnering with two leading community organizations to offer education, coaching, and other technical assistance:

• Women’s Business Center of Utah (WBCUtah), a non-profit dedicated to assisting women business owners to build confidence, create opportunities and experience success in business ownership. WBCUtah offers business advisory support, training programs and resources to assist women business owners.

• New Pattern, a community organization that seeks to promote the message that overlooked founders can and do create successful companies. New Pattern supports underrepresented entrepreneurs through access to capital, entrepreneur education and business mentorship.

With support from Project DEEP, WBCUtah in collaboration with New Pattern designed a new technical assistance program, Minding My Own Business (MMOB), as a pilot program. MMOB was modified from an existing program for women business owners to be tailored specifically for solo entrepreneur women. This was a gap in programming identified by the TA partners, who had noted that the majority of their business advisory clients were women solopreneurs. Through Project DEEP, the Technical Assistance partners ran three cohorts of the MMOB program for 66 women solopreneurs.

The MMOB program was delivered over seven weeks, with a weekly class as well as a weekly small-group mastermind session led by a mentor. Peer learning was a core component of the program, with interactive group lessons designed to facilitate connection and social learning across the participants.

The MMOB program was designed around seven modules

Design

Create and follow a plan for your business to take you where you want to go

Niche

Attract customers with a unique offering / target audience with a compelling brand identity

Budget

Create financial stability by tracking expenses and following a plan

Systematize

Guarantee consistency and save time through systematizing and automating tasks and processes

Generate

Create and feed a sales engine that will keep your business as busy as you want it to be

Outsource

Multiply your productivity and speed of delivery through strategic delegation

Track

Check progress on your roadmap toward the business goal and milestones

“I just felt like there was a real commitment to supporting Black women owned businesses, which was also more appealing to me.”

Participant in New Pattern technical assistance cohort

Programming

Project DEEP developed six cinema-quality video courses centered around key topics in entrepreneurship, investing, and ecosystem building. Each course is taught by world-class subject matter experts with lived experience and features a complementary course workbook. All courses are available free and on-demand on the Project DEEP website.

Three courses are targeted at underrepresented entrepreneurs - in particular women and people of color - and three targeted at decision-makers in the ecosystem. It was important for Project DEEP to develop entrepreneurship courses for women and people of color that are designed with them in mind, as existing content is not typically geared to these demographics and may be less accessible as a result. The Project DEEP entrepreneur focused courses provided content that was designed for women and people of color entrepreneurs, delivered by women of color entrepreneurs with lived experience that can act as role models and provide inspiration.

Project DEEP seeks to shift the burden of change to the decision makers in the wider ecosystem including investors, economic developers, and support organizations. Three Project DEEP courses were targeted at stakeholders who can influence entrepreneurs’ success - the people with the power to change their norms to better serve increasingly diverse entrepreneurs. These courses aim to equip these ecosystem builders with the knowledge to build effective and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems for underrepresented founders and business owners.

After completing the launch of all Project DEEP courses, the course facilitators each recorded a webinar as part of a Project DEEP conversation series. The conversation series was developed with the intention of creating a community event that allowed current and potential Project DEEP participants to hear from all six of the Project DEEP instructors. During each conversation, instructors shared insights on their career trajectory, impact and individual successes. The conversation series ran from January through February 2023.

The Project DEEP courses were disseminated and promoted throughout the initial launch period of September to December 2022 and again through January to March 2023 with a focus on the Project DEEP conversation series.

Demystifying Entrepreneurship

Kimmy Paluch, a venture capitalist, computer scientist, and experienced entrepreneur, teaches the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and the most pivotal aspects of building a business.

COURSE CONTENT:

• Embracing a Culture of Experimentation

• Building a Business Model and Team

• Product

• Marketing

• Product-Market Fit

Kimmy emphasizes the grit and persistence underrepresented founders demonstrate and shares her own story of breaking down barriers as an entrepreneur and investor.

Funding for Growth

Christina Taylor learned financial literacy at a young age from her IRS-employed parents, and she has employed this skill throughout her career in event management and entrepreneurship.

COURSE CONTENT:

• Know Your Numbers

• Foundational Financial Practices

• Funding Options:

• Self-funding

• Grants

• Debt

• Equity

Christina teaches foundational financial practices, your landscape of funding options, and how they can accelerate your business growth while sharing the story of her own business and that of other experts.

Scaling through Systems

As a social worker and entrepreneur focused on helping other business owners solve operational problems, Raquel Wilson has spent thousands of hours defining and removing obstacles for innovators.

COURSE CONTENT:

• Systems and Your Business

• Why You Need Systems

• Assessing the Need

• The Three Components of Systems

• Investing in Systems

Raquel shares her proven strategies for identifying the need for systems in your business, categorizing your challenges, and creating strong systems through documentation, technology, and people.

Women Investing for Change

As an entrepreneur and professional investor, Rose Maizner’s mission is to accelerate the success of underserved entrepreneurs by diversifying the investing landscape and equipping more women to lead out in investing.

COURSE CONTENT:

• Women Wielding Wealth

• Risk, Return, and Types of Assets

• Company Types, Financing Stages, and The Exit

• Ways to Invest

• Crowdfunding

• Friends and family investing

• Angel investing

• Fund investing

Rose covers key investing concepts such as risk vs reward, equity vs debt, understanding diversification, and financing stages of startups.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building

Dell Gines has spent his career working to change the disparities between white communities and communities of color through building thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems and believes that by prioritizing and investing in entrepreneurship, we can drive economic growth.

COURSE CONTENT:

• Economic Development

• Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

• Intentional Inclusivity

• Inclusive Relationship Building

Through close examination of the advantages of entrepreneurial development to rural and communities of color, Dell highlights the opportunity for eliminating economic disparities and building sustainable, equitable ecosystems.

Designing Economies for People and Planet

With pressing issues like climate change and gender inequality impacting communities globally, Todd Khozein, co-CEO of SecondMuse, works to connect changemakers, power holders, and the ecosystems that surround them to innovate on new economic models.

COURSE CONTENT:

• Reimagining Capitalism for Mutual Flourishing

• ClimateTech: Accelerating Manufacturing and Funding for Climate Solutions

• Kinective: Creative Community for Entrepreneurs by Centering What’s Possible

• Headstream: Transforming Digital Ecosystems with Youth as Innovators

• GET Cities: Building Gender Equity into the U.S. Tech Economy

• The Incubation Network: A Global Network Initiative to Reduce Ocean Plastics

In this course, you’ll meet five different SecondMuse programs - all at different scales and in different sectors - to understand how to build values into processes and center the people closest to the challenges as experts.

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF PROJECT DEEP

Project DEEP aims to disrupt the entrepreneurial ecosystem status quo and unlock equitable wealth creation by supporting diverse entrepreneurs and equipping stakeholders with power to influence the entrepreneurial ecosystem with the knowledge to better support the success of women and people of color entrepreneurs. Its overarching impact goal is to advance equitable economic development specifically through supporting a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem for women and people of color. Project DEEP seeks to achieve this through activities that support the growth of entrepreneurship, acceleration of company growth and enhancement of innovation capacity for women and people of color. It aimed to do this by providing accessible immersive education, technical assistance, and networking opportunities for women and people of color entrepreneurs.

Project DEEP has defined three outcomes

that will indicate movement towards its overarching impact goal:

• Increased entrepreneurial skills for diverse entrepreneurs in accelerating enterprise growth and accessing human and financial capital

• Increased success and growth of diverse entrepreneurs in the primary market

• Increase in connections for diverse entrepreneurs and supporting organizations

With its strong focus on impact measurement, Project DEEP designed and conducted data collection methods to understand the impact of the Technical Assistance and Programming workstreams against its overarching impact goal and three outcomes.

Project DEEP contributes to three of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Technical Assistance Data Collection

The Project DEEP team partnered with the two Technical Assistance providers - WBCUtah and New Pattern - to deploy six Minding My Own Business surveys for each of the three cohorts of program participants: pre-program, post-program, 30 days post, 60 days post, 90 days post, and 6 months post program.

Across all surveys, the Project DEEP team collected a total of 123 responses. The first WBCUtah cohort received a total of 77 responses and the second cohort received a total of 43 responses. Note, the 30 day survey for WBCUtah’s first cohort received zero responses due to a technical error on the survey instrument. To ensure similar issues did not re-occur, for all subsequent surveys the team monitored participant response rates daily in the week following survey distribution and implemented a weekly response check in. However, to ensure consistent reporting of IM data, 30 day survey responses across all cohorts have been excluded from the analysis.

New Pattern received a total of 3 survey responses, all pre-program (from 10 program participants). Participants did not respond to requests to complete post-program surveys. However, there was a marked decrease in response rates across all cohorts following the pre-program survey. The WBCUtah cohort response rates decreased from 63100% for the pre-program survey down to 21-28% for the 90 day survey.

