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Ascender Empowers Black-Owned Businesses with Over $8,000 in Mini Grants

Mini-Grants supporting Black-owned startups and small businesses in Allegheny County Ascender has proudly awarded (5) mini-grants, varying from $300 to $5,000, to deserving Black-owned startups and small businesses situated in Allegheny County. Congratulations to the winners! Your dedication and innovation have shone brightly, and we’re… Read more »

DOMINIQUE SCAIFE

FROM THE START: A chat with the founder of Kool Image Dolls Dominique Scaife, founder of Kool Image Dolls. Ascender’s FROM THE START series continues with our 2023–2024 Incubator! Too often, we learn from other founders only after they’ve “already made it,” but there’s a lot to… Read more »

JAEHEE CHO

FROM THE START: A chat with the founder of Danceapply.com Jaehee Cho, founder of Dancers Connect and its flagship platform, Danceapply.com. Ascender’s FROM THE START series continues with our 2023–2024 Incubator! Too often, we learn from other founders only after they’ve “already made it,” but… Read more »

BECKY BILLOCK

FROM THE START: A chat with the founder of Noteful Becky Billock, founder of Noteful. Ascender’s FROM THE START series continues with our 2023–2024 Incubator! Too often, we learn from other founders only after they’ve “already made it,” but there’s a lot to gain from their journeys… Read more »

Ascender Awards $15,000 to Latine Entrepreneurs

Mini-Grants supporting Latine-owned startups and small businesses in Allegheny County In a heartwarming celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month on Saturday, October 14th, Ascender proudly unveiled the recipients of seven mini-grants to Latine-owned startups and small businesses in Allegheny County. These grants ranged from $500 to… Read more »

Ascender Empowers Latinx Entrepreneurs with Mini-Grant Program

Mini-Becas, Acelera Tu Negocio Con Ascender In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re launching the Mini-Becas, Acelera Tu Negocio Con Ascender Latinx Mini-Grants Program. This initiative aims to support and uplift the vibrant Latinx community in Allegheny County by providing mini-grants of up to $5,000 to… Read more »

Tapping into Local & National Resources as a Young Entrepreneur

Your Guide to Success Hey there, future trailblazers, my name is Kenet Espina, and I’m a high school student interning at Ascender for the summer. If you’re reading this, it means you, like me, have caught the entrepreneurial bug and are excited to explore the possibility of… Read more »

Thinking about fundraising?

Here are 5 steps for your business to get started Finding and organizing investors is essential for securing the capital and resources to fuel business growth and development, enabling startups and companies to bring their ideas to fruition and achieve their goals. Crunchbase is a powerful… Read more »

Ascender’s 2023–2024 Incubator Cohort

Unleashing the next wave of innovation: 11 startups to watch Founders participating in Ascender’s 2023–2024 Incubator Cohort. We’re thrilled to unveil the 11 Pittsburgh-based companies selected for our highly competitive 2023–2024 Incubator. Chosen from a fiercely competitive pool of over 50 startups and micro/small businesses, these… Read more »

Customer Discovery

The ‘not-so-secret’ code to your entrepreneurial success Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A. The Konami Code is a series of buttons that many kids growing up in the 80s and 90s had burned into their memory because it unlocks a different bonus feature in over 100 video games. Extra lives, added… Read more »

The Ultimate Guide to Showing Traction

Tips for Early-Stage Startups Are you an early-stage entrepreneur looking to make a splash with your startup? One key aspect that can make a world of difference is demonstrating traction. Traction serves as proof of concept, communicates a path to revenue and profitability, and helps… Read more »