Adidas Community Lab Celebrates Social Entrepreneurs In Portland

The Adidas Community Lab is an accelerator program designed to empower social entrepreneurs and address local issues. Adidas’ Portland, Oregon chapter of its Social Impact Accelerator, now known as Adidas Community Lab, formerly B.L.O.O.M., remains dedicated to supporting Black and Latino social entrepreneurs in advancing equitable access to sports, health, and wellness within their communities. The accelerator program actively fosters impactful futures by incubating ideas for progress and community change.

In collaboration with Impact Hub and Industry Education, Adidas Community Lab developed programming tailored to uplift the next generation of visionaries. Through mentorship, weekly workshops, special meetups, pitch practice, and networking opportunities, the Adidas Community Lab extends many arms in providing opportunities for efficient support, driving positive change among those communities.

Adidas also launched a new documentary series called “Create with Purpose” earlier in March, part of its Honoring Black Excellence (HBE) initiative. The series highlights the achievements of nine pioneering Black women making significant contributions to their local communities.

Among the graduates of the Adidas Community Lab are individuals with inspiring initiatives aimed at fostering equity and inclusion. They are Anibal Rocheta of Loco Por La Aventura, inspiring the Latino community to embrace outdoor activities equitably there is Brennan Scarlett of Big Yard Foundation, fostering academic excellence and holistic well-being for marginalized youth and Julian Alexander of Street Soccer USA PDX using soccer as a tool for social impact and community empowerment.

The graduates also include Lestarya Molloy of Fridie Outdoors, making outdoor knowledge accessible to everyone, as well as Mashari Tyson of Black Excellence Group, who is empowering black students with essential life skills and a sense of belonging, Pamela Slaughter of People of Color Outdoor, providing people of color with safe and inclusive outdoor experiences, Tory Campbell of Play It Safe Flagging System that is creating equitable play spaces to decrease the threat of vehicle-related accidents, and Vanessa Gomez of Flow in the City, who is cultivating a safe and inclusive urban yoga sanctuary, to name a few.

Ayesha Martin, Senior Director of Adidas Purpose [division], expressed excitement about strengthening connections with social entrepreneurs in Portland and building an ecosystem focused on removing barriers to accessing sports. She emphasized the program’s growth trajectory in the coming years.

In its inaugural year of 2022, eight entrepreneurs, all Black and Latina women, were supported on their journeys to making an impact in the health and wellness space. The 2023 Adidas Community Lab Cohort aims to continue supporting entrepreneurs in realizing their ideas and surpassing their aspirations.

Senior Director Martin shares her and Adidas’ sentiments in supporting these entrepreneurial endeavors from each founder. There is a commitment to sporting and outdoor activities underserved in communities of color, and very few access points are being addressed.

“What’s compelling about the work that we do is it’s at the intersection of sport and culture, and, of course, fashion is a huge part of how we connect to our consumers, Martin declares. “This particular opportunity is focused on social enterprises and leaders trying to create active change within the community that creates more opportunities and closes the opportunity gap that exists for Black and Latino entrepreneurs or community members specifically. We focus on sports and access to sport, within that, innovation.”

Martin continues in describing the details of the effectiveness of the program stating, “We do lots of other programs outside of this accelerator, which is specifically focused on how we can ensure that young kids are aware of the opportunities to work in our industry because lots of people dream about being a pro athlete, but the stats are pretty harsh [in reality]. There’s less than [I think] 1% of young athletes that actually go or can become pro. We’re trying to create a window to a world where they reimagine a future of sport. They might not be on the field of play, but designing the shoes or the clothing that athletes may be wearing in that regard or just forging a career in the sporting industry. That’s the connection to culture.”

“The interesting and compelling thing about this accelerator program is that we do a lot of work in this space. We work with Black Ambitions specifically when it comes to supporting the next wave of start-ups or early starters and leaders in the business. What’s unique about this program is its focus on community work specifically. Because even when you think about venture capital funding and all of those elements, it’s focused on for-profit – which we’re not against – why we [support] social enterprises because some of these initiatives are actually for-profit and we believe that there’s space for nonprofits and for-profits in this work.”

Over nine months, the Adidas Community Lab participating entrepreneurs receive $75,000 in seed funding, mentorship, workshops, and networking opportunities from the Adidas Community Lab. The program’s second cohort includes visionary leaders committed to making a difference in their communities. The Adidas Community Lab furthers the sentiment and commitment of the shoe company to build the small business sector in communities around America.

Eight pioneering social entrepreneurs have pitched their organizations for additional funding for the seeding round, presenting a stage for each to showcase the impact on their communities. Hosted inside Adidas HQ in Portland, Oregon, this event brings together industry leaders, special guests, and a panel of judges, offering a platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their ventures, ultimately closing the opportunity gap for Black and Latino social entrepreneurs.

“There is a distinct gap felt. If you look at this year’s cohort, there are definitely fashion-forward leaders showing up in this space,” Martin notes of the disparities. “They don’t just bring their commitments to the community, they bring their full selves, and that’s our focus with this program, how we can support them in stepping into their full selves. There’s a lot of focus on leadership personal branding, and how to present yourself and your enterprise to future investors or donors specifically.”

“It’s also about celebrating who we are as a community. From my perspective, and theirs, there is no culture and community so deeply connected that it’s just inherent in everything we do.”

“They’ve gone through pitch perfection. They’ve gone through personal brand moments. They’ve all had access to coaches. It’s also about building and sustaining this ecosystem of change – what I like to call it – because it is about those networks and connections you make, not only through this process but along the journey that helps things get accelerated even more,” she concludes.

At an intimate graduation event, each of the eight graduates presents their organization’s mission and impact, vying to secure additional funding. The audience of over 60 guests includes Adidas leadership, key business partners, and community leaders at the ceremony.

Impact Hub leads efforts in creating a community for impact-driven entrepreneurs, offering support in building better businesses, designing impactful solutions, and envisioning the future. They provide mentorship, events, programming, workshops, and more, empowering entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into action and increase their community impact.

Three recipients were awarded the top prizes, with third place to Brennan Scarlett of Big Yard Foundation and second place to Lestarya Molloy of Fridie Outdoors. The first place honors went to Mashari Tyson of Black Excellence Group, with all participants encouraged to expand their ideas beyond the Adidas Community Lab.

The Adidas Community Lab graduation event celebrates the achievements of social entrepreneurs dedicated to driving positive change. Through mentorship, funding, and support, Adidas has worked the past few years toward the next generation of visionary leaders as much as innovative design. This endeavor to uplift community beacons of business upholds the essence of sporting in underserved communities.