Celebrating Diversity: Astrid Arias Of SEED SPOT On How To Build Inclusive Communities

In a world where diversity is often acknowledged but not always celebrated, we are taking a step forward to highlight the importance of inclusivity in building strong, vibrant communities. This series aims to explore the various facets of diversity — be it racial, cultural, gender-based, or within the differently-abled community — and understand how embracing these differences strengthens our social fabric. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Astrid Arias, Senior Program Manager at SEED SPOT.

Astrid Arias serves as the senior program manager at SEED SPOT where she develops and facilitates accelerator programs for impact-driven, early-stage ventures. She also serves as a coach to many of the startup founders, providing guidance on everything from go-to-market strategy to investor pitching.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about celebrating diversity, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

My career has really been built around supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses with a range of resources including small business loans, grants, and building a scalable business model. I’m deeply passionate about building inclusive spaces that uplift the creativity and drive of entrepreneurs of color and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, and as the Senior Program Manager at SEED SPOT, I get to do that every day.

Prior to joining SEED SPOT, I ran the grant fund and partner programs at IFundWomen, where I awarded over $1M in grants to women entrepreneurs. I’ve also built community programs for Capital One that support small businesses and innovative communities.

I’m an early stage angel investor, provide advisory and consulting services to LGBTQ+ and BIPOC entrepreneurs, and founded a community organization that curates art-related events for the LGBTQ+ community.

Can you share an interesting or hopeful story where spending time with someone who did not look like you or who was different from you taught you something that has been useful to you?

A lot of my time in the corporate space felt like this. I spent a couple years with a team filled with people who were very different from me in terms of how we grew up, age and how the world perceived us. When entering these spaces, it didn’t matter how welcoming people were because I always had a feeling that I didn’t belong. Truthfully, I quickly dismissed many of my peers early on under the assumption they wouldn’t understand where I came from or the communities I aim to support. But I quickly found that my mostly male, mostly white, and mostly 10+ years older than me team was always deeply and authentically listening to me. They equally wanted their careers to matter and impact others positively. Since then, I’ve been a million times more open to building connections with everyone and anyone because people really do surprise you.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Decisive — I’ve made hard career decisions that have had to balance my worth, my personal needs to support both myself and my aging mother, and the impact I want to have on the world. I wouldn’t be where I am, doing work I love by supporting diverse founders everyday, and with a great organization without making hard decisions with conviction.
2. Adventurous — I haven’t necessarily planned my career out. I’ve remained dedicated to the impact I seek to deliver while allowing life to take me wherever is next. Last fall, I came across a group of Latinx leaders learning about angel investing. Deepening my understanding of capital options for early stage entrepreneurs and the Latinx community that has galvanized around changing the narrative for diverse founders truly changed my career trajectory and what ways I can support amazing founders in my community. I’m always willing to learn and take on a new adventure.
3. Visionary — I immigrated from Venezuela with my single mom at a young age. We didn’t have a large community and I didn’t have a lot of examples of what an intentional and impactful career could look like. Even when I was in college, I had to work full time and I didn’t take advantage of networking and understanding what comes after college. Yet, I still knew there had to be a career and a life I could build as a queer woman of color that wants to amplify economic prosperity for diverse communities. I’ve always held onto the vision as my North Star and have shaped all the opportunities I’ve taken in my career to move towards this North Star.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a personal story that highlights the impact of diversity and inclusivity in your life or career?

I’m a first-generation Latina woman who grew up in a predominantly white city in southwest Florida. Due to the wealth and racial disparities I grew up around, I’ve always felt an enormous gap between myself and my surroundings. When my peers were thinking about what they wanted to be when they grew up, I was busy translating for my mom and moving apartments every year. This gap led to the lack of examples of careers and a way of life I could build for myself. However, early in my career, I started finding groups of Latinx professionals, like the Latinx startup and venture ecosystem, that made me feel completely seen and I started crafting the examples that I deeply needed to see. Before finding these spaces, I didn’t know I needed to be surrounded by people who looked like me, were motivated by the same impact as me, and shared similar life experiences as me. The efforts of these Latinx and LGBTQ+ focused diversity and inclusion organizations gave me the early confidence to execute my life and career vision. I started to feel like I belonged and felt confident that I could find spaces where I would continue to be seen and supported. I’ve certainly found those spaces now and I’m thankful for the opportunity to support and amplify communities that share my identities.

How do you approach and manage the challenges that arise when working towards creating more inclusive communities?

A lot of patience needs to be exercised when working towards creating more inclusive communities. Often, we’re surrounded by like-minded people who support our work. But every now and then, someone just doesn’t share the same vision for inclusive and thriving communities that serve everyone. In those moments, I remain patient and focus on the direct impact I can have. At SEED SPOT, I have the fun job of working 1:1 with incredible entrepreneurs who are thinking through ways to launch or grow their ventures. I love strategizing with them and being their number-one fan throughout their journey. I’ve personally had so many moments of self doubt and I aim to take that doubt away from any founders I get the chance to support. In short, during the challenging moments of doing the big picture work, I take myself back to the motivating small interactions that will one day shape that big picture.

What innovative strategies or initiatives have you implemented or observed that effectively promote the importance of diversity and inclusivity?

I’ve been a part of, and observed, several coalitions, such as the Latinx Venture Coalition, that gather key stakeholders whose work promotes the importance of diversity and inclusion in spaces that support early stage founders. I find coalitions to be strategically important as they create a space for those impacted by the work and those supporting the work to align on the current state of diversity and inclusion and strategize on ways to continue shaping the future towards a shared goal. Through word-of-mouth and proactive outbound invitations, these coalitions also make space for individuals who may not usually have an opportunity to share their stories and amplify the work they’re doing. It’s important to create shared spaces that invite honest conversations and bring together the visionaries who are dedicated to shaping how any field can become more inclusive.

Based on your research or experience, can you please share “5 Ways We Can Build Inclusive Communities”?

1. Get all stakeholders involved in building the community — Building an inclusive community starts with getting a diverse set of minds around the table. Get all of your stakeholders involved in the process, otherwise, you run the risk of unintentionally inserting biases. For example, even though our team at SEED SPOT is very diverse, a few years ago we brought in an outside expert who specializes in creating equitable learning environments. We wanted to make sure we were accounting for different learning styles, languages and physical capabilities. She went through our programming to make sure we weren’t carrying forward any legacy practices that could unintentionally present barriers to certain individuals. Through that exercise, we made some pivotal changes that ensured our programming was purposefully conscious, inclusive and equitable.
2. Seek continuous feedback — Seek feedback from the community you serve. We have implemented continuous feedback loops at SEED SPOT within each of our programs. We seek feedback from our ventures, partners and mentors after every session and program.
3. Create a safe space — Cultivating a sense of safety is crucial to building inclusive communities. Everyone has to feel comfortable in expressing themselves and sharing ideas. At SEED SPOT, we do this through bringing together diverse groups of entrepreneurs and giving everyone a platform to share their story and their passions to the degree they are comfortable.
4. Be proactive — The old saying, “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t always apply here. You have to be proactive in reaching out to diverse community groups, particularly those who’ve traditionally been marginalized or underrepresented. We are constantly doing outreach and looking for community partners to help us reach underserved entrepreneurs.
5. Be a visionary — As Walt Disney said, “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” Hold true to the vision you have and stay dedicated. As important as feedback and collaboration are, you need to remain true to your North Star.

How do you measure the impact and success of diversity and inclusion efforts, and what changes have you seen as a result of these initiatives?

At SEED SPOT specifically, we measure this based on how we are fulfilling our mission which is to support underserved founders who don’t see themselves represented in the traditional entrepreneurial space to bring their world-changing ideas to life. Since our launch, we’ve supported impact-driven entrepreneurs in generating nearly $400M collectively and creating more than 9,700 jobs. Last year, we reached more than 1,300 underrepresented founders around the globe, 89% of which were from underrepresented communities, including 62% BIPOC and 59% women. And these entrepreneurs are further creating ripple effects throughout the communities they serve, stimulating generational wealth, creating jobs and providing solutions to pervasive problems.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I think we’re on that mission with SEED SPOT. We’ve led countless accelerator programs and launch camps, and served thousands of diverse entrepreneurs around the world. Since our inception in 2012, we’ve empowered impact-driven entrepreneurs to generate nearly $400M collectively and create more than 9,700 jobs!

Helping these entrepreneurs grow and develop has a ripple effect throughout their communities and even the world.

What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?

Connect with us at https://bit.ly/3UkNtbJ or follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you continued success in your great work!

About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.

Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.