HUSTLE Winston-Salem

What HUSTLE Winston-Salem does

HUSTLE Winston-Salem is a North Carolina nonprofit organization founded in 2016/2017 that operates an inclusive entrepreneurship support ecosystem in the Piedmont Triad. Its stated mission is to facilitate a more inclusive local innovation economy by serving entrepreneurs most at risk of systematic exclusion—people of color (Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, Native American, and immigrant founders), women of all backgrounds, and marginalized communities vulnerable to gentrification. The organization was incubated as the Inclusive Entrepreneurship prototype within the EmcArts Community Innovation Lab convened by the Kenan Institute for the Arts, the Winston-Salem Foundation, and the Arts Council of WS/FC, and continued as an independent entity after the lab ended in 2017 due to sustained community demand.

Service delivery runs through three physical sites—FlyWheel Coworking in Downtown Winston-Salem (headquarters), Sparq at the redeveloped Bailey Power Plant (Winston-Salem), and Revolution Mill (Greensboro)—plus a layered calendar of programs. Monthly offerings include Marketing Outside The Box, Womenpreneur Wednesdays, For The Culture, and HUSTLE Night; quarterly programs include Labs, HUSTLE Happy Hour, and Her HUSTLE; national initiatives include The Come Up (a 12-week accelerator for Black and Brown founders delivering $50,000 equity investments to 5 companies per cohort, in partnership with New Ventures), the Inclusive Investment Summit, and Black Wall Street Forward (piloted in Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem with Forward Cities and Truist Foundation). The portfolio is rounded out by Stakeholder Education, Programming Services for partner organizations, Community Funding vehicles, and HUSTLE Reports (research on Black and Hispanic entrepreneurship in Winston-Salem).

The business model is donation- and grant-driven: the website funnels contributions through PayPal; programming services are delivered to other organizations on a professional-services basis; and accelerator capital is deployed via New Ventures as a partner. HUSTLE is led by founder and Executive Director Magalie Yacinthe with a four-person core team and a seven-member board chaired by Kellie Easton. Strategic partners include Truist Foundation, NC IDEA, Forward Cities, the Winston-Salem Foundation, and the host venues Flywheel, Sparq, and Revolution Mill. No technology product, API, or AI capability is part of the offering; the value proposition is relationship-based community support, accessible space, education, and capital deployment.

Name

HUSTLE Winston-Salem

Legal name

HUSTLE Winston-Salem

Website

https://hustlews.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HUSTLE Winston-Salem is a North Carolina nonprofit that supports underrepresented entrepreneurs—particularly people of color, women, and marginalized communities—through coworking spaces, education, networking events, and an accelerator across three Piedmont Triad locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Support Services

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (813990)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Marketing, Branding & Sales Skills (EDAMAHAG), Financial Literacy, Budgeting & Personal Finance (EDAMAHAE), Accelerator / Incubator-Backed ETA Programs (FSANALAD)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurial ecosystem support
• Inclusive entrepreneurship programs
• Small business development services
• Community coworking spaces
• Entrepreneurial education workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Winston Salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The organization accepts donations through PayPal to support their mission of inclusive entrepreneurship. The website features a prominent donate button and form.
2. Program Services: Revenue generated through programming services provided to local organizations, including program development and management services for entrepreneurial programming.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HUSTLE Winston-Salem is a nonprofit that facilitates an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem through coworking spaces, educational programs, networking events, mentorship, and accelerator services targeting underrepresented entrepreneurs in Winston-Salem and the Triad region. It operates three physical locations (FlyWheel, Sparq, Revolution Mill) and runs recurring programs such as Marketing Outside The Box, Womenpreneur Wednesdays, The Come Up Accelerator, Paper Cha$er, and the Inclusive Investment Summit. Revenue is generated through donations and program services delivered to local organizations.

Product overview

HUSTLE Winston-Salem is an inclusive entrepreneurship support organization offering a comprehensive ecosystem of programs and services for underrepresented entrepreneurs. The core offerings include educational programs (Marketing Outside The Box, Entrepreneurial Education), networking events (HUSTLE Night, HUSTLE Happy Hour, Womenpreneur Wednesdays), and accelerator programs (The Come Up). Physical services include coworking spaces at three locations and community funding vehicles. The organization also produces research reports and runs the Inclusive Investment Summit and Black Wall Street Forward national initiative. The programs collectively aim to accelerate women, people of color, and marginalized business districts through education, mentoring, networking, and funding support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Come Up Accelerator

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, supporting and founding.

