GroupUps

𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗮𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆. Yesterday I had a conversation about the widening wealth gap. I realized that despite feeling like I live and breathe solving this problem, I went straight to executing on my business to solve it. I never actually took the time to write out why I care about this. So I got up early, went to my locally owned gym (Oak and Iron), then headed over to my local coffee shop (Beow's Books and Brews), texted my dad for a gut check (small business owner for decades, and my hero) and got to writing. 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮. Areas with higher percentages of small, locally based businesses experience stronger economic performance: higher per-capita income growth, higher employment rates, and lower poverty rates. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found that local businesses contribute to lower levels of poverty and higher income growth, particularly for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Local businesses create more equitable economic opportunities and financial independence, and reinvest more of their earnings into the community, rather than siphoning money out of it like their large corporate counterparts often do. 𝗦𝗼, 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁? Before the "capitalism and big business are bad" chanters come out, you should know I'm a capitalist. It might seem odd that capitalism could fix the problems it has created, but that's exactly what I propose. We need to level the playing field, and the principles of capitalism can do this. We're doing it at GroupUps. We use technology to organize the demand side of the supply chain, which keeps money in business owners' hands, amplifying their positive effects on their local economies. We can't fix the wealth gap alone, though. We need more capitalistic, for-profit enterprises that support and enable local businesses. Entrepreneurs and the venture capital ecosystem should put time, effort, and money into solving this problem, and not just because it's a feel-good effort (it is); it's a massive opportunity. SMBs account for 44% of the US GDP and nearly half of the workforce. There are massive problems to be fixed, like the structural barriers that minority-owned businesses face, including limited access to capital. Solutions to these problems can result in incredible financial gains and returns for both technologists and their investors. Let's put money, time, and effort to work for this otherwise overlooked and underserved demographic, enabling more local entrepreneurs too. If we don't, the wealth gap will grow as we watch money continue to be taken out of our vibrant, diverse communities, tranforming them into cookie-cutter Starbucks-ified and Walmart-ized landscapes. For more information, check out these key studies on why local businesses matter from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance:

What an honor to have parts of my journey and struggles I've had to fight to overcome captured by one of the most admired writers in Dentistry (thanks Dr Augustyn), in the biggest publication in the industry, Dentistry Today. From officially entering Dentistry less than a year ago to having over $23M worth of equipment help requests flow through GroupUps, I'll never take for granted how much our customers trust and love what we've been able to do for them. We'll continue working hard in Dentistry of course, and I'm excited to introduce some special projects we're working on that will let us help many more verticals. What a journey. I hope you enjoy the read.