POST ENTRY - ENTREPRENEURSHIP
You’ve Lived the Problem.
Build the Solution.
The Innovation Lab backs returning citizens with community ideas - providing the micro-equity, mentorship, and infrastructure to turn lived experience into lasting impact.
THE PREMISE
Beyond placement. Toward Ownership
The Innovation Lab is built on one conviction: returning citizens who have survived extraordinary adversity carry capabilities that most entrepreneurs never develop - adaptability under pressure, resource efficiency, deep community knowledge, and a clarity about what actually matters. Those are founder qualities. The Lab exists to give them a structured environment to put those qualities to work.
It is also an entrepreneurship accelerator - designed to produce business owners who create jobs, generate wealth, and eventually become the employers and mentors for people earlier in the lifecycle.
THREE PILLARS OF THE PROGRAM
Everything needed to turn an idea into a business
We get in with you - providing the tools, the backing, and the infrastructure to take your idea from concept to community impact.
01
Micro-Equity Investment
Seed funding to get your project off the ground — without giving up control. We invest in you and your community, not in returns.
02
Founder Mentorship
Direct access to leaders who've built organizations from the ground up. Strategy, operations, fundraising, community engagement — we've done it and we'll walk it with you.
03
Shared Infrastructure
Platform, legal, financial, and operational infrastructure so you spend your energy building — not navigating bureaucracy.
WHO THIS IS FOR
If you've been through it - this was built for you.
The most powerful community solutions come from people who have lived it. You don't need a polished business plan or a degree. You need a real idea, a real community, and the drive to build something that lasts. We'll handle the rest.
Returning citizens with a community idea
You've navigated the system. You know what's missing. Now you're ready to build what should have been there all along.
Builders who need backing, not permission
You're not asking for a handout. You're looking for a partner who believes in what you're building as much as you do.
Community leaders ready to formalize
You've already been doing the work informally. The Lab gives you the infrastructure to take it to the next level.
Ideas that create opportunity for others
The best ideas don't just help one person — they open doors for the entire community. That's what we back.
OUR CURRENT PROJECT
Our First Project We Have Backed
This wasn't about me. It was about every young person in Muskegon carrying something they don't know how to put down. I wanted to build them a place to put it - a stage before the streets give them a consequence. NCS believed in that vision when it was still just an idea. They helped us build the infrastructure, create the space, and bring the community together around something real. On June 30th, Muskegon showed up. Now we're not just an event - we're a movement. And we're just getting started.
- Ricky Brooks (Movement Leader)
Your entrepreneurial journey
starts with one step.
The application is simple. No formal business plan required. We want to understand your background, your idea or concept, where you are in your stability journey, and what you hope to build with the Lab's support. Cohort spots are limited, so if you've been thinking about it, the right time to start is now.
01
Tell us your idea
Describe the problem you've lived and the solution you want to build. Be real — that's all we need.
02
We review it personally
Every application is read by the NCS team. We're looking for lived experience, real community need, and the drive to build.
03
Build with backing
Accepted projects get micro-equity investment, direct mentorship, and the full organizational weight of NCS behind them.
Share your vision with us – the first step towards building something extraordinary