From participants’ perspective, there was likely limited value to completing surveys, particularly after completion of the MMOB program. The use of incentives would likely have made a difference to improve response rates.

To compensate for a decrease in participant survey responses the Project DEEP team completed three qualitative interviews with former participants from the WBCUtah and New Pattern cohorts. Each interview ran approximately 30 minutes and participants were asked the same questions (see Appendix 1). Participant responses were then coded and aligned to themes to identify common patterns and strength of consistency.

All data was analyzed against the impact measurement framework to test whether the TA program reached its target demographics and to assess the effectiveness of this workstream in achieving the outcomes of Project DEEP. The Technical Assistance program was focused on all three of the Project DEEP outcomes. Where relevant, responses were analyzed using the pre-program survey as a baseline and then changes measured through the series of post-program surveys. The analysis measured the change in response reported by each TA participant individually over time.

Participant in WBCUtah first technical assistance

“This was a lifechanging class.”

cohort

“I loved the program and found it helpful in establishing goals and finishing projects.”

Participant in WBCUtah first technical assistance cohort

Table 1: Question categories in each Technical Assistance participant survey

Surveys were created on Google Forms and deployed to participants via email from WBCUtah and New Pattern. Sorenson Impact Center provided email reminders to organization leaders one week prior to the survey distribution date.

30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 month survey questions

Demographic information

Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) (innovative, proactive and risk-taking mindset)

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (emotional state regarding the business)

Business outcomes (e.g. revenue, profit, access to capital)

Business goals

Networking outcomes

Learning outcomes

Program quality improvement

The EO and PANAS questions were developed based on existing research demonstrating the relationship between having an entrepreneurial mindset and positive feelings on small business performance and individual success. Questions were tailored specifically to solo entrepreneurs. For more details, see discussion in Project DEEP Impact: Technical Assistance and Appendix 1.

Minding My Own Business

Fall 2022 graduates

second cohort)

Programming Data Collection

The Project DEEP online video courses that formed the programming workstream were hosted on Thinkific, an online learning platform that allowed participants to “enroll” in specific courses. Participants could either enroll in a Project DEEP bundle that included all six instructor courses or enroll in individual courses. Registration included questions regarding each participant’s gender and role. All six courses included a pre-course survey and a post-course survey. Questions were designed to collect demographic information, to understand baseline understanding of course content and to measure learning outcomes of each course (see Appendix 3). All data was collected from September 2022 to May 2023. In addition, the Thinkific website collected data relating to video engagement and participant course reviews.

As of May 2023, there were 633 enrollments across all Project DEEP courses, and 324 pre- and post-course survey responses.

Project DEEP was marketed through organic social media, paid LinkedIn and Google ads, direct stakeholder outreach,

and articles developed with course facilitators that were published online through B the Change and Impact Entrepreneur (see Appendix 4). Promotional material included referral links that tracked where registrations came from. Additionally, Google Analytics tracked the number of website impressions and the geographic location of visitors to the Thinkific website.

All data was analyzed against the impact measurement framework to test whether the online courses reached their target demographics and to assess the effectiveness of the immersive programming workstream in achieving the outcomes of Project DEEP. The online video courses were focused primarily on the outcome to increase entrepreneurial skills for diverse entrepreneurs. With its focus on stakeholders in the broader ecosystem that can influence entrepreneurs’ success, this workstream was also indirectly focused on the outcome to increase the success and growth of diverse entrepreneurs - however this cannot be measured directly through the impact measurement of the Project DEEP online courses.

“[I] learned more in these short and concise videos on an experience level from the founder than in most larger learning platforms.”

Review of ‘Demystifying Entrepreneurship’

PROJECT DEEP IMPACTTECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

The TA program reached its target demographic of women and diverse solo entrepreneurs. Of a total 66 (all women) TA participants, 35% identified as Hispanic and/or a woman of color. The TA program provided valuable entrepreneurial skills, particularly technical skills, and helped participants achieve their business goals. The majority of participants built ongoing connections and networks through the program, particularly with their peers, even up to 6 months after the end of the program.

Impact measurement of the TA program has identified two overarching learnings to inform future program design:

1. Engaging and building trust with diverse entrepreneurs: Reaching diverse entrepreneurs is most successful when based on existing long-term and trusted relationships. Engagement needs to be adapted to the needs of different communities.

2. Tailoring content to individual needs: The needs of diverse entrepreneurs may differ across demographic groups and individuals. To deliver a sustained impact on the success and growth of diverse founders and their businesses, entrepreneurs may need additional support and mentoring to apply the skills they learn through the TA program in their own business context.

The TA program reached its target demographic of women and diverse entrepreneurs

The TA program was targeted at women solo entrepreneurs. Recruitment into the program was undertaken by the TA partners using their existing channels, such as social media, newsletters and email distribution lists. Of a total 66 (all women) TA participants, 35% identified as Hispanic and/or a woman of color (see Figure 1).

Both TA partners only delivered the program to women entrepreneurs and one (New Pattern) delivered exclusively to Black women entrepreneurs. WBCUtah reported that the demographics of their cohorts reflected the demographics of their general services.

More detailed race/ethnicity breakdown is not available based on the reported data.

Figure 1: Race/ethnicity of TA participants across all Project DEEP cohorts

Source: Reported by TA partners WBCUtah and New Pattern.

Engaging and building trust with diverse entrepreneurs:

Recruitment of women and diverse solo entrepreneurs into the TA program for Project DEEP was successful, but revealed some important learnings for future program design.

• Credibility and trusted relationships are critical. Reaching diverse entrepreneurs and recruiting them into a technical assistance program requiring a significant time commitment is dependent on the social presence and influence of the delivery organization with the target demographic group. Potential participants need to trust that the content will be valuable and appropriate for their own circumstances.

• It takes time and commitment to build relationships. For example, WBCUtah reported they have spent many years on outreach with diverse communities to build long-term trusted relationships.

• Different demographics and individuals have different needs. Different demographic groups have different experiences and levels of engagement with the business support ecosystem. Engagement will be more successful where it is tailored to how different groups experience and engage with the local ecosystem and network of supporting resources.

TA partners reported that it can be challenging reaching and engaging with the target demographic of women, and particularly women of color, entrepreneurs. They noted that success depends on a long-term commitment to outreach with target communities. For example, WBCUtah has spent many years on outreach with underserved communities. Outreach has been most challenging with Black women, with a relatively small community of Black women entrepreneurs in Utah.

The design and structure of a technical assistance program can impact recruitment and participation from target communities. Of the three TA cohorts supported through Project DEEP, one was in-person, one was virtual and one was hybrid. Different approaches had different benefits and challenges. For example, TA partners reported that in-person classes had greater commitment, but virtual classes could reach more counties beyond Salt Lake County.

The time commitment of the TA program - three hour classes weekly over seven weeks plus weekly mentor sessions - could be a challenge for solo entrepreneurs, which TA partners reported to be an issue in recruiting participants and was also reported by some participants who took the program. The New Pattern cohort was modified to have shorter classes to accommodate participants’ availability, while still delivering valuable content. Many TA participants reported that it was challenging securing childcare for the hours required for the program, which could be a barrier for solo women entrepreneurs participating in this program. This is consistent with findings from the Sorenson Impact Center’s 2018 landscape review of women and minority entrepreneurs in Utah, which identified that quality, accessible and affordable child care would remove formidable disincentives to entrepreneurship among mothers.9

Increasing entrepreneurial skills for diverse entrepreneurs was a core outcome for Project DEEP. The TA program

The TA program provided valuable entrepreneurial technical skills across all areas of the MMOB content, but had a mixed impact on entrepreneurial mindset and emotional skills

“The template that they gave us to find our break even point was super awesome.”

–Participant in WBCUtah first cohort of MMOB

aimed to support this outcome through participants gaining practical entrepreneurial technical skills for how to sustain or grow their business. This could also contribute to the second core outcome for Project DEEP - increased success and growth of diverse entrepreneurs and their businesses. While not directly covered in the MMOB content, and arguably not possible to ‘teach’ in a technical assistance program, Project DEEP impact measurement also assessed whether the TA program had an impact on entrepreneurial orientation mindset and emotions regarding participants’ entrepreneurial state and future.

Entrepreneurial technical skills

Research suggests there is a positive effect of entrepreneurial competencies (defined as skills, knowledge, personality traits) on the performances of small and medium

enterprises.10 In addition, research undertaken on the needs of female and minority business owners in Utah identifies a desire and need from this group for business preparation and education.11

For each of the seven modules in the MMOB program, the majority of participants reported that the session added value to their business (see Figure 2).

More nuanced feedback was gathered through discussions with the TA partners and a small number of TA program participants. One consistent theme was that budget and financial lessons resonated strongly with participants, particularly the supporting resources and templates.

