Alongside Peter Celentano, AEO Events Programs Manager, moderating, and Renée Johnson, formerly AEO Senior Director of Regional and Ecosystem Councils and recently promoted to AEO Vice President of Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships who at this time had recently celebrated one year working at the AEO, the Latestsale.com Founder joined the AEO (Association for Enterprise Opportunity) for the “Beyond Pride: Strengthening Economic Opportunity for LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs,” in order to uplift this community of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs during pride month in the USA.
Johnson highlighted the power pathway economic mobility and equity initiatives that underpin the challenges the LGBTQ+ community of entrepreneurs faced despite their resilience. Advancing inclusive strategies and solutions was reiterated as the primary goal of the AEO whose leadership team under President and CEO Natalie Madeira Cofield, recognized the importance of raising awareness of this community’s concerns in light of the AEO “Equity and Opportunity for All” series.
Renée Johnson, AEO Vice President of Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships calls for Business Health Assessments
As a tool for economic mobility and transformation, the AEO, founded in 1991 is a leader in small business development. As the not-for-profit organization strives to support 33M small businesses in the USA, Renée Johnson, AEO Vice President of Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships confirmed that a total of 2,700 organization types are supported in numerous ways from business engagement and training, business health assessments (BHAs), access to lenders, advocacy and research outputs.
Since the AEO’s formation 35 years ago, it has prided itself in advancing policies that have provided essential entrepreneurial resources across the country.
Partnerships with government agencies, philanthropic organizations and corporate entities are crucial for advancing the needs of underserved entrepreneurs seeking access to capital, and who often face biases in the networks that control this critical resource.
The aims of the AEO were reiterated as needing to continue to:
- Lead and strengthen despite barriers
- Deploy essential tools for growth and visibility to ensure small businesses in the USA thrive
- Develop a more Inclusive business ecosystem in the USA
AEO Senior Research Associate Lori Diane Smith Ph.D., unveils the USD 1.7 trillion LGBTQ Enterprise Opportunity
Lori Diane Smith Ph.D., Senior Research Associate at the AEO highlighted the AEO’s research findings covering LGBTQ+ business ownership. The fact sheet highlighted the main obstacles this community faces when attempting to start and grow their enterprises and indicated the importance of creating welcoming spaces to alleviate barriers to opportunity. Unlocking this community’s contribution is vital as it accounts for 1.4M businesses with the capacity to build on its USD 1.7 trillion contribution to the US economy
Furthermore, the Federal Reserve 2024 Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS) https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/reports/survey/2025/2025-report-on-employer-firms in collaboration with twelve Federal Reserve Banks, demonstrates that the LGBTQ+ small business segment is more likely to create other community focused businesses that can in turn offer support to likeminded individuals propelled to start their own enterprises. This resilience and sense for local belonging shows a bias of 70% for the LGBTQ+ community versus a 58% national average.
AEO Senior Research Associate Lori Diane Smith Ph.D., admitted that data gaps in the research did exist however gender identity questionnaires had been completed in order to shape policies, ascertain funding requirements and other small business support parameters.
The “Policy environment matters,” was also debated as in cases where State level changes mean protections are rolled back, the far-reaching economic impacts of running a business are therefore felt by all. These systemic barriers need to be removed in order to build the US economy to its optimum level. This requires a concerted effort to invest in entrepreneurs from every background, adopt more inclusive policies that in turn facilitate the collection of improved data policy makers can refer to.
Spencer Watson, Founder and Executive Director of CLEAR moderated the panel insisting that, “the LGBTQ community attracts 16% less support via traditional funding vehicles compared to other entrepreneurs.”
Panel Moderator Spencer Watson, Founder and Executive Director of CLEAR, the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement and Research, joined the session with a lot on his mind. With a background in consumer financial protection, Watson was joined by:
Martha P. Gomez
Workforce Development Director at Trans Can Work, an LA county, California company committed to developing employment opportunities in corporate spaces, and providing small business loans when typically, traditional business funding routes fail.
M.V.Lee Badgett, PhD
Chief Economist and Founding Partner of Koppa – The LGBTI+ Economic Power Lab. Badgett is a self-declared Economist and recovering academic, dedicated to creating an ecosystem of economic empowerment for the LGBTI community.
Brian Richardson, the CEO of StartOut, that supports over 500,000 entrepreneurs every year within the LGBTQ+ community, and since 2019 has built a community of in excess of 28,000 members, joined the panel brimming with superlative enthusiasm. His team’s relentless drive towards social equity is summed up as follows: “We will not rest until every entrepreneur has the support and the resources they need to thrive on a level playing field.”
As highlighted in the captivating StartOut 2023 State of LGBTQ Entrepreneurship Report Startout.org, the LGBTQ start up community has a lot to shout about, as recent statistics demonstrate that with this cohort, “36% more jobs are created, 114% more patents are filed, and 44% more exits are achieved.” Yet, despite these stellar economic facts, the LGBTQ community tends to attract 16% less support via funding traditional vehicles compared to other entrepreneurs.
