In the US, the average white family holds eight times the wealth of the average African American family, and Latino entrepreneurs are 60% less likely to receive approval for small business loans, according to the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative. Moreover, despite the rise in programs to support a broader range of entrepreneurs, only 1% of venture capital goes to Black founders.
For the millions of entrepreneurs locked out of formal systems, what's missing isn’t talent but infrastructure. That’s exactly what ESO Ventures set out to build.
When the organization launched in Oakland, the goal was clear: design a system of support that genuinely meets the needs of under-resourced entrepreneurs. “We started by designing programming that replaced fragmented technical assistance with a coherent, human-centered, and culturally relevant approach,” says Martha Hernandez, Founder of ESO Ventures. “The barriers we were addressing – lack of access to capital, culturally relevant education, and real social mobility – weren’t unique to Oakland. That’s when we knew it was time to expand.” Today, ESO Ventures is scaling this approach through its ESO Infrastructure Stack, with a full suite of systems, tools, and capital that gives under-resourced founders the same kind of infrastructure that powers high-growth startups.
Keeping Up With Silicon Valley
“Silicon Valley startups have a ‘stack,’” Martha explains. “Accelerators, legal templates, engineers, VC funding, PR machines – that’s infrastructure. Most small businesses in underinvested communities have none of that. So ESO Ventures built it for them.”
The Stack includes six integrated layers that serve their portfolio:
“We’re designing and delivering the full stack needed for real-world, community-rooted business success,” Martha says.
What began as a local response is now scaling across California. ESO Ventures has expanded into Antioch and recently signed a contract in Los Angeles. More pilots are in discussion across the Greater Bay Area and Central Valley.
Expansion isn’t about putting a flag on a map for Martha’s team; it’s about strategic alignment. “We look for regions with high racial wealth gaps and low entrepreneurial infrastructure,” Martha explains. “But just as important, we look for readiness: cities, banks, or CDFIs that are ready to co-invest and co-activate the model.”
California’s disparities are stark: According to the California Reinvestment Coalition, under-resourced-owned businesses are denied loans 47% and 42% more often, respectively, than white-owned firms. While this is not as high as the national average of 60%, small businesses in the Central Valley face one of the lowest rates of access to capital in the state, despite the region’s critical role in California’s economy.
ESO Ventures avoids duplicating efforts; instead, it fills clear gaps. In each location, the Stack is adapted to reflect the local needs and realities.
That kind of targeting matters, especially in areas where support is fragmented. Nationally, nearly half of Black-owned businesses are denied financing, compared to just 25% of white-owned firms. ESO Venture’s model isn’t a patch; it’s a redesign.
One of the most surprising wins from expansion? Community ownership.
“We’ve been blown away by how quickly our Community Manager opportunity has scaled,” says Martha. “Entrepreneurs who graduate from our programs are often the ones leading new cohorts. That’s the definition of shared prosperity.”
She points to one entrepreneur in Antioch who joined the incubator to start a photo booth business. “She formalized her business, got her first license, used our fund to purchase equipment, and now she’s fully operational, running events across the city. That’s not just business success. That’s generational wealth in the making.”
Too many programs ask underinvested founders to do more with less, or learn how to ‘hack’ systems that weren’t built for them. ESO Venture’s approach is different.
“First, we focus on dignity,” Martha says. “That means no jargon, no gatekeeping, no credit scores. Our incubator is free, our capital is flexible, and our people reflect the communities we serve. Our stack is designed to remove systemic barriers – not just teach people how to navigate them.”
It’s a crucial shift. Despite the surge in entrepreneurship programs over the past decade, less than 2% of venture funding goes to Latino and Black founders combined. Without systemic change, the disparities persist.
More than 90% of ESO Ventures borrowers are first-time borrowers – a strong signal that the Stack is reaching those who have long been excluded.
As more communities look to replicate ESO Ventures’ model, Martha points to three non-negotiables:
1. Localized learning
“Our training respects culture, language, and lived experience. It’s not one-size-fits-all.”
2. Relationship-based capital
“We lend in ways that meet people where they are – financially, socially, emotionally. That’s how you unlock potential.”
3. Ecosystem integration
“We’re not here to build in a silo. We design to plug into existing city infrastructure, workforce systems, and funding pipelines.”
ESO Ventures isn’t chasing scale for its own sake. Its expansion strategy is rooted in long-term economic transformation. Over the next five years, the goal is to equip more than 100 communities with the Infrastructure Stack and support 10,000 entrepreneurs. The 10-year vision is to put USD 3B in new revenue and create 60,000 jobs through ESO Ventures-backed businesses.
“We’ll measure not just dollars deployed,” Martha says, “but also capital returned, businesses retained, and ecosystem shifts – like increased access to credit and procurement for Black, Brown, and underinvested founders.”
ESO Ventures is proving that entrepreneurship might start with a pitch, but it doesn’t take off without infrastructure. That infrastructure must be designed for the real world, not the whiteboard.
In a landscape full of short-term accelerators and one-off grants, ESO Ventures’ model offers something different: dignity, scale, and permanence. “We’re not just changing who gets to build businesses,” Martha says. “We’re changing what’s possible in the communities they come from.”