Content on automation and systematizing was more divisive. One TA partner felt that it either totally resonated or not at all.

Source: Post-program survey responses to the question ‘Did this session add value to your business?’

Figure 2: Proportion of TA participants reporting that the MMOB modules added value to their business

This could be a reflection of the stage of participants’ businesses. For example, one interviewed participant said that this content was less valuable because she has already done this. On the other hand, participants in the very early stages of their businesses were more likely to be focused on sales generation and less concerned with systems and processes.

Entrepreneurial orientation mindset

There are numerous studies12 that show a positive relationship between entrepreneurial mindset and the performance of small businesses. This implies that a technical assistance program that can build a greater entrepreneurial mindset in business owners may support them to achieve greater business success. The key dimensions

of entrepreneurial mindset identified in the literature are innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking. These dimensions have been used in previous research to develop an assessment of entrepreneurial orientation mindset. Project DEEP adapted this approach to assess entrepreneurial orientation of solo entrepreneurs.

On average, before the program commencement TA program participants self-assessed their entrepreneurial orientation as neutral, or slightly negative (where a score of 4 was the midpoint of the scale). Risk-taking had the highest average score (4.0) and innovativeness had the lowest average score (3.6) (see Figure 3).

Source: Pre-program survey responses to Entrepreneurial Orientation questions. Responses were grouped into the three categories of Innovativeness, Proactiveness and Risk-Taking to develop an average ‘score’ for each participant.

Figure 3: Distribution of TA participants’ baseline ‘scores’ for Entrepreneurial Orientation questions, measuring Innovativeness, Proactiveness and Risk-Taking mindset

The TA program had a small positive impact on entrepreneurial orientation mindset across the three dimensions of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking (see Figure 4). This impact was observed in participants’ responses immediately after completing the program for innovativeness and proactiveness, and by 90 days after the program for risk-taking. While the content of MMOB did not seek to directly influence entrepreneurial orientation mindset, this data shows that the skills and knowledge gained through the program may have indirectly had a positive impact. For example, the program may have helped spark new ideas for entrepreneurs, resulting in a more innovative mindset. New knowledge may have given entrepreneurs greater confidence to be proactive and to take risks in their business.

Entrepreneurial emotional skills

Research shows a link between positive feelings and emotions (positive affect) on individual success across multiple life domains. Causality can be difficult to determine, however there is evidence suggesting that positive affect may be the cause of, and precede, measures of success.13 In particular, studies suggest that positive affect is linked with improved entrepreneurial capabilities, including factors such as decision-making, creativity and resilience.14 Impact measurement of the TA program used the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), which has been proven reliable and valid among researchers,15 adapted to understand positive and negative feelings of participants related to their business.

Source: Post-program, 60 day, 90 day and 6 month post program survey responses to Entrepreneurial Orientation questions. The analysis measures the average of each participant’s change in the 3 categories relative to their pre-program baseline.

Figure 4: Average change in Entrepreneurial Orientation for TA participants relative to their pre-program baseline for Innovativeness, Proactiveness and Risk-Taking mindset

On average, before the program commencement TA program participants had high positive affect (average score of 4.4 on a 5 point scale) and relatively low negative affect (average score of 1.9) related to their business.

The TA program had a limited impact on the positive and negative affect of participants. Overall, there was a very slight decline in positive affect and very slight increase in negative affect - but the changes are so small that there is likely to be limited significance (see Figure 5).

While there was limited (or no) impact of the TA program on positive and negative affect of participants, it is interesting to note that program participants started with highly positive

feelings and low negative feelings about their business. As indicated in the research, this is likely to support their business success. These scores may be typical for entrepreneurs, or may reflect the characteristics of entrepreneurs who choose to participate in a technical assistance program.

Project DEEP aimed to increase business success and growth for diverse entrepreneurs and their businesses,

Source: All survey responses to PANAS questions. Responses for each participant were grouped to form an average ‘positive’ score and average ‘negative’ score. The analysis measures the average of each participant’s change in positive and negative feeling at each post-program survey relative to their pre-program baseline.

Figure 5: Average change in positive and negative feelings towards participants’ business relative to their pre-program baseline

The TA program helped participants achieve their business goals but had a mixed impact on direct business outcomes

including through pursuing individual business goals. The TA program was intended to support any specific, personal goals a participant may have. Making progress towards personal business goals was expected to motivate participants to engage with the program and ultimately to support them in achieving success in their business.

The most commonly reported business goals of participants related to direct measures of business success – growing the business, increasing revenue and increasing profit (see Figure 6). The next most commonly reported goals were related to business planning - such as defining their business plan, deciding on a course of action, building a longer-term plan for

their business. Most other commonly reported goals related to specific elements of their business that participants were focused on, such as marketing, systematizing and finances. Building their network and connections was a goal for some participants, but was not the focus for most.

The TA program helped solo women entrepreneurs achieve their business goals. In the post-program survey, all participants reported at least partially achieving one or more of their goals. The majority of participants’ goals were partially achieved at the end of the TA program, and around a third of goals were fully achieved (see Figure 7).

Source: Responses to ‘what are your 2-3 business goals for the MMOB program’ in the pre-program survey. Free text responses were grouped into categories of business goals.

Figure 6: Most commonly reported categories of business goals for TA participants

Beyond achieving their goals, the TA program had a mixed impact on business outcomes of participants:

• 85% of businesses did not change whether they were profitable or not. Generally, profit generating businesses remained profitable, and loss-making businesses remained unprofitable.

• 42% of participants reported higher revenue in the period after taking the TA program than before the program.

• 15% of participants accessed a new type of capital after taking the TA program. In all cases, this was in the form of a grant.

Given the multitude of factors that can influence business outcomes over time, both in the external business environment and internally within a business, it is unclear to what extent you could attribute any changes in business outcomes to the TA program.

One of the core outcomes of Project DEEP was to increase connections for diverse entrepreneurs and supporting organizations. Research indicates that entrepreneurs have higher rates of success when they are mentored by another business owner and

Selection of business goals of TA participants before taking the program:

While participants were not generally seeking ‘community’, the TA program helped to build connections and participants valued this

Source: Post-program survey responses asking participants whether they achieved their 2-3 business goals.

Figure 7: Did you achieve your business goals during the TA program?

I want to make my company more profitable “

supported and connected to a network of similar entrepreneurs. For example:

• There are strong benefits (such as increased motivation to overcome challenges, increased flow of ideas, and constant learning) to being a part of a collaborative environment and belonging to a community.16

• When an entrepreneur is positively supported by a support provider, they will reciprocate this feeling and will be more likely to help and support other entrepreneurs.17

• Entrepreneurs who do not have a support system are more likely to burn out due to feelings of occupational isolation.18

Networking can provide valuable opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect with other business owners, learn from their experiences, and potentially develop partnerships or collaborations. However, there are typically fewer opportunities for women and diverse entrepreneurs to access networks of entrepreneurs and business owners who are similar to them. Often, these spaces are dominated by white men. Furthermore, the communities that women and diverse entrepreneurs value and participate in will vary culturally and across different geographical areas. Previous research from the Sorenson Impact Center, focused on the challenges faced by women and minority entrepreneurs in Utah, made recommendations to create networking opportunities for women and minority entrepreneurs and to support organizations that provide business networks for women and minority entrepreneurs.19 This challenge is

more pressing now, as across all entrepreneur demographics the impact of COVID-19 reduced opportunities to build connections and networks.

Most TA program participants were not necessarily looking for a ‘community’. As noted above, not many participants had a goal to develop their networks and connections. The TA partners also reported that building networks was not a strong motivator for most participants in their cohorts, perhaps reflected in reported limited engagement in the ‘mastermind’ sections of the program with MMOB mentors. Despite this not being a focus for them, TA participants did value the network building aspects of the program. Three quarters agreed (21%) or strongly agreed (54%) that they found value in the network created through the MMOB program. TA partners and interviewed participants reported that the breakout group portions of the program were effective at facilitating connection.

The majority of participants were still in touch with peers from the program even up to 6 months later, and many also maintained contact with MMOB mentors (see Figure 8). For example, one participant reported that their cohort set up a mailing list with the other women in the group that was still active.

Overall, participants valued the networking aspects of the TA program and built new connections, particularly with peers in their cohorts. One interviewed participant noted that they would have liked to have had more opportunity to build practical networking skills, such as through simulated networking experiences. Experiential learning experiences could further strengthen the networking aspect of the TA program.

Participants most valued practical resources and applied concepts as they balanced entrepreneurship with other work, family and community demands

The TA participants valued the practical aspects of the program, such as templates and worksheets that were used during classes and could be used by participants on their own time in their own business. The TA partners and interviewed participants noted the value of the budgeting and financials worksheets, such as the break even template, in particular. Similarly, TA partners and interviewed participants reported that case studies and examples were highly valued for their practical aspect. One TA partner

plans to develop more templates, examples and handouts for future iterations of the MMOB program.