StartOut CEO Brian Richards hails the Black community for supporting Preachers
Panel Moderator Spencer Watson, Founder and Executive Director of CLEAR, asked the panel to define economic opportunity and communicate which issues are the most urgent to address.
CEO of StartOut, Brian Richardson, expressed the need to live and thrive whilst securing economic independence. Richardson highlighted the ethos of social progress equates to accessing good paying jobs and referred to the state of Alabama from where the U.S. Civil Rights Movement was born at a time when during the 1950s and 1960s the relentless goal to achieve parity was fought by African Americans.
Richardson explained how Preachers in Alabama, were supported by the Black community to evolve and succeed at churches and stated, “Preacher’s pay checks were written by Black folks.” Support must come from within Richardson insisted.
The AEO’s “Equity and Opportunity for All” series, continued to spotlight the unique challenges LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs meet on a daily basis. Inclusive strategies, policies, and partnerships are pushing the dial to supercharge this vibrant community.
Martha P. Gomez, Workforce Development Director at Trans Can Work insists, “Work one job, not two or three.”
The delightful Martha P. Gomez, Workforce Development Director at Trans Can Work emphasized the importance of creating a work life balance, achieving enough economic security to impress peers by working 40 hours not 80 hours a week, take a vacation, and disconnect. Her motto is, “Work one job, not two or three.”
M.V.Lee Badgett, PhD, Chief Economist and Founding Partner of Koppa highlighted the need for recognition of a community with a lot to contribute, and whose skills and creativity are underutilized due to this lack of opportunity. Badgett called for organizations and persons of influence, to speak up for them in the corridors of power.
CLEAR Founder and Executive Director, and Panel Moderator Spencer Watson, indicated what mattered to him was achieving financial security, affordable housing, and having the ability to purchase the necessities in life that deliver these financial freedoms to pursue financial goals, take risks, and become a decision maker.
Martha P. Gomez, Workforce Development Director at Trans Can Work indicated that historically, the LGBTQ+ community have always been hustlers, due to the reduced access to jobs. The need to create an income and see obstacles as opportunities is paramount. Often this sense of resilience, has enabled the community to be able to take on the societal discards and see them instead as opportunities. However Gomez insists that this hustler banner may be disparaging to some and there is no reason why the LGBTQ+ community cannot also be referred to simply as entrepreneurs.
Brian Richardson, StartOut CEO reveals LGBTQ+ Founders file more patents as illustrated by HashiCorp IBM acquisition and Google Wiz acquisition
Brian Richardson, StartOut CEO, indicated that of the $2 trillion in VC funding over 20 years, just 0.5% has been allocated to LGBTQ+ Founders despite the fact that this cohort of Founders have consistently filed more patents, achieve larger ROIs, and create more jobs. Richardson accused decision makers of simply, “ignoring the data and the reality.”
Further examples were highlighted, attesting to the success of the LGBTQ+ business community:
27TH February 2025, IBM completed a $6.4BN acquisition of HashiCorp , ($35 per share) in cash. “This sale aims to create a comprehensive, end-to-end hybrid cloud platform that leverages HashiCorp’s infrastructure automation and security products. The deal gives IBM access to HashiCorp’s popular tools like Terraform and Vault, enhancing its own automation and cloud offering”
Richardson also indicated further success stories continue to be unleashed such as cybersecurity startup superstar Wiz, also recently sold to Google for $32B. As reported in CRN, a media brand of The Channel Company, and the number one trusted source for IT channel news, “Google is in the process of acquiring cloud security company Wiz for $32 billion, with the deal expected to close in 2026. The acquisition has cleared the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust review, which was a key milestone, though the deal is still subject to closing conditions in other jurisdictions. This deal is the largest acquisition in Google’s history and is intended to enhance Google Cloud’s security offerings and multi-cloud capabilities
Equally, CTECH, by Calcalist confirmed that “With the U.S. Department of Justice ending its antitrust review of Google’s $32 billion acquisition of Israeli cyber company Wiz, the tech giant is accelerating its preparations for the deal’s completion.“
Richardson was proud to announce that the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world Lucy Guo, as also reported in Women in Tech derives from the LGBTQ+ community. After co-founding the AI company Scale AI aged 21, she has continued with a new creator platform venture Passes.
Summary notes: LGBTQ+ representation matters
Concluding notes from the panel were:
“Queer People Make a Difference”
“Queer People Are a Good Bet.”
In light of the U.S. 2025 DEI program cuts that may not align with the concept of diverse opinions having a voice, the panel’s take on the matter could be summed up as follows:
“If family cannot support you, how can you raise a friends and family round? Many friends may themselves be struggling to get a job. That is why LGBTQ+ representation in the corridors of power matters.”