The greatest lesson Isabelle Kent learned in the last year since she was named a Titan 100, was that community is paramount. “It’s one thing to create company culture; it’s another to create connectivity, collaboration and trust around a unified goal,” said Kent. “Community is a critical source of relationships, resources, information, strength and inspiration.”
For entrepreneurs especially, Philly Startup Leaders, led by Kent, is a safety net and a rising tide. Philly Startup Leaders is the region’s largest and most active early-stage startup community. The organization’s missions are to increase the number of entrepreneurs starting, staying, and growing in Philly to create new economic opportunities and to promote a positive perception of the innovation ecosystem.
Under Kent’s leadership, the nonprofit went on a listening tour and reimagined its brand and program to better serve local founders this year. “Through that process, we learned so much simply by speaking to the members we service, and uncovered gaps to fill in the larger ecosystem,” said Kent. “I’ve grown as a leader by learning to better delegate and inspire those with visions in mind to contribute them to a greater cause.”
The organization recruited a mostly new board and onboarded nearly 60 volunteers on the Young Friends Council. In addition, the nonprofit partnered with the New York Angels, Pegasus Ventures, Startup World Cup and AnitaB.org on pitch competitions.
On a higher level, Philly Startup Leaders is working with local studios, incubators, and executives to envision what a comprehensive startup ecosystem would need to grow to better support the innovation economy.
“Philly is sleeping on some serious opportunities to develop collaboration between entrepreneurs and academic researchers to bring world-changing technology to market,” said Kent. “In order to sustain growth in the region, we hope to support the development of new physical infrastructures, improve the workflow of programs to support founders at various stages more effectively, and attract both more capital and more businesses to the region.”
As a leader, Kent is most proud of the team’s progress this year that brought in new nationally renowned partners to increase visibility to the startup community, recruited a growth-minded board, established a Young Friends Council and celebrated its 15-year anniversary as an organization.
“Everything we do at Philly Startup Leaders is rooted in paying forward the support we received as early-stage founders,” said Kent. “It’s definitely more of a calling than a job for the whole team because we lead the charge with our community behind us.”
