Startup Unidos
Startup Unidos creates, cultivates, and supports collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship among diverse populations throughout the Arizona-Sonora region.
Offerings
Programs & Services
Startup Unidos (SU) is committed to being a major catalyst for the long term growth and success of Southern Arizona and Northern Sonora. SU is recognized for developing bilingual programs and tools that are culturally anchored and for the unique ways they reach underserved border communities. Their contributions are not only game-changing, but life-altering.
SU’s vision is to jumpstart and sustain the US/MEX Entrepreneurship Ecosystems through partnerships and coalition building. The intention is to continue to strengthen capacity building, education, mentorship, and knowledge in a dynamic way. They have an established network of trusted relationships on both sides of the border and are actively seeking to expand their reach.
At Startup Unidos the programs are focused on the work, not defined by it. Rather than categorizing people in need, they empower them to transform their circumstances. By identifying gaps and strategically investing in innovative solutions, SU remains able to facilitate real change in the following areas:
Community Support and Engagement
Thought Leadership and Business Services
Education & Capacity Building
Startup Unidos sees challenges at the border as opportunities. SU spans across boundaries with a unique binational and bilingual approach that unites diverse networks from industry, government, academia, and grassroots movements to bring culturally-anchored entrepreneurship support and innovative workforce development to overlooked border communities.
Prerequisites or Exclusions
Serving Maricopa, Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise and Yuma counties.
We span Southern Arizona, USA and Northern Sonora, MEX.
Getting Connected
Follow SU on Facebook and Instagram as @startupunidos for updates on upcoming workshops, events and initiatives. Read more about SU programs and explore deeper by engaging with our impact stories in Blogs at startupunidos.com.
Primary Contact
Stephanie Bermudez
Additional Information
AZNavigator:
We are offering no-cost business in coaching in both Spanish and English at any stage of development as part of the AZNavigator program in Maricopa, Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise and Yuma counties. Our Spanish language business support services include: our personalized Business Model Canvas program, evaluation on your financial readiness and LLC formation, and industry-specific or general coaching. For more information on the AZNavigator, including partners and additional services, please visit localfirstaz.com/aznavigator
Avanza Empowerment Fund:
We are working alongside Tucson IDA as a collaborator and a partner providing guidance and expertise on how to execute transformational Cultural Inclusion, at scale, within Tucson’s IDA access to capital program, AVANZA Empowerment Initiative. SU ensures that every part of the program is culturally competent, we support developing approaches to outreach that meet the unique needs of Tucson’s Hispanic markets. SU also offers support in bilingual and inclusive program development and design establishing protocol and procedures. Tucson IDA understands that the Latino community in Tucson has experienced unique systemic barriers to financial success and generational wealth building. The AVANZA Empowerment Initiative is created to eliminate some of the major barriers, such as credit scores and collateral requirements. Tucson IDA enhances the services with free technical assistance, free Executive Coaching, and a relationship-focused approach to lending. For more information on the AVANZA Empowerment Fund, including partners and additional services, please visit https://www.avanza.fund/
TENWEST Impact Festival:
SU has participated in the TENWEST Impact Festival since the beginning. Consistently celebrating cross border community innovators and builders, recognizing the impact on the ground. Since 2018, notable programs have included but not limited to Techstars and Kapor Center Latinx In Tech Startup Weekend, Your Future Workforce, Now (youth workforce, STEM) and more recently, in 2022, Community Builders Are The Bridge, an interactive session facilitated by community builders in an effort to bring down the perceived barriers of opportunity and innovate without borders.
Waste Binn:
SU’s flagship program offers a distinct innovation to the Southern AZ entrepreneurial ecosystem: The Waste Binn program, an environmental, social justice and entrepreneurship focused program, that is innovative in the approach of providing youth with a diverse set of skills they can use in their academic, professional, and social lives. The partnership of folklife research methodology, environmental science education, and startup entrepreneurship programming has been an innovative praxis. Each discipline has drawn strength from the other and offered points of entry that built a program able to sustain youth participation, community partnership and external financing. Our accomplishments are in the way we uplift the next generation of business leaders and scholars in the region. We empower youth to be the change they wish to see in their community.