Thrive! — SaaS For Racial Justice
A platform that helps local governments move money to end disparities
The Problem
Communities of color experience premature death including police executions of unarmed Black people and COVID-19 wreaking havoc on communities of color. Roughly 84 percent of children born in poverty — who are disproportionately Black and Brown — will live in poverty for the rest of their lives. To make matters worse, poverty in minority communities leads to premature death, according to JAMA and the CDC. So, poor Black and Brown children can expect to live a life far too short — more than 8 million minority children lived in poverty last year. Local governments are the front lines for poor people but they are not designed to create pathways out of poverty.
What The Company Does
Thrive! helps local governments break cycles of poverty and break the systems that create them with SaaS equity audits, equity-centered budgets, and training on poverty-fighting programs. Altering how government deploys resources is the most potent systems lever for improving outcomes for low-income people of color. The process begins with equity audits, a budgeting tool used to monitor investments that end disparities. Thrive! has developed more than 60 measures for an algorithm that quantifies a jurisdiction’s commitment to equity based on spending patterns across agencies. These measures include evidence-based approaches that have been scientifically proven to mitigate disparities, and they also measure authentic power sharing with communities of color. Using the Equity Audit as a guidepost, the team can then prioritize how to make enhancements to the budgeting cycle with a focus on equity. Finally, Thrive! provides training to government contractors and community-based organizations on implementing proven, poverty-reducing programs.
Market
Racism has been declared a public health crisis in 162 cities and counties across 30 states. These jurisdictions control hundreds of billions of dollars in total revenues, and public sector consulting is a $6B industry. Local government clients who require equity work are currently served by Bloomberg Associates and the Local and Regional Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE). The team has piqued the interest of jurisdictions currently served by GARE and Bloomberg because these competitors offer facilitation and reports on disparities.
Business Model
Thrive!’s business model is business-to-government. They sell annual, subscription-based services, namely, SaaS Equity Audits and recommendations for equity-centered budgets, to local and regional governments. Pricing ranges from $50K to $1M, depending on the size of a jurisdiction’s total operating budget. Typically, Equity Audits price at .02% of the total jurisdictional budget. Larger city and county governments have jurisdictional control over additional critical agencies, which require additional audits. As jurisdictions participate in more audits, the price increases. As a premium monthly service, the team provides equity dashboards and trainings on evidence-based, poverty prevention programs.
Traction
Thrive! piloted an effort in Somerville, MA and provides ongoing services in NYC. Since mid-December 2020, chief equity officers in nine states have inquired about Equity Audits. A venture under six months old, Thrive! Equity Audits have attracted the interest of funders, media, customers, and the international community. The team won a Spark Grant for Racial Justice awarded by the Harvard iLab, a Social Impact Fellowship Fund Pitch Award from the Navab Fund, and an Adrian Cheng Fellowship award from the Harvard Kennedy School Social Innovation + Change Initiative. On January 29, 2021, Thrive!’s founder was selected as a Black Girl Ventures x Halcyon Intensive Fellow to participate in the acclaimed accelerator. Additionally, Thrive! has been shortlisted by the Norrsken Impact Accelerator in Stockholm, Sweden for innovators that aim to solve the planet’s greatest challenges.
Founding Team Background
Founder and CEO Omolara Fatiregun is an Adrian Cheng Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Social Innovation and Change Initiative, where she is building Thrive! Before launching Thrive!, Omolara advanced high-impact initiatives in foundations, public private partnerships, and government agencies including the Annie E. Casey Foundation as a senior fellow, the Government of the District of Columbia as deputy director of the juvenile justice agency, and the Urban Institute. Through this 17-year career history, she engaged practitioners in education, health, workforce development, child welfare, juvenile justice and conservation. Omolara earned a bachelor’s in sociology and African American Studies from Harvard College, a master’s in public policy from Georgetown, and is currently a doctoral candidate in education leadership at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, where she is also a Harvard Presidential Public Service Fellow.
What They Need Help With
The team is looking for assistance with closing deals with government clients and SBIR funding. They also would like intros to equity decision-makers in the city of Boston and love warm intros to philanthropic investors. Connect with the Thrive! team.
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