• New VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Ventures has partnered with HUSTLE to bring The Come Up Accelerator to Winston-Salem. New Ventures is one of the only inception-stage, investor-led startup accelerators in the Southeast, providing investors, subject matter experts, and mentors who understand building a company as a minority.
• Forward CitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForward Cities serves as the national hub for the Black Wall Street Forward initiative, of which HUSTLE Winston-Salem is a local pilot partner. The initiative is modeled on the pillars that made the original Black Wall Street successful. Forward Cities CEO Fay Horwitt serves on HUSTLE's programming ecosystem.
• Flywheel CoworkingcoreOthersFlywheel Coworking hosts HUSTLE's headquarters at 500 West 5th Suite #800 in Downtown Winston-Salem, providing physical space for operations, events, and programming.
• Sparq (Bailey Power Plant)coreOthersSparq's redeveloped Bailey Power Plant houses HUSTLE's second location at 486 Patterson Ave 2nd Floor, serving as home to community engagement and inclusive entrepreneurial opportunities.
• Revolution MillcoreOthersRevolution Mill in Greensboro houses HUSTLE's third location at 1250 Revolution Mill Dr., expanding HUSTLE's reach throughout the Triad region.
• Winston-Salem FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Winston-Salem Foundation was a founding partner, having co-convened the EmcArts Community Innovation Lab with the Kenan Institute for the Arts and Arts Council of WS/FC that led to HUSTLE's creation.
• NC IDEAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNC IDEA is represented on HUSTLE's board (Allan Younger, Senior Director of Programs) and partners on ecosystem development initiatives in the region.
• Wake Forest University Center for Private BusinesssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWFU Center for Private Business is listed among HUSTLE's partner organizations supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Forsyth TechsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerForsyth Tech Community College is listed among HUSTLE's partner organizations, contributing to the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• EmcArts/Kenan Institute for the ArtsfoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHUSTLE Winston-Salem originally launched as a prototype of the Inclusive Entrepreneurship cluster as part of the EmcArts Community Innovation Lab convened by the Kenan Institute for the Arts, Winston-Salem Foundation, and Arts Council of WS/FC.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Village Capital: Global venture firm running entrepreneur development programs and accelerators with an explicit focus on under-resourced founders; comparable as a scaled peer operating in the inclusive-entrepreneurship support space.
• SCORE: Largest U.S. nonprofit network of volunteer business mentors providing free education and mentoring to entrepreneurs; comparable as a peer in delivering mentorship and small-business education to HUSTLE's target segments, including minority founders.

Direct peers

• Fearless Fund: Venture capital fund and grant program specifically supporting women of color founders; comparable to HUSTLE's mission of accelerating underrepresented founders, though operating more in the capital-deployment layer.
• NC IDEA: North Carolina-based organization providing grants, programs, and ecosystem support to entrepreneurs; HUSTLE's board includes NC IDEA's Senior Director of Programs, and the two share a common statewide inclusive-entrepreneurship mandate.
• Forward Cities: National hub for the Black Wall Street Forward initiative and HUSTLE's ecosystem partner; both focus on inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems for Black and Brown founders across multiple U.S. cities, making them the most directly comparable peer.
• New Ventures: Inception-stage, investor-led startup accelerator that co-runs The Come Up Accelerator with HUSTLE; comparable as a minority-focused, pre-seed/seed accelerator model serving the Southeast.
• Provident1898: Durham-based co-pilot of the Black Wall Street Forward initiative alongside HUSTLE; a near-direct peer operating in the same Black entrepreneur support space within the same state and national program.

Regional players

• Self-Help Ventures Fund: North Carolina-rooted community development financial institution investing in small businesses and underserved entrepreneurs; directly comparable as a HUSTLE partner with overlapping mission of capital and support for marginalized founders in the Carolinas.
• Camel City Venture Group: Winston-Salem-based early-stage investment and entrepreneur support organization; directly comparable as a fellow Triad-region player focused on local startup and minority founder development.

Emerging players

• Black Founders Exchange: Nonprofit focused on building a pipeline of Black technology entrepreneurs through education, community, and mentorship; comparable in its focus on Black founder enablement and ecosystem building, though more technology-segment oriented.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hustle_ws
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAasjlIN40fhuLEn1TAJheg
• Facebookfacebook.com/hustlews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hustlews
• Instagraminstagram.com/hustle_ws
• TikToktiktok.com/@hustle_ws?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HUSTLE Winston-Salem