The ‘mastermind’ sessions with program mentors had a mixed response from participants. The TA partners reported that these sessions were not well attended and it was hard for participants to see the value - however, those that did attend appeared to find them beneficial. This was supported by interviews with TA participants, some of whom reported that their time with the mentor helped them to apply the content learned through the classes.

The MMOB program was delivered in a time intensive format, with weekly three hour classes and one hour mastermind sessions over seven weeks. One TA partner

Figure 8: Proportion of TA participants reporting they are still in contact with a peer or mentor from the MMOB program

Source: Post-program, 60 days, 90 days and 6 months post program survey responses.

delivered a shortened version with classes condensed to 45 minutes, reporting that the content was still valuable and met participants’ expectations. Several TA participants reported that the intensity was difficult to manage alongside the needs of their business and other personal commitments. For these participants, the intensity impacted on their ability to fully absorb and apply the content to their business. The extent to which this was an issue likely depended on participants’ starting level of knowledge, as well as the other demands on their time.

The MMOB program was adapted and designed specifically for solo women entrepreneurs. Even within this demographic, every person and business will have different circumstances, challenges and needs. The practical aspects of the TA program were important to help participants tailor the content to their own business context. Ultimately, this is critical for helping to translate new knowledge into new skills and more successful business outcomes.

• Resources such as templates and worksheets. Providing practical tools and resources means that TA participants can more easily apply what they have learned to their own business needs.

• Opportunities for mentoring. Mentor sessions provide TA participants with personalized guidance and support to apply the content from the classes to their individual business needs, challenges and goals.

• Time for participants to digest and apply content TA participants need sufficient time to absorb new knowledge, determine how it applies to their specific business needs, and develop and implement changes to their business.

“The template that they gave us to find our break even point was super awesome.”

–Participant in WBCUtah first cohort of MMOB

Using practical application to tailor learning to individual needs

PROJECT DEEP IMPACTPROGRAMMING

The six Project DEEP online video courses, developed for the programming workstream, reached their target demographics of women and diverse entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystem builders. Of the 489 individual registrations on the Project DEEP website, 71% were women. In addition, 69% of course commencements in the entrepreneur courses were Hispanic and/or a person of color. This demonstrates that the courses were an effective way of reaching this underrepresented demographic with educational content that is tailored to them. The courses were an effective way of building valuable skills and knowledge in this demographic - and every participant that completed a course reported increasing their knowledge of key aspects of the course content. The on-demand, modular design of the video courses meets participants’ need for flexibility in when and how they consume learning content. Pairing online learning content with greater structure and/or community would help people sustain momentum and get the most out of the courses.

The online DEEP courses reached their target demographics of women and diverse entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders

Of the six online video courses developed for Project DEEP, three were targeted at underrepresented entrepreneurs - in particular women and people of color - and three were targeted at decision-makers in the ecosystem.

The Project DEEP website received a total of 489 user registrations, with 633 individual enrollments across all courses (each user could sign up for all DEEP courses or choose one or more to enroll in). The breakdown of enrollments by course is shown in Table 2.

Ecosystem courses

All data is as of May 24, 2023

Table 2: Enrollment in each Project DEEP course

Note:

The entrepreneur-focused courses (Demystifying Entrepreneurship, Funding for Growth, and Scaling through Systems) attracted their intended audience of women and entrepreneurs of color, particularly women of color (see Figure 9). Of enrollments in these courses, 75% of participants were women, and based on pre-course survey data 69% of enrollments identified as either Hispanic and/or non-white. Additionally, 64% of participants stated they were entrepreneurs or small business owners.

The ecosystem-focused course, Women Investing for Change, was designed with women and diverse investors in mind. Of enrollments in this course, 94% were women. Based on pre-course survey data 33% of participants were people of color and 33% of participants were ecosystem practitioners, including investors or funders (see Figure 10). This course met its intended demographic of women, and partially succeeded in attracting Hispanic and/or non-white participants and ecosystem practitioners, including investors or funders.

The two courses on entrepreneurial ecosystem building (Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building and Designing Economies for People and Planet) attracted their intended audience of practitioners working in the fields of economic development and entrepreneurial ecosystem building. Based on pre-survey data for both courses, 47% of respondents are economic development and ecosystem practitioners (see Figure 11).

Project DEEP promotion and marketing

Project DEEP promotional material was designed and marketed toward the target demographic of underrepresented entrepreneurs, with a focus on Utah. Promotion channels included organic social media, paid ads, published content, direct stakeholder outreach, and the Project DEEP conversation series.

Figure 9: Demographic information for participants in the entrepreneur focused courses

Source: Pre-course survey for Demystifying Entrepreneurship, Funding for Growth, Scaling through Systems

10: Demographic information for participants in the ‘Women Investing for Change’ course

11: Demographic information for participants in the entrepreneurial ecosystem building courses

Source: Pre-course survey for Women Investing for Change

Source: Pre-course surveys for Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building and Designing Economies for People and Planet

Figure

Figure

One user wrote on the Women Investing for Change article,

“As a community of leaders, we need to provide more uplifting and empowering to women who want to pioneer in this industry. It is inspiring to see women take the lead in driving positive social and environmental change through their investments.”

Another user wrote on the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Building article,

“[T]he community believing in the principle of entrepreneurship might be the most important [principle]... Without the communities’ willingness to support new ideas it will not matter what the company develops. Therefore, entrepreneurial ecosystem building sounds like a great idea. I’ll have to investigate this idea further.”

Organic social media promotion focused on the overall Project DEEP launch, followed by promotion of the launch of each of the six courses, promotion of the webinar from the Project DEEP conversation series for each course, and promotion of the Q&A article co-developed with each course instructor. Organic social media promotion was conducted through LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

A paid ads campaign was conducted in 2022 Q4, focused on the Project DEEP course launches, and in 2023 Q1, focused on promoting the Project DEEP conversation series.

Across all paid ad campaigns, LinkedIn and Google ads led to more than 215,000 impressions and 4,915 clicks through to the Project DEEP website. LinkedIn ads could not be directly promoted to specific demographics but were marketed to specific groups and profiles that subscribed to key skills and interests. Groups included Utah based colleges and women-centered entrepreneur organizations; skills and interests were narrowed to members who subscribed to entrepreneurship and development. Video ads were the most cost effective and highest performing type of content across Project DEEP LinkedIn ads. Similarly, Google ads could not be targeted at specific demographics, but Project DEEP promotional material would appear based on search terms related to entrepreneurship.

The Project DEEP team co-developed Q&A style articles with the course facilitators, which were published online through B the Change and Impact Entrepreneur. These provided an opportunity for potential participants to learn more about the Project DEEP course offerings.

Promotion of Project DEEP through direct stakeholder outreach was conducted by the Sorenson Impact Center through their monthly newsletter and mailing list. In addition, each course instructor was given a promotional share toolkit, with suggested language and images to use in social media and email outreach.

As a direct result of the Q&A articles and stakeholder outreach, Sorenson Impact Center referred 39 registrations, B the Change referred 16, and Impact Entrepreneur referred seven.

In addition, 18 Project DEEP sign ups were referred from course instructors’ own promotion and outreach. The extent of individual promotion and outreach by course instructors was variable. This would likely have been more consistent and successful if the Project DEEP team had more clearly defined the expectation that instructors promote their courses and considered this in compensation.

Project DEEP collaborated with local Utah-based organizations to share the Project DEEP online courses through their own channels. This included the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, the Utah Women & Leadership Project and the Utah Women in Higher Education Network (UWHEN).

The Project DEEP conversation series provided an opportunity for current and potential Project DEEP participants to hear from all six of the Project DEEP instructors. It also served as an additional marketing channel, driving awareness of Project DEEP.

Overall, the most successful marketing channels were referrals and email. Based on pre-course survey data, the most common ways that registrants heard about Project DEEP was through a referral (27%) or email (22%). Almost 20% of registrants heard about Project DEEP through social media, and a further 18% found Project DEEP through a search engine (see Figure 12).

Due to limitations with data collection and data privacy, it is difficult to determine how effectively Project DEEP marketing reached target demographics. Demographic information was not available for the Project DEEP website20 or for promotional channels. Given that the people that registered for Project DEEP courses were generally from the target demographic groups, the promotion was likely to have been successful in reaching its intended audience.

Course participation has revealed the areas of learning in which people have greatest interest and learning need

Areas of greatest interest across courses: Relative registration numbers for each course can provide an indication of which courses were of greatest interest to the target audience.

