When it comes to having an emergency plan, most business owners assume they’re preparing for a natural disaster, a key employee leaving the company or a major client announcing their departure. Those are the kinds of emergencies Hello Alice executives had prepared for.
But a major lawsuit involving a partnership grant with Progressive Insurance to help Black-owned businesses was not on Hello Alice’s 2023 bingo card.
“I don’t think we ever really thought about a lawsuit of this magnitude coming our way,” co-founder Carolyn Rodz said. “I have a new appreciation for what it means to be a financially healthy company when a crisis comes your way but it allowed us to bring in the best resources to fight the fight as strong as we possibly could.”
Small business fintech platform Hello Alice has spent the last year fighting a lawsuit alleging that its partnership grant program with Progressive unlawfully discriminated against business owners based on race.
The suit was officially tossed out in May and the company is ready to pick up where it left off, helping its small business owner members access capital and partner with other major brands for mentorship, growth and grant opportunities.
“A lot of the work we put in during that time (of the lawsuit) was advocating for small businesses and making sure that we were working every possibility we could to continue supporting them,” co-founder Carolyn Rodz told The Press Democrat. “It’s been great to be back to business as usual.”
Hello Alice was founded in 2017 by Houston-based Rodz and Healdsburg-based Elizabeth Gore, who is married to Sonoma County supervisor James Gore. The women created the platform to help small business owners, especially minority business owners, access resources to grow their companies.
Since its inception, the online platform has gained over 1.5 million small businesses members throughout the U.S. and distributed 1.1 million grants to small businesses in the Bay Area.
The platform has also expanded its programming to include multiple avenues for entrepreneurs from partnering with Mastercard to helping business owners build up credit to establishing a Business Health Score assessment tool to creating a personalized path to success.
Data from Hello Alice shows that over 21,000 small business owners in Sonoma County use Hello Alice with 15% of those in the consumer goods, retail and e-commerce industries. Beauty and self-care businesses fall just behind that at 13% of businesses.
According to the data, 33% are focused on raising capital while 21% say they need support with day-to-day operations.
“Nearly two-thirds of businesses have concerns around inflation, maybe their costs are higher or it’s more difficult to do the same business,” Rodz said. “But (these businesses are) continuing to grow in spite of that and we’re seeing more businesses launch than ever before.”
New Boost Camp programs for small businesses
Hello Alice recently announced the expansion of its small business accelerator and 2024 Boost Camp programs, which have helped hundreds of small businesses connect with industry leaders to expand business operations.
The platform partnered with Global Entrepreneurship Network, which will consult on the program curriculum and pair chosen participants to the right mentors among other tasks.
Programs available to business owners this year include partnerships with Antares Capital’s REACH program, Progressive Insurance’s Driving Small Business Forward Grant & Boost Camp Program, Wells Fargo’s Boost Camp and FedEx’s Entrepreneur Fund.
Businesses are selected via an application process and participate in a coaching and mentorship program focused on growing business health.
The applications for Antares Capital and Progressive’s programs have since closed, but applications for the Wells Fargo Boost Camp are being accepted through August 16.
The application period for the FedEx Entrepreneur Fund will be announced later this fall.
“By partnering with major companies, Hello Alice is ensuring that small businesses have access to the tools and opportunities they need to thrive and create jobs in their local communities,” Rodz said. “Together, we are building a robust support system that fosters innovation and growth for small businesses across the country.”
The Boost Camp programs first debuted last year where 100 small businesses were selected to partner with companies such as FedEx and Antares. Six of these businesses were located in the North Bay.
A news release from Hello Alice said participants saw overall improvements to their business health with 60% of Antares’ participants seeing an increase in their business health score and 93% saying they felt better equipped to confront challenges and better equipped to capitalize on business opportunities.