Where It Starts: Breaking Barriers to Business | Main Street America
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Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building

Where It Starts: Breaking Barriers to Business

Along with Living Cities and enabled by the Truist Foundation, Main Street America is supporting cross-sector leaders in accelerating wealth-building pathways for underserved small business owners, including entrepreneurs of color. 

A man in a suit sits in an office working on a computer.

© Jopwell/​Pexels

Please note:
All official communication about our grant programs will come from verified email addresses ending in @mainstreet.org or our trusted partner domains. If you receive an unexpected message, always double-check the sender’s email address before clicking any links or replying. When in doubt, feel free to contact us directly through our website.

Program Overview

Partnering with place-based leaders from our current networks in local government and business support organizations, this project aims to:

  • Address the gaps in access to capital
  • Shift private and public policies and practices
  • Provide critical technical assistance for underserved small business owners, including entrepreneurs of color

Together with our partners, we are helping to map key entrepreneurial ecosystem domains, identify gaps, provide financial support and technical business expertise, and foster peer learning for participating cities.

Where It Starts: Breaking Barriers to Business, an initiative of the Truist Foundation, video thumbnail. A smiling business owner opens the door to his business. An "Open" sign hangs on the door.
Play Video: Introducing Where It Starts

Introducing Where It Starts

The Cities

Street scene in Atlanta, Georgia.

Atlanta, Georgia

Corridors: Sweet Auburn, Grove Park, West End

Skyline photo of Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina
Corridors: Beatties Ford/​Historic West End, West Boulevard/​Greater West Corridor, Sugar Creek

Colorful mural on the side of a building depicting an African American man holding a ball in Memphis, Tennessee.

Memphis, Tennessee

Corridors: Orange Mound, Whitehaven, Downtown or Alcy Ball

Photo of beach with palm trees in front of skyline of Miami, Florida.

Miami, Florida

Corridors: Allapattah, Overtown, Coconut Grove (West Grove)

Photo of colorful mural on the side of a building depicting men playing guitars in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville, Tennessee

Corridors: Wedgewood-Houston / Chestnut Hill (Historic Black Bottom), Jefferson Street Corridor/​North Nashville, Antioch Corridor/​Southeast Nashville.

Stories from the Corridors

As we learn what it takes to drive changes in participating pilot cities, we will uplift lessons, data, and stories. We’ll post these stories on the program webpage, our blog, and through social media.

Program Partner

Living Cities is a collaborative of leading philanthropic foundations and financial institutions working to advance economic opportunity and income mobility for all people in U.S. cities.


By addressing barriers to capital investment, sharing knowledge, and mobilizing collective action, Living Cities promotes equitable and inclusive wealth-building in partnership with its members, city leaders, and broader network.

Supporting Partner

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses.

Truist Foundation is built on the belief that all people and communities should have an equal opportunity to thrive. Through this partnership and a focus on the following key areas, Truist Foundation believes the communities they serve have a chance for a better quality of life.