Based on all registrations on the Project DEEP website, the Demystifying Entrepreneurship course received the most interest. Demystifying Entrepreneurship received 68% (256) of the 374 registrations across all three entrepreneurship courses (see Figure 13). The substantially higher registration in Demystifying Entrepreneurship could be due to three factors: (1) the course was designed to cover fundamental

138 Webinars

Total Registrants

127

Registrants from email/social

11

Registrants from LinkedIn ads

37

Total webinar attendees

Figure

through which course registrants had heard of Project DEEP

Source: Pre-course survey data for all six Project DEEP courses.

Source: Thinkific registration data for Demystifying Entrepreneurship, Funding for Growth and Scaling through Systems

12: Channels

Figure 13: Proportion of registrations for the three entrepreneur-focused Project DEEP courses

topics for emerging/aspiring entrepreneurs and as such the course appealed to a broad audience, (2) the course was the first to launch and was promoted and marketed longer than other courses, (3) overall Project DEEP marketing and promotional materials focused on entrepreneurship, which was most closely aligned to this course.

The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building and Designing Economies for People and Planet courses each received around 40% of the 259 enrollments in the three ecosystem courses (see Figure 14). The greater interest in these courses, relative to Women Investing for Change, may be due to having a broader appeal to the audience as well as reflecting Project DEEP marketing that emphasized disrupting the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Areas of greatest learning need across and within courses:

The pre-course survey results for each course, asking participants to rate their current understanding and knowledge of the key content areas of the course, provide an indication of where the audience has the greatest learning need, both across the courses and within each course.

Of all the Project DEEP online courses, Demystifying Entrepreneurship had the lowest average initial knowledge score (see Figure 15). Participants were least knowledgeable in how to find a product-market fit. In the Funding for Growth course, participants had the lowest baseline knowledge on understanding how self-funding, grants, debt, and equity works. In the Scaling through Systems course, participants had the lowest baseline understanding of the three key components for creating strong and scalable systems. However, of the three entrepreneur courses Scaling through Systems had the highest baseline knowledge score overall.

Of the three ecosystem-focused courses, Women Investing for Change had the lowest average initial knowledge score (see Figure 16). Within this course, participants had the lowest baseline understanding of early stage investment options. In the Designing Ecosystems for People and Planet course, participants had the lowest baseline knowledge in understanding how to navigate relationships between organizations in the entrepreneurial system. In the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building course, participants had the lowest baseline knowledge in how to build more inclusive

Source: Thinkific registration data for Women Investing for Change, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building and Designing Economies for People and Planet

Figure 14: Proportion of registrations for the three ecosystem-focused Project DEEP courses

Demystifying Entrepreneurship

Funding for Growth

Scaling through Systems

Figure 15: Baseline understanding of key content areas in each of the three entrepreneur-focused courses

Source: Pre-course survey data for Demystifying Entrepreneurship, Funding for Growth and Scaling through Systems

Figure 16: Baseline understanding of key content areas in each of the three ecosystem-focused courses

Women Investing for Change

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building

Designing Economies for People and Planet

Source: Pre-course survey data for Women Investing for Change, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building and Designing Economies for People and Planet

entrepreneurial ecosystems. This course had the highest initial knowledge score across all Project DEEP courses. Overall, the average baseline knowledge for the ecosystem courses was higher than the entrepreneurial courses.

The online DEEP courses increased knowledge and skills for course participants

All six courses required a pre and post-course survey that measured how well a participant understood a concept in a course on a scale of 1-5 from strongly disagree to strongly agree (see Appendix 3). These surveys were used to compare scores before and after taking the course and determine if a participant’s knowledge increased in the core concepts of the course. For all pre and post-course surveys, the entrepreneur courses received 176 responses and the ecosystem courses received 148 responses. Limitations to this data include a limited response rate to post-course surveys.

Entrepreneur courses - Demystifying Entrepreneurship, Funding for Growth, Scaling through Systems

The entrepreneur courses were focused on three critical topics for early stage founders and business owners:

• Demystifying Entrepreneurship was focused on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and the most pivotal aspects of building a business.

• Funding for Growth was focused on foundational financial practices and the landscape of funding options, with a focus on funding options outside of venture capital.

• Scaling through Systems was focused on how to create strong systems through documentation, technology and people and use practical tools to scale a business.

Of the three entrepreneur-focused courses, Demystifying Entrepreneurship demonstrated the greatest increase in knowledge for course participants (see Figure 17). The biggest increases in knowledge related to product market fit and the tools needed for founders to be successful. The biggest gain in knowledge for the Funding for Growth course related to self-funding, grants, debt, and equity.

“Resourceful, clear and easy to follow at my own pace.”

Review of ‘Demystifying Entrepreneurship’

Scaling through Systems course participants started with a good understanding of how to assess, categorize and prioritize problems in their business and gained the most knowledge in the three components for creating strong and scalable systems: documentation, technology, and people.

Ecosystem courses - Women Investing for Change, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building, Designing Economies for People and Planet

The ecosystem courses were focused on three topics of critical importance to stakeholders in the ecosystem that can influence the success of underrepresented entrepreneurs:

• Women Investing for Change was focused on the fundamentals of investing in entrepreneurs and why more women are needed in influential investing roles.

• Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building was focused on how to build entrepreneurial ecosystems in a way which promotes inclusivity and community and creates stronger, more resilient economies.

• Designing Economies for People and Planet highlighted case studies and practical examples of how to mold just and inclusive economic systems for a more equitable world.

Of the three ecosystem-focused Project DEEP courses, Women Investing for Change demonstrated the greatest increase in knowledge for course participants (see Figure 18). The greatest increase in knowledge related to early stage investment options. The greatest increases in knowledge from the two ecosystem building courses related to how institutions

Figure 17: Increase in knowledge of critical topics for early stage founders and business owners

Source: Pre-course and post-course surveys for Demystifying Entrepreneurship, Funding for Growth and Scaling through Systems

Pre-Survey: I have a good understanding of...

Post-Survey: I have gained knowledge on...

and changemakers can collaborate to create innovative solutions to problems (in Designing Economies for People and Planet) and how to build more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems (in Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building).

Course participants valued the ondemand, modular design, but without a structure or community for learning, people are not sustaining momentum

The Project DEEP courses are designed to be free, on-demand and structured in relatively short modular videos. Previous research has indicated that entrepreneurs, and particularly women and diverse entrepreneurs, are balancing other demands that make it difficult to participate in formal learning

opportunities, such as a ‘day job’ or family obligations. Many of the participants in the Project DEEP supported technical assistance program highlighted childcare as a potential barrier to participation. The design of the online courses was intended to allow participants to access the learning materials in a way that fits around their existing schedules, allowing people to choose the specific topics that were of greatest interest and relevance to them within the course.

Despite the on-demand nature of the courses and some evidence of higher engagement with certain lessons within courses, play rates tended to be linear. For any given course, videos with high engagement and play rates were either in Section 1 or 2. Play rates dropped off in later sections for all courses (see Figure 19).

of critical topics for stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem

Figure 18:

Increase in knowledge

Source: Pre-course and post-course surveys for Women Investing for Change, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building and Designing Economies for People and Planet

Pre-Survey: I have a good understanding of...

Post-Survey: I have gained knowledge on...

Video number within course

Figure 19: Chronological play rate for each video within each course

Source: Thinkific video play rate data for each course.

The Project DEEP courses were designed to be free, online, on-demand and modular - to make it easier for the target audience of women and diverse entrepreneurs to access the courses. Creating more structure for course participants could support engagement in the content and ultimately better learning outcomes. Ideas that could be explored include:

• Establishing learning cohorts for online Project DEEP courses. A cohort approach to taking a Project DEEP course could help to foster connections between participants as well as provide more structure and a community of learning to sustain momentum for participants. This could involve either face-to-face cohorts or online cohorts with dedicated convenings for participants to share reflections.

• Positioning DEEP courses within a defined learning pathway. Individual Project DEEP courses could be packaged alongside other technical assistance to entrepreneurs, particularly at a local level, to provide a clear learning pathway. This would provide greater incentive for participants to complete a Project DEEP course as part of a broader upskilling journey.

Overall, Project DEEP video engagement rates (how much of a video a person watches) averaged around 45%. However, the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building course had the highest engagement rate of all Project DEEP courses at 61%. This means the average person watching a video from this course usually watched at least 61% of it. In contrast, Designing Economies for People and Planet had a low engagement rate of 29%.

As reflected in the video play data for the Project DEEP courses, one of the challenges of on-demand online learning is maintaining momentum through to completion. The experience of Project DEEP is consistent with evidence from massive open online courses (MOOCs), with MOOC platforms reporting completion rates averaging just 5% to 15%.21 It is important to note that course completion is not necessarily the goal - the on-demand, modular design is intended to allow people to choose the content that is most relevant and beneficial to their learning needs.

