Entrepreneurship as a Path to Equity

Income inequality

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Formerly incarcerated people face some of the highest systemic barriers to employment, often due to stigma and structural exclusion. Many Angelenos returning from prison struggle to access fair-wage jobs or face immediate job loss due to background checks. Without income or opportunity, the risk of recidivism rises—affecting entire families and communities. Traditional workforce development programs often overlook the trauma, leadership potential, and creative resilience of system-impacted individuals. Entrepreneurship offers an alternative path to economic mobility—one rooted in dignity, self-determination, and community reinvestment.

Defy’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp is a 17-week virtual, trauma-informed program that equips formerly incarcerated individuals with the skills to launch and sustain their own businesses. Sessions are delivered twice a week via Zoom, combining group workshops, individualized business plan development, and one-on-one coaching—all in a fully virtual format.

Participants engage in Defy’s Well-Being Development Model, an evidenced-based framework that supports trauma healing, builds entrepreneurial resilience, and strengthens executive functioning. Over the 17 weeks, participants move through structured business modules, leadership development, and live peer review sessions.

The program culminates in a Business Pitch Showcase, where participants present their ventures to a panel of volunteer business professionals. Graduates may be eligible for seed funding, continue to advanced entrepreneurship support, and join Defy’s growing alumni network. This program turns lived experience into leadership—and creates new pathways to income, dignity, and economic equity.

Our vision is an inclusive LA economy where lived experience is not a barrier but a springboard. With LA2050’s support, we will support over 10 individuals to become founders, freelancers, and contractors—gaining control of their futures. Success means more people with records running legally registered businesses, more income circulating in underserved communities, and more families stabilizing post-incarceration. In the long term, this initiative will shift the narrative around who gets to be an entrepreneur in Los Angeles—making the post-incarceration pathway one of possibility, not punishment.