About Entrepinayship
The First Entrepinayship Circle - July 2015
Timeline
2014 - Where and how it started.
While Anna Marie Cruz was a Business Counselor at SIPA and API Small Business Program (a Women’s Business Center) she coined the term “Entrepinayship” - a portmanteau of entrepreneurship and “Pinay” or Filipina woman. While leading entrepreneurship training programs, Anna Marie struggled to find mentors for participants and sought to create a dedicated community that would convene Filipina entrepreneurs for peer-to-peer support. The vision for Entrepinayship would evolve to becoming an entrepreneurship ecosystem for Filipinas in the diaspora.
2015 - Our first meet-up.
A group of “entrepinays” met at FOUND, a woman-owned coffee shop for support for the entrepreneurship journey. This was our first “Kumare Circle.” This provided a safe space to share struggles, celebrate wins, and find support in navigating everything in the entrepreneur lifestyle from cash flow to work/life balance to that occasional feeling of self-doubt.
Social impact in the diaspora.
That same year Entrepinayship became a FYLPRO legacy project when Anna Marie was selected by Former Philippine Consul General Herrera-Lim and Former Ambassador Cuisia to serve as one of ten delegates in an annual leadership and immersion program to the Philippines.
2016 - Telling our stories.
Foundher by Entrepinayship, a livestream show, was created to feature stories of Filipina entrepreneurs was launched. This would be converted into a podcast in 2019.
2017 - Sharing our name and our mission.
L.E.A.D. Filipino hosts their first Fly Pinays summit and included an “Entrepinayship Panel.”
2018 - Partnership with the Philippine Consulate of Los Angeles
The Philippine Consulate Los Angeles and Entrepinayship co-hosted a Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum featuring Los Angeles entrepinays (Kristine dela Cruz, Ginger Dimapasok, Kalika Yap, and others), Small Business Majority, and the City of Los Angeles Office of Small Business and Economic Development.
2019 - Building our online and in-person community.
Entrepinayship hosted its first Business x Wellness Retreat in Los Angeles in January to inspire, upskill, and connect aspiring and established entrepreneurs. Programming included Entrepinayship’s key pillars: Wellness and Culture, Personal and Professional Development, and Financial Literacy/Education. In 2019, Entrepinayship also launched its business listing directory featuring Filipina-led businesses and its member network on MightyNetworks.
February - Entrepinayship launched its community mini meetup events, Kumare Circles, to enable members to connect and lead workshops in our focus areas. Kumare Circles were held in the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Honolulu.
September - Entrepinayship partners with Rechie Valdez and Kaibigan Connection to host our second Business x Wellness Retreat in Toronto, Canada.
October - Entrepinayship along with Cafe 86, Ladies of Sound, Whimsy Pasadena, and LA & Co Events organized “Duster Dialogues,” a mini conference and marketplace celebrating Pinay visionaries and entrepreneurs during Filipino American History Month. Entrepinayship also participated at the first City Hall (Los Angeles) FAHM lighting ceremony and provided products from by Entrepinay-owned brands.
2020 - Accelerating our global reach.
February - Entrepinayship in collaboration with NYC Filipinos and Kabisera host one in-person Kumare Circle in New York.
March - Entrepinayship pivots to online programming and proceeds with launching “Entrepinay Day,” an annual celebration of Filipina leadership and resilience on March 19th, the birthdate of Filipina revolutionary Gabriela Silang.
November - Entrepinayship hosted its Business x Wellness Retreat & Summit online as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. This virtual and immersive event takes place November 17-21 in five regions.
2021 - Launching our Kauffman FastTrac program and our first micro grant
We launched the inaugural cohort of Road to Independence and Self Employment (RISE), a 10 week entrepreneurship capacity-building program to support women entrepreneurs of color gain foundational training in entrepreneurship. The program culminated with a pitch presentation. Entrepinayship issued 3 micro grants to 3 pitch presenters totaling $1,000.
2022 - Focusing on access to capital and direct support to entrepreneurs
Selected as one of 11 organizations in California for the California Reinvestment Fund (CRC) Resilience Fund, Entrepinayship is able to utilize this fund to embark on the process of becoming a community lender and technical assistance provider.
