Yesterday I was doing my hour long social media task to raise awareness and create buzz about (In3) the Inclusive Innovation Incubator, Luma Lab, Innovation & Inclusion; all of the things that I have been obsessing about for the last year. In the middle of that process I always try to think of interesting hashtags to increase the likelihood the tweet will be viewed, clicked and then eventually the reader will find their way to the website for In3.

During that process I typed the following:

#inclusion #opportunity #innovation

After looking at if for a while I saw beyond the discrete terms thrown together to grab the attention of the reader looking for 140 characters of information to see the deeper meaning here which is that “Inclusion creates Opportunity for Innovation”. This is in fact, not only brining new more diverse perspectives but creating groups of individuals that use those unique perspectives to create solutions.

With In3 we can only be successful if we are intentional about catalyzing a more diverse and inclusive set of entrepreneurs and small business owners that can enter the innovation economy.

I was reading this article in Inc magazine

And then after a little more googling I found this one

And the important thing here is to really unpack the definition of what empower really means to the person you are trying to “empower”… it is a subtle implication that you somehow have control of that individual or group of individuals.

The best line comes from the first article and is aligned with the objectives of In3.

Opportunities and access to those opportunities? They shouldn’t be about empowering done by one group at another group; opportunity must be embedded in the community and readily available.”

“Embedded in the community and readily available” — the Inclusive Innovation Incubator will be in Washington DC on the edge of the campus of Howard University. We are looking to partner with community organizations, local businesses, and the office of the Mayor to bring together programs and services that might not be financially attainable from other groups, in an environment that is welcoming to the community we are committed to supporting. through these efforts we hope to inspire this generation and the next of business leaders and entrepreneurs to build great products that will change the way we think and live.

Be sure to sign-up for updates about In3DC, opening Q1 2017, by clicking the link below