The Book Industry Charitable Foundation is launching a pilot program for BincTank, a business incubator designed to increase equity in bookstore ownership by supporting entrepreneurs from historically underrepresented communities.
Binc is looking for entrepreneurs who want to open mission-driven bookstores in their communities. This includes everyone from prospective bookstore owners new to the industry to booksellers who may have already founded online stores, pop-up stores, or even bricks-and-mortar stores, and want to further expand their operations.
The program has five areas of focus--capital, education, mentorship, peer-to-peer networking, and resource material--and will help participants create an attractive business concept, establish a strong organization, build lasting customer and community relationships, and maintain profitable operations.
The pilot phase will run for three years, with the initial cohort to consist of about 10-12 entrepreneurs. And while BincTank will eventually be open to people from all marginalized groups, the pilot will focus specifically on BIPOC entrepreneurs, who statistically are more likely to have had loan applications denied and who more frequently face difficulties when seeking out professional services, among other barriers. Applications will open early next