While the format of the Project DEEP online courses worked well to allow participants to balance their learning with other commitments and to focus on topics of interest, the lack of structure and accountability was likely a barrier to sustaining learning. The format also did not facilitate an increase in connections, which was one of the overarching outcome goals for Project DEEP, although the webinars did provide some community and connection for those that participated.

Creating structure alongside the online Project DEEP courses, for example through facilitating learning communities, could help participants maintain momentum. The opportunity to connect with other course participants could help engagement by allowing people with common interests to share ideas and reflections. It could also help sustain momentum by creating a sense of peer accountability. Another approach to supporting engagement and completion, demonstrated in research into user engagement and learning outcomes in MOOCs, is creating incentives such as certificates of completion.

Using community and incentives to support participant engagement

Most popular content within each Project DEEP course

Demystifying Entrepreneurship

2.3 Finding Your Target Customer

3.1 Learn the Landscape

2.1 What is a Culture of Experimentation

2.2 The Importance of Rigor

3.2 Financial Models

Funding for Growth

1.3 The Right Capital for Your Business

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Christina’s Journey

2.1 The Power of a Sound Financial Foundation

2.3 Saying Yes or No to Growth

Scaling through Systems

1.4 The Common Denominator: Lack of Systems

1.5 Systems and Your Business

2.2 Systems Help You Build a Valuable Asset

2.3 Systems Help You Lower Operating Costs

2.5 Systems Allow Owners Greater Freedom in Their Business

Women Investing for Change

2.6 Understanding Risk

1.1 Introduction: Meet Rose Maizner

2.4 Debt

1.2 Rose’s Journey

2.3 Understanding Returns

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building

1.5 The Opportunity Ahead

2.2 The Evolution of Ecosystem Building

2.3 The Four Waves of Economic Development

3.1 Connecting the Dots: Elements of Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Building

1.4 Ethics and Economics

Designing Economies for People and

Planet

1.7 SecondMuse Programs: Embedding Values in the Process

1.2 Meet Todd Khozein

1.4 Building Markets through Trust and Collaboration

1.5 Designing the Future

1.6 A Relationship-Based Economy

Source: Thinkific video engagement and play rate data for each course. A course’s ‘top’ lessons were identified by averaging its rank based on the video engagement rate (how long a person watches a video) and its rank based on the video play rate (how many times a video has been watched). Top lessons were ranked highly both for engagement and play rates.

OPPORTUNITIES AND NEXT STEPS

The overarching impact goal of Project DEEP is to advance equitable economic development and reduce wealth disparities by supporting a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem for women and people of color. The project aims to achieve this through resourcing women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color and shifting the burden of change to ecosystem leaders by equipping stakeholders in positions of power with the knowledge on how to better remove barriers and recognize the strengths of diverse entrepreneurs.

Impact measurement has been a critical part of Project DEEP. The impact measurement results demonstrate proof of concept of the Project DEEP approach. The Technical Assistance program reached its target demographic of women and diverse solo entrepreneurs, and participants gained valuable technical skills and made progress towards their self-defined business goals. The majority of participants built ongoing connections and networks, particularly with their peers. Reflecting the success of the Technical Assistance program, WBCUtah is continuing to deliver new cohorts of the MMOB program with funding and support from other partners.

The online Project DEEP courses also reached their target demographics, including women and diverse entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurial ecosystem builders. The courses were an effective way of building valuable skills and knowledge in these demographics - and every participant that completed a course reported increasing their knowledge of key aspects of the course content.

This Impact Report captures insights that can help decision-makers in the broader ecosystem - such as funders, investors, economic development practitioners, policy-makers, and entrepreneur support organization leaders - better accelerate the success of underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Moving forward, three reflections from Project DEEP can inform the design of future programs seeking to support diverse entrepreneurs and effect change in the ecosystem:

• Engaging and building trust with diverse entrepreneurs. It is not sufficient to create content that is tailored to diverse entrepreneurs. Providing resources

that will help them to succeed also requires reaching diverse entrepreneurs in ways that build trust and high quality connections within a supportive community, tailored to how different demographic groups experience the ecosystem.

• Tailoring learning to individual needs. Women and diverse entrepreneurs cannot be treated as a single group. Different demographic groups, communities and individuals all have different experiences and needs. Educational resources for entrepreneurs need to allow for this diversity. As well as creating tailored content for different groups, delivery of education can use opportunities for practical application, such as resources and mentoring, to tailor content to individual needs.

• Using community and incentives to support participant engagement. Free, online, on-demand learning makes upskilling highly accessible, particularly for Project DEEP’s target demographic groups of underrepresented entrepreneurs. Opportunities that create more structure for participants, such as establishing learning cohorts and positioning the content within defined learning pathways, could support engagement and better learning outcomes.

The common thread throughout these reflections is the importance of recognizing and responding to the diverse needs of different demographic groups, communities and individuals. A one-size-fits-all approach will not be sufficient. The challenge for stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is how to create and deliver content that is tailored to the different experiences, strengths and needs of diverse entrepreneurs and how to build supportive and trusted communities that will give them the resources to thrive.

Building on these insights, the next phase of Project DEEP will seek to better understand the diverse needs of women of color entrepreneurs in Utah and to identify and implement solutions that can shift the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Utah to better support the success of underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Acknowledgements

Project DEEP is hosted by the Sorenson Impact Center, based at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, and generously funded by the Economic Development Administration, JPMorgan Chase, and the Sorenson Impact Foundation.

Project DEEP builds on previous research conducted by the Center, including a landscape analysis report published in 2018 that offered several distinct recommendations for supporting historically marginalized entrepreneurs in Utah and beyond.

The Center would like to thank and acknowledge our partners in Project DEEP:

Technical Assistance partners:

• Women’s Business Center of Utah

• New Pattern

Project DEEP course facilitators:

• Kimmy Paluch (Demystifying Entrepreneurship)

• Christina Taylor (Funding for Growth)

• Raquel Wilson (Scaling through Systems)

• Rose Maizner (Women Investing for Change)

• Dell Gines (Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building)

• SecondMuse and Todd Khozein (Designing Economies for People and Planet)

Marketing and distribution partners:

• Bark Media

• Impact Entrepreneur

• B the Change

Notes

1. Federal Reserve Report on the Availability of Credit to Small Businesses (2022) [link]

2. Federal Reserve Banks Small Business Credit Survey2022 Report on Firms Owned by People of Color [link]

3. Pitchbook - US VC female founders dashboard (2023) [link]

4. Crunchbase Diversity Spotlight 2020: Funding to Black and Latinx founders [link]

5. Sorenson Impact Center - The Status of Utah’s Female and Minority Small Business Owners (2018) [link]

6. National Women’s Business Council Annual Report 2021 [link]

7. American Express - The 2019 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report [link]

8. BCG - Why Women-Owned Startups Are a Better Bet (2018) [link]

9. Sorenson Impact Center - The Status of Utah’s Female and Minority Small Business Owners (2018) [link]

10. For example, see: Effect of Entrepreneurial Mindset and Entrepreneurial Competence on Performance of Small and Medium Enterprise, Evidence from LIterature Review [link] and Entrepreneurial Competencies and Entrepreneurial Mindset as Determinants of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Performance in Nigeria [link]

11. Sorenson Impact Center - The Status of Utah’s Female and Minority Small Business Owners (2018) [link]

12. For example, see: Effect of Entrepreneurial Mindset and Entrepreneurial Competence on Performance of Small and Medium Enterprise, Evidence from LIterature Review [link]

13. The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? [link]

14. The ‘Emotional Side’ of Entrepreneurship: A MetaAnalysis of the Relation between Positive and Negative Affect and Entrepreneurial Performance [link]

15. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales [link]

16. The benefits of belonging to a network of entrepreneurs [link], based on a poll conducted by the international coworking and entrepreneurship network Impact Hub of 16,500 professionals

17. Passing on the good vibes: Entrepreneurs’ social support [link]

18. The psychological costs of owning and managing an SME: Linking job stressors, occupational loneliness, entrepreneurial orientation, and burnout [link]

19. Sorenson Impact Center - The Status of Utah’s Female and Minority Small Business Owners (2018) [link] - see Recommendations 8 and 9

20. Typically, Google Analytics will report demographic information on website impressions. However the Project DEEP website did not meet the required threshold for this data to be released.

21. For example, see a 2018 study from Columbia University’s Teachers College on EdX and Coursera MOOC completion rates. [link]

22. See approaches to increase engagement in online courses based on experience of online courses at Acumen [link]

23. See discussion on motivating online learners in an OECD review: The potential of online learning for adults: Early lessons from the COVID-19 crisis [link]

APPENDIX

Appendix 1: Technical Assistance Data Collection

Technical Assistance participant surveys

The Project DEEP team partnered with the two Technical Assistance providers to deploy six Minding My Own Business surveys for each of the three cohorts of program participants: pre-program, post-program, 30 days post, 60 days post, 90 days post, and 6 months post program. The surveys received 123 responses in total. The response rates for each cohort and survey are shown in Table 3.

