Jaylen Brown, Jrue and Lauren Holiday give $1 million to entrepreneurs
The accelerator is the first program to come out of Brown’s Boston XChange, a nonprofit initiative the Celtics star unveiled in August to help create $5 billion in generational wealth in Boston’s communities of color. BXC grew out of Brown’s comments last year, after inking a then-record $304 million NBA contract extension, about how he wanted to use some of the money to create a “Black Wall Street” in Boston.
“Sports has its way of bringing everybody together, especially here in Boston,” Brown told the group. “We know you love your sports … but I think there’s championships to be won outside of the game of basketball as well.”
Brown partnered with the Holidays’ JLH Social Impact Fund, created in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd to support founders of color nationwide. To date, the fund has doled out about $5 million in grants to more than 200 businesses and nonprofits.
“This is my favorite part, where we can come in and we can see people talking about their dreams,” Jrue Holiday said.
Lauren Holiday, who was a longtime member of the US women’s national soccer team, said she wants to get to know the founders and be part of their journeys. “For us, it’s so much more than just writing a check,” she said. “It’s actually being involved.”
Renee King, the program lead for the JLH fund who was part of the accelerator’s selection process, emphasized the importance of collaboration in tackling something as challenging as racial wealth disparities.
“It can’t be centered around one person, one platform, one thing,” she said. “It needs to be an entire village organized.”
While Boston is awash in accelerators and incubators, especially for tech and life science startups, there’s not much support for the creative economy. That’s what Brown and the Holidays decided to focus on — think design, entertainment, fashion, media, and culinary arts.
Applications were due in August, with the majority coming from Black founders and many from Dorchester, according to Yscaira Jimenez, a serial entrepreneur and MIT lecturer who helped design the accelerator and was part of the selection process.
“The most exciting kind of statistic is the diversity of the creator types,” Jimenez said. “We had… technology and retail … we had advocacy, visual arts. We had just people from all over — music, culinary.”
Here’s a look at Boston XChange’s first cohort:
Founder: Sidney Baptista
After quitting his corporate job, Sidney Baptista struggled to find his footing. But one day, the Dorchester native watched a Black man running and he couldn’t help but wonder, “Why is he so happy?” Baptista took up running and found the physical and mental health benefits life-changing.
But he couldn’t find running apparel that fit his body type. So in 2020 he launched PYNRS (pronounced pioneers) to appeal to Black customers.
PYNRS has already gotten the attention of retailer REI and shoe brand Brooks Running. Baptista was part of REI’s accelerator program, and the chain sells PYNRS clothing online. Just this month, Brooks forged a partnership with PYNRS to create footwear.
Still, Baptista can’t get venture capital so he’s hoping being part of Boston XChange will open doors. “This could take us to the next level,” he said.
Founder: Lawyer Times
A local pastor introduced Lawyer Times to Jaylen Brown seven years ago because they shared a passion for chess. Times, who grew up in Roxbury, is one of two Black chess masters in Massachusetts, and in 2017, he became the first Black player to become Massachusetts State Chess Champion.
Times teaches chess to kids so they can become good decision makers, both on and off the chess board. His academy has outposts in Ashland and Burlington but not yet in Boston. He’s hoping the money and connections from Boston XChange will allow him to grow his business where he grew up.
“This is really a dream to be a part of this,” Times said. “Jaylen Brown is a master thinker. … When it comes to generating wealth and closing the gap, we both believe it starts with the mind.”
Founders: Whitney and Taffeta White
Launching a Black-owned beauty brand in Boston can be a lonely journey. That’s why sisters Whitney and Taffeta White, founders of Melanin Haircare, are thrilled to join a close-knit group of entrepreneurs who can support one another and build their networks together.
The White sisters launched their first hair products — a styling cream and oil — in 2018 using natural and nontoxic ingredients. Today their line is sold online at Target and Sephora.
Beauty startups tend to concentrate in New York and Los Angeles, so it’s nice to see their concept be given the tools to grow here.
“Boston doesn’t really have a lot of these opportunities,” Whitney White said. “I’m really thankful there was a focus on Boston creators and Boston, Black-owned businesses as well because we don’t get too much love over here.”
Founders: Manny Gonzalez and Al Objio
Crown Legends is a South End hat boutique that specializes in selling high-quality hats and exclusive, limited-edition baseball caps. At Wednesday night’s event, Gonzalez and Objio got a chance to talk to Brown.
“I’m a die-hard Celtics fan,” Objio said. “We have an NBA champion to back us. It’s huge.”
Cofounder: Anj Fayemi
Cofounded by an MIT graduate and rapper, Rivet helps musicians build their fanbases using an artificial intelligence platform. Rivet and its chief executive Anj Fayemi were part of the Techstars Boston Accelerator Program in 2021.
Owners: Lina Cañon, Robert Kelley-Morgan, Amyas McKnight, Haawws, Stephen Lafume, Adrian Roman
Dorchester Art Project has been around for a decade, existing as a community arts organization. But it has now become a worker-owned cooperative on a mission to provide affordable studios, performance spaces, and educational resources to artists, creators, and organizers.
Like Brown and the Holidays, DAP has a focus on creating lucrative opportunities for artists of color to build wealth so they’re not just living on donations.
“When this opportunity came about, trying to build wealth in Boston, we were like, ‘We’re doing the same thing. Let’s get together,’ ” said Lina Cañon, one of the founders.
Founder: Maria Vasco
In 2020, Maria Vasco opened Uvida Shop, Boston’s first and only zero-waste store, selling a selection of home goods and essentials without plastic packaging or plastic waste.
Founder: Tracy Skelly
A cafe just for toddlers? Yes, that’s the brainchild of Tracy Skelly, who after having her first child in 2018 struggled to find culturally diverse, nutritious foods for her daughter. In 2022, she opened a cafe in Jamaica Plain to create healthy food for “tots.”
Founder: Emmanuel Mervil
Everybody Gotta Eat is a community-focused initiative that is shaping Boston’s food culture through catering, social media marketing, and community partnerships.
Founders: Rui Lopes, Zair Silva, Edilasio Manuel, and Duane Denny
Anawan Studios is a full-service film production company in Brockton launched in 2016 by award-winning filmmakers and storytellers who reflect different cultures from around the world. Their mission is to build a pipeline of Black and brown creatives who can get involved in Boston’s film industry.
Shirley Leung is a Business columnist and host of the Globe Opinion podcast “Say More with Shirley Leung.” Find the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and globe.com/saymore. Follow her on Threads @shirley02186
Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at shirley.leung@globe.com.
