Underinvested companies at Lunar Startups create $294 million in economic impact for Minnesota
St. Paul, MN. – Lunar Inc. dba Lunar Startups is proud to announce in their 2021 impact report that the startup companies who have participated in the Lunar Accelerator since 2018 have created an estimated $294 million dollars in economic impact. To read the report, visit this link.
The Lunar Accelerator is a six-month program supporting early-stage, high-growth companies ranging from consumer packaged goods to tech-enabled solutions and led by founders who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ, women, and non-binary.
Lunar partnered with Ecotone Analytics, an impact analysis consulting firm, to launch a longitudinal study assessing the impact of the Lunar program on the business community as well as the impact of the founders whom they serve on the region.
“As a young nonprofit organization, we felt it was critical that we take an evidence-based approach to our strategic planning process and to contribute to the growing conversation on the importance of supporting underinvested entrepreneurs,” says Danielle Steer, founding executive director.
The Ecotone team leveraged pre-program and post-program data from the 45 startups who participated in Cohort 1 through 4 including jobs created, contractors engaged, revenue generated, and capital raised.
Lunar defined economic impact as the aggregated total value created via direct job creation, indirect job creation (the entire supply chain supporting each direct job created), and induced effects (how those employees might reinvest their money into their communities).
“This report validates our approach and demonstrates that inclusive entrepreneurship can benefit everyone in this community, not just the founders served,” adds Danielle. “And we’re just getting started. This data has inspired us to set a new strategic ambition of creating $1 billion in economic impact in Minnesota by 2025.”
Lunar and Ecotone will continue the research in 2022 including a deep dive on the Lunar’s direct role in the economic impact and determining the social return on investment of the organization.
"Ecotone is excited to be a part of the vibrant and valuable foundation that Lunar is building with our community of diverse startup leaders,” says Ecotone co-founder, Tim Roman. “Lunar's focus on the intentional building of social, inspirational, and financial capital is helping founders build the networks that create long-term value. We are thrilled to partner with Lunar and want to continue to help calculate the impact value for their efforts.”
For more information and to read the report, visit this link.