The questions used in the Technical Assistance participant surveys are shown as follows for each category of questions.

Demographic information | Pre-program survey only

• Indicate what gender you identify with

Male, Female, Transgender, Gender neutral, or Other

• Indicate your race or ethnicity

White, Hispanic, African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or Other

• Do you identify as Hispanic or Latino

Hispanic or Latino or Spanish

Not Hispatnic or Latino or Spanish

Business outcomes | All surveys

• Is the business you are working on one of your household’s primary sources of income?

Yes, No

• Is your business currently generating a profit?

Yes, No, Unsure

• How many jobs does your business currently provide (including your own, contractors, etc )? [Free text]

• What is your previous month’s total revenue? [Free text]

• What is your previous month’s net profit? [Free text]

• What is your business’s profit margin (the amount by which revenue from sales exceeds costs in a business)? If not applicable, respond with N/A [Free text]

• Have you accessed capital prior to starting the Minding My Own Business program? [Free text]

• What type of capital have you accessed?

Personal Funding (i.e. savings, family, etc), Loan of Credit, Loan, Grant, Angel, Venture Funding, and/or Other

• How much capital have you accessed? [Free text]

Business goals | All surveys

In the following questions you will use your predefined goals to answer the questions.

• What are your 2-3 business goals for this course? [Free text]

• Where are you in achieving goal one?

I will not achieve my goal, I will partially achieve my goal, I will achieve my goal, My goal has changed and this is no longer a priority

• Where are you in achieving goal two?

I will not achieve my goal, I will partially achieve my goal, I will achieve my goal, My goal has changed and this is no longer a priority

• Where are you in achieving goal three (if applicable)

I will not achieve my goal, I will partially achieve my goal, I will achieve my goal, My goal has changed and this is no longer a priority

• Where are you in achieving goal three (if applicable)

I will not achieve my goal, I will partially achieve my goal, I will achieve my goal, My goal has changed and this is no longer a priority

• Any additional comments or questions regarding the Minding My Own Business Program? [Free text]

Entrepreneurial Orientation | All surveys

Entrepreneurial Orientation questions are designed for participants to self-assess their entrepreneurial mindset across 3 key dimensions: innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking. Participants were asked to respond to 9 questions on a 7 point scale. The lowest (score of 1) and highest (score of 7) points of response for each question are shown in Table 4.

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule | All surveys

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) survey is a scale that consists of different words that describe feelings and emotions. Positive affect refers to the propensity to experience positive emotions and interact with others positively, even through the challenges of life. Negative affect, on the other hand, involves experiencing the world in a more negative way. The survey responses are based on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1- very slightly or not at all, 2 - a little, 3 - moderately, 4 - quite a bit, and 5 - extremely. The PANAS statements are shown in Table 5.

Networking outcomes | Post-program, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months post-program only

• I am still engaged with (WBCU or NP) in some way.

Yes, No

• I am still in contact with a peer I met in the program.

Yes, No

• I am still in contact with a mentor I met in the program.

Yes, No

Grand Total 123

Table 3: Number of responses for each Technical Assistance participant survey

Table 4: Entrepreneurial Orientation questions – lowest and highest points of the 7 point response scale

Low Score – 1 High Score – 7

Innovativeness questions:

In general with my business, I favor...

1. A strong emphasis on the marketing of tried and proven products or services

A strong emphasis on developing something new, technological leadership and innovation.

How many new lines of products or services have you marketed in your business since its inception?

2. No new lines of products or services

3. Changes in product or service lines have been mostly of a minor nature

Many new lines of products or services

Changes in product or service lines have usually been quite dramatic

Proactiveness questions:

In dealing with competitors as a business owner, I...

4. Typically respond to the actions of my competition

5. Am very seldom the first to introduce new products/ services, administrative techniques, operating technologies, etc.

6. Typically seek to avoid competitive clashes, preferring a “live and let live” approach

Typically initiate actions to which competition then responds

Am very often the first firm to introduce new products/services, administrative techniques, operating technologies, etc.

Typically adopt a very competitive, “beat the competitors” approach

Risk-taking questions:

In general with my business, I have...

7. A strong tendency for low-risk projects (with normal and certain rates of return)

In general with my business, I believe that..

8. Owing to the nature of the environment, it is best to explore gradually via continuous, incremental behavior

A strong tendency for high-risk projects (with chances of very high returns)

Owing to the nature of the environment, bold, wideranging acts are necessary to achieve my business objectives

When confronted with decision-making situations involving uncertainty in my business, I...

9. Typically adopt a cautious, “wait and see” approach in order to minimize the probability of making costly decisions

Typically adopt a bold, aggressive approach in order to maximize the probability of exploiting potential opportunities

• I find value in the network created through the Minding Your Own Business program.

Likert Scale 1-5 [Agree to Disagree]

• I have found a sense of community after participating in the Minding Your Own Business program

Likert Scale 1-5 [Agree to Disagree]

• My networking has increased since participating in the Minding Your Own Business program.

Likert Scale 1-5 [Agree to Disagree]

• I have not stayed in contact with the Minding Your Own Business program, peers, or mentor but have established relationships with other networks/programs for entrepreneurs.

Yes, No, N/A

• If Yes, please fill in which network or program you established relationships with [Free text]

Learning outcomes | Post-program survey only

• The Design session added value to my business

Yes, No, Unsure

• Specifically, I found ___ to be the most valuable component from the Design session for my business

Personal values, Exit strategy, Creating a roadmap, None of the above

• The Niche session added value to my business

Yes, No, Unsure

• Specifically, I found ___ to be the most valuable component from the Niche session for my business

Table 5: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) survey questions

Positive Negative

I feel interested in my business.

I feel excited about my business.

I feel strongly about my business.

I feel enthusiastic about my business.

I feel proud of my business.

I feel alert in my business.

I feel inspired with my business.

I feel determined with my business.

I feel attentive towards my business.

I feel active in my business.

I feel distressed about my business.

I feel upset about my business.

I feel guilty about my business.

I feel scared about my business.

I feel hostile about my business.

I feel irritable about my business.

I feel ashamed about my business.

I feel nervous about my business.

I feel jittery about my business.

I feel afraid with my business.

Competitive advantages, Value proposition statement, Target audience/customer avatar, Branding style guide, None of the above

• The Budget session added value to my business

Yes, No, Unsure

• Specifically, I found ___ to be the most valuable component from the Budget session for my business

Billable hours, Revenue streams, Cost of goods sold COGS, Fixed expenses, Break-even point, Monthly budget, None of the above

• The Systematize session added value to my business

Yes, No, Unsure

• Specifically, I found ___ to be the most valuable component from the Systematize session for my business

Time management (TM), Systems and processes, Automation, None of the above

• The Generate session added value to my business

Yes, No, Unsure

• Specifically, I found ___ to be the most valuable component from the Generate session for my business

Generate sales, Lead generation, Automated processes for customer communication, Getting customer feedback, None of the above

• The Outsource session added value to my business

Yes, No, Unsure

• Specifically, I found ___ to be the most valuable component from the Outsource session for my business

Owners strengths and weaknesses, Delegate to specialists, Contractors, Strategic partners, Collaborators, None of the above

• The Track session added value to my business

Yes, No, Unsure

• Specifically, I found ___ to be the most valuable component from the Track session for my business

Metrics, Milestones, Key Performance Indicators

KPI, Use Metrics, Milestones and KPI to analyze business, Accountability / Masterminds, None of the above

Program Quality Assurance Questions | Post-program survey only

• Are there other ways that could help you feel connected to the program/support/network after the program ends?

LinkedIn, Monthly Zoom Calls, Text, Emails, Slack Channel, Private FB group, In person meetings, and/ or Other

• How much should this program cost? [Free text]

How much would you have been WILLING to pay for this program? [Free text]

• How much would you have been ABLE to pay for this program? [Free text]

• Do you see any potential barriers to entrepreneurs, like yourself, participating in this program? (i.e., in-person format, dates, times, childcare, etc.)

Yes, No, or Other

• If yes, please provide examples [Free text]

Technical Assistance partner debriefs with

WBCUtah and New Pattern:

A 45 minute debrief interview was conducted with each Technical Assistance delivery partner. The interview questions are as follows.

Overall reflections:

• How did the program go overall?

• What do you think could have gone better?

• What are some interesting insights you gained from teaching this?

Program participation:

• How would you describe the participants - what was their profile in terms of their business backgrounds,

their existing knowledge and the type of support they needed?

• To what extent did the participants reflect your intended audience?

• What kind of advertising did you use for recruitment?

• Would you change anything in future in terms of how you would recruit participants to a course like this?

Program delivery:

• Which aspects of the MMOB curriculum resonated most with participants?

• Were there any parts of the curriculum that participants were less interested in, or seemed to have less need for?

• Would you change anything in how the MMOB curriculum is designed or delivered in future?

Outcomes for participants:

• To what extent do you think the MMOB program was successful in enhancing entrepreneurial skills, mindset, support and business success for marginalized individuals?

• What helped or hindered the program to support these outcomes?

General feedback

• What, if anything, did this program not offer that the participants want or need for their businesses?

• What, if anything, was missing from this experience or partnership that would have increased overall success of the program?

Technical Assistance participant interviews

The Project DEEP team completed three qualitative interviews with former participants from both WBCUtah and New Pattern cohorts. The interviews were confidential and any findings or quotes are not attributed to individuals. Each interview ran for approximately 30 minutes. The interview questions are as follows.

• How did the program go overall for you?

• What do you think could have gone better?

• Which aspects of the MMOB curriculum resonated most with you?

• Were there any parts of the curriculum that you were less interested in, or had less need for?

• Would you change anything in how the MMOB curriculum is designed or delivered in future?

• What were the most important new skills you learned?

• Are there any changes you have made in your business or as a business owner as a result of this program, what was the impact of these?

• What, if anything, did this program not offer that you want or need for your businesses?

Appendix 2: Overview of Minding My Own Business

With support from Project DEEP, WBCUtah in collaboration with New Pattern designed a technical assistance program, Minding My Own Business (MMOB). MMOB was modified from an existing program for women business owners to be tailored specifically for solo entrepreneur women.

The objective of MMOB is to “help a solopreneur become more efficient and effective, so she can confidently run a profitable business that supports her family and lifestyle.”

MMOB helps women solopreneurs to:

• Learn what you currently don’t know you don’t know

• Increase your confidence in running your business

• Get things done you keep putting off

• Women peers, mentor and instructors who rally around you

• Fix your business with new strategies

• Dedicated time to get things done for your business

• Become more efficient at what you do

• Get more accomplished without hiring anyone

• Accelerate sales

• Keep more of the money you earn

• Take control of your business and destiny

• Better support your self/life and family

MMOB is delivered as a seven-week cohort program in a peer-to-peer environment, based around seven modules: Design, Niche, Budget, Systematize, Generate, Outsource, Track. The ongoing WBCUtah program requires a time commitment of five hours per week over the seven week duration. There are three dimensions of the program running concurrently through the seven weeks:

• Peer-Learning: Meet weekly with other women solopreneurs for interactive group lessons with exercises, videos and breakout sessions.

• Projects: Work on valuable projects, starting in class with templates, that are critical to success and immediately implementable in your business.

• Mastermind: Join a small group of cohort members weekly, led by a mentor, to share, support and be accountability partners to one another.

With support from Project DEEP, the pilot cohorts of MMOB were offered for free to women solo entrepreneurs. WBCUtah is continuing to offer MMOB free for any business owner in Utah.

Appendix 3: Programming Data Collection

Thinkific course metrics

User information:

• Name

• Gender

• Email

• Number of course enrollments

• List of courses enrolled in

• Referral link (if applicable)

• Role [free text]

Course review:

• Rating out of five starts

• Review title

• Generic comment box

Course completion, for each user in each course:

• Date of enrollment creation

• User email

• Enrolled course

• % of course completed

• % of course completed

0-25% complete, 25-50% complete, 50-75% complete, 75-100% complete

• Customer type

Returning customer, New customer

Video data, for each video in each course:

• Average engagement

• Play rate %

• Loads

• Plays

• Visitors

• Hours watched

• Engagement peak (number, time)

• Engagement lowest (number, time)

• Rewatch peak (number, time)

Thinkific website metrics from Google Analytics

• New and returning users:

• New users by geographic location

• Website Platform / Device Access

All pre-course and post-course demographic questions

• What best describes your role Founder, Entrepreneur, Funder, Other

• What gender do you identify as? Man, Woman, Other

• Geography (City, State)

• Hispanic Yes, No

• Race White Black or African American Asian American Indian or Alaska Native Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Other

Demystifying Entrepreneurship with

Kimmy Paluch

Pre-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have a good understanding of how startups get established and gain traction.

• I have a good understanding of the tools needed for founders to be successful.

• I have a good understanding of how to find a productmarket fit.

Post-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have gained knowledge on how to get established and gain traction in a small business.

• I have gained knowledge on the tools needed for founders to be successful.

• I have gained knowledge on how to find a productmarket fit.

Funding for Growth with Christina Taylor

Pre-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have a good understanding of sound financial management for small businesses.

• I have a good understanding of how self-funding, grants, debt, and equity works.

Post-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have gained knowledge on sound financial management for small businesses.

• I have gained knowledge on how self-funding, grants, debt, and equity works.

Scaling Through Systems with Raquel Wilson

Pre-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have a good understanding of how to assess, categorize and prioritize problems in my business.

• I have a good understanding of the three key components for creating strong and scalable systems (documentation, technology, and people).

• I have a good understanding of how to solve problems in my business by utilizing systems (E.g. Emailing: A series of canned emails, turning your autoresponder on, or creating a schedule for checking, writing, and filing emails).

Post-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have gained knowledge on how to assess, categorize and prioritize problems in my business.

• I have gained knowledge of the three key components for creating strong and scalable systems (documentation, technology, and people).

• I have gained knowledge on how to solve problems in my business by utilizing systems (E.g. Emailing: A series of canned emails, turning your autoresponder on, or creating a schedule for checking, writing, and filing emails.)

Women Investing for Change with Rose Maizner

Pre-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have a good understanding of how early stage investment can support women and diverse entrepreneurs.

• I have a good understanding of the fundamentals of early-stage investing.

• I have a good understanding of early stage investment options, including crowdfunding, friends and family investing, angel investing and fund investing.

Post-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have gained knowledge on how early stage investments can support women and diverse entrepreneurs

• I have gained knowledge of the fundamentals of earlystage investing

• I have gained knowledge of early stage investment options, including crowdfunding, friends and family investing, angel investing and fund investing.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building with Dell Gines

Pre-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have a good understanding of how traditional economic development leaves minority communities out.

• I have a good understanding of the benefits of entrepreneurship to communities.

• I have a good understanding of how to build more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Post-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have gained knowledge on how traditional economic development leaves minority communities out.

• I have gained knowledge on the benefits of entrepreneurship to communities.

• I have gained knowledge on how to build more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Designing Economies for People and Planet with Todd Khozein/SecondMuse

Pre-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have a good understanding of how institutions and changemakers can collaborate to create innovative solutions to problems.

• I have a good understanding of how to navigate relationships between organizations in the entrepreneurial system.

• I have a good understanding of how to build trusted relationships across different groups in the entrepreneurial system.

Post-course survey

On a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, agree, strongly agree)

• I have gained knowledge on how institutions and changemakers can collaborate to create innovative solutions to problems.

• I have gained knowledge on how to navigate relationships between organizations in the entrepreneurial system.

• I have gained knowledge on how to build trusted relationships across different groups in the entrepreneurial system.

Appendix 4: Project DEEP Published Content

General Project DEEP

• B the Change

• Linkedin SIC account

• Linkedin SIC account

• LInkedin SIC account (all courses live)

Conversation series

• Linkedin SIC account

• Linkedin SIC account

• Demystifying Entrepreneurship

• Funding for Growth

• Scaling through Systems

• Women Investing for Change

• Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building

• Designing

for People and Planet

Demystifying Entrepreneurship Q&A Article

• Impact Entrepreneur

• B the Change

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Table 6: Pre- and post-course survey response numbers for each Project DEEP course

Appendix 5: Grant output metrics

Technical Assistance deliverables and metrics:

• 3 cohorts of Technical Assistance program delivery

• 66 women solo entrepreneurs supported

• 21 Technical Assistance meetings (weekly classes for 7 weeks across 3 cohorts)

• 21 mentoring and coaching sessions (weekly mastermind session for 7 weeks across 3 cohorts)

• 30 core concepts reviewed over the 7 modules of the program

Programming deliverables and metrics:

• 6 cinema-quality video courses (24.5 hours of content) centered around key topics in entrepreneurship, investing, and ecosystem building

• 6 applied actionable workbooks - one accompanying each course

• Publication and maintenance of video courses on Thinkific online platform

• 489 people that registered for at least one Project DEEP course

• 633 individual course enrollments

• 3,007 unique visitors to the Project DEEP website since all courses launched in December 2022 to May 2023.

• Convenings and outreach:

Project DEEP conversation series: 6 webinars featuring all Project DEEP course instructors (each 30-45 minutes) with 138 registrants and 37 attendees

Published articles: 7 articles each published on two online magazines/platforms (6 co-developed with Project DEEP course instructors)