Program FAQ

The Lift Collective Entrepreneurship Program has been designed to provide monetary support, tangible resources, community, and professional connections for new business owners working in the wine industry. In partnership with national business associations and beverage industry thought leaders, the six-month program will guide entrepreneurs through the process of building and executing a sustainable business plan. Divided into four pillars, the program offers participants a variety of group workshops, individual sessions and roundtable discussions, which will all be led by qualified and vetted facilitators.

The Lift Collective Entrepreneurship Program will be hosted virtually in 2022 on The Us Space platform where attendees will participate in weekly group work, individual workshops, and industry-led roundtables. Each accepted entrepreneur will also receive a monetary stipend to be applied to upstart and operational costs of their businesses. 

The program will run for six months (September 2022 - March 2023) with weekly sessions ranging from 1-2 hours. Please note - the program will have a break December 17, 2022 - January 2, 2023.

At the conclusion of the program, entrepreneurs will receive a certificate of completion. In order to receive the certificate of completion and the monthly program stipend, attendance will be tracked during each pillar with no more than (1) session per month allowed to be missed but no more than (5) total for the duration of the program.

Applications for the program are currently closed. 

The program began on September 20, 2022.

We are inviting new, part-time, and full-time wine entrepreneurs with businesses age 1-3 years to this first year of the program. The Lift Collective Entrepreneurship Program is geared toward sole and majority owners of businesses. If you are an entrepreneur with a business partner(s), the majority partner is eligible to join. We strongly encourage persons from underrepresented communities to apply. This includes, but is not limited to: Black, Indigenous, Latinx, people of color, persons from racially diverse or intersectional communities, persons with disabilities, and persons from LGBTQIA+ communities.

The Lift Collective Entrepreneurship Program aims to inspire, prepare and deliver entrepreneurs in the wine industry with tangible tools, resources and connections in order to successfully grow businesses. Participants of the program can expect to:

• Engage with wine industry experts and leaders

• Position their business to create impact inside the industry

• Create connections with like minded entrepreneurs and business owners

• Build and execute a sustainable business plan to navigate your business to profitability

The Lift Collective Entrepreneurship Program has been created by wine industry professionals for wine industry professionals. Entrepreneurs and business owners working in Sales, Service, Production, Education, Community and Events, and/or Media and Journalism within the wine industry will likely find the greatest benefits from this program’s curriculum.

At this time, the program is not an accredited course.