DRIVE

Plug and Play has established a dedicated diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative called DRIVE (Diversity, Respect, Inclusion, Visibility, and Equity), designed to develop, assist, and provide better access to funding for diverse founders, and educate our broader ecosystem on the importance of DE&I and how it fuels innovation.
The success of this initiative will be achieved through a community-centric approach bringing together all stakeholders needed to build a thriving ecosystem for diverse founders and communities nationwide. This framework allows innovation to work as a great equalizer.

The importance of DE&I

Diversity
Neda Amidi, President
"As President of Plug and Play, I work closely with people from all over the world.
We believe that diversity drives innovation and collaboration is the key to a thriving entrepreneurial environment. DRIVE brings together people who share our mission to create a more equitable world, educate, and bring awareness to our ecosystem."
Equity
Dominique Reese, Head of DE&I
"DE&I is what drives success. Collaboration is what drives change.
Plug and Play wants to be the bridge for conversations around DE&I, support diverse founders, and uplift underserved communities. We cannot do it alone, therefore, we want to bring together the private, public, and academic sectors to DRIVE positive change for the common good."
Inclusion
Saeed Amidi, CEO
"I consider myself a lucky immigrant and owe my success to what America has offered me.
At Plug and Play, we have the chance to provide these opportunities to the rest of the world. I want to ensure that Silicon Valley is an inclusive space for every human being regardless of differences."

Only 2% of all venture capital is deployed to diverse founders – we're on a mission to change that via this community-centered approach.

DRIVE Goals

• Accelerate

• Educate

• Build Community

• Funding

• DE&I Tech Solutions

DRIVE supports founders coming from the following backgrounds:

Hispanic/Latinx
Indigenous
Immigrant
African
Black/African American
Asian
Middle Eastern
LGBTQIA+
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
Persons with Disabilities
Veteran
Woman

Are you a diverse founder in tech? Do you want to be considered for DRIVE?

Please apply here

Meet DRIVE Batch 0 Cohort

John Borders IV, Founder & CEO, Our Liberty Games
“Words can’t express my gratitude to Dominique and the DRIVE team for their unwavering support and commitment to the founders within this cohort. The ability to offer our solution to global partners is a dream come true and the conversations already being fostered are more than what we expected. Beyond grateful for the work of PNP and very excited for what the future holds.”
Tope Mitchell, CEO, REFLEKT ME
"We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Plug and Play DRIVE initiative and the Brand and Retail program. We have loved Plug and Play for years, it is fantastic - the ability to pilot with retail partners, the amazing events, everything is priceless. As a woman-led and Black-led venture with a team that represents several countries, these opportunities have a huge impact on not only us but our communities as a whole and future generations who see that success is possible regardless of your background."
Horace L. Flournoy, Founder & CEO, SwayBrand
"[Plug and Play] offered an unparalleled showcase to present our startup to brands and investors and create immediate business revenue opportunities for our company."
Noelle London, Founder and CEO, Illoominus
"We're looking forward to partnering with Plug and Play along the journey of building Illoominus. As we empower organizations to activate and achieve their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals and commitments, the Plug and Play enterprise program, the DRIVE initiative, and the broader network give us the exposure to scale across enterprises and expand our go-to-market strategy."
Vivek Kumar, Founder & CEO, Teamforce AI
"Plug and Play Supply Chain was a game-changer for our business: we were able to secure two major customers, including a Fortune Global 100! What started as a solution to helps organizations retain their high turnover workforce, we now see Diversity Officers utilizing Teamforce AI to educate their employees on DE&I in a highly effective manner. We're thrilled and honored to deepen our Plug and Play relationship through DRIVE!”

Our Liberty Games
Our Liberty Games is creating gamified solutions promoting civic engagement with the intention of encouraging soon to be/eligible voters to be more informed of American democracy prior to casting their next vote.
Reflekt Me
Reflekt Me increases e-commerce sales by building a more inclusive community around your brand, directly on your product detail page.
SwayBrand
SwayBrand is a camera app + media marketplace that connects brands with creators for culture-first user-generated content.
Illoominus
Illoominus is a data analytics platform designed to empower leaders to activate & manage their organization’s DE+I strategy.
Teamforce AI
Teamforce AI is an enterprise SaaS talent management platform for engaging the deskless workforce in manufacturing, distribution, and healthcare. Our solution reduces employee turnover and increases commitment.

Check out the pitches from our launch at Silicon Valley Summit!

Our Liberty Games Pitch
Reflekt Me Pitch
Swaybrand Pitch and Case Study Presentation
Illoominus Pitch
Teamforce AI Pitch

Addressing funding dedicated to diverse founders

"A small slice - 2.6% of venture dollars went to minorities and 2.2% went to women - that’s $4.2bn out of a $87.3bn pie. According to Project Diane, as of January 2021, only 93 Black and 58 Latinx women have ever raised over $1M." - Forbes

Whether its difficulty securing funding, accessing mentors, finding customers or a lack of social capital, diverse founders often face more obstacles and higher barriers to entry on their path to success.

Through our experience running accelerator programs worldwide and speaking to thousands of entrepreneurs every year, Plug and Play has a front-row seat to witness the challenges faced by founders and we're on a mission to change that via this community-centered approach.