We believe diverse entrepreneurs should have access to business support that honors our cultural wisdom, accounts for structural barriers, and builds community wealth and power. As the nation's first cooperatively owned business support organization, we practice what we teach – creating pathways for entrepreneurs and workers to own not just their businesses, but our organization itself.
We provide holistic and culturally relevant education, advising, and community to support diverse entrepreneurs in creating thriving businesses in service to their communities.
We envision a community of resilient, thriving entrepreneurs and businesses that are economically, socially, and environmentally just.
We move with purpose. We remember why we are here and take action to fulfill our shared commitment to learning and co-creating a community of thriving businesses that are economically, socially, and environmentally just.
We take responsibility for misalignment and disagreement. We view these situations as opportunities for leadership where we explore missing conversations, listen with empathy, and produce resolution.
We are accountable for our own learning and growth. We mind and honor our learning edges. We honor our commitments. We take ourselves and others seriously. We organize our own time and value other people's time. We recognize the difference between making promises and having expectations.
We strive to achieve alignment. We take a holistic approach to our business and personal development. We strive to create businesses that are in alignment with our values and support our own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of our families and community at large.
We value authenticity. We are encouraged to be our own selves and allow others to do the same. We tap into our vulnerability as the source of our own authenticity and a way to cultivate authentic connections with each other.
We approach situations with a beginner's mindset. Building a business with positive community impact requires us to navigate new ways of thinking and to unlearn and relearn. We stay curious and ask questions.
We embody the cooperative model. We share resources, ideas, strategies, and support within the organization to follow and support our passions and create thriving businesses in service to the world.
We provide business education and consulting to entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey – from starting to growing to keeping their businesses in our communities. We also partner with capital providers, business support organizations, and government agencies to design and implement programs that change systems and inform policy for small, local businesses and cooperatives.
We are active members of organizations working to advocate for small businesses and cooperatives, inform policy changes, and challenge the systems that exclude our communities from economic opportunity. These partnerships keep us connected to broader movements, amplify our collective voice, and ensure we are working together to create systemic change rather than operating in isolation.
We have supported 1,000+ entrepreneurs in gaining education and advising to explore business ownership as a pathway for wealth creation. Collectively, the business owners who have started and grown their businesses with us have raised over $20 million in funding and created more than 1,000 jobs.
Founded in 2014, we emerged from a recognition that traditional business support often fails entrepreneurs from systematically excluded communities – not because these business owners lack skills or vision, but because conventional approaches do not account for the structural barriers they face or honor the cultural wisdom they bring. Our evolution into the nation's first cooperatively owned business support organization was a statement about how we believe wealth and power should be built: by giving community members ownership in our organization, we practice the same principles of shared decision-making and community wealth building that we teach.
Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative is approved to operate by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). Approval to operate applies only to programs offered in the State of California. For more information, visit the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE): https://www.bppe.ca.gov/
Mailing / Administrative Address
2323 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612
Email: info@uptimacoop.com
Phone: (510) 227-7027
© 2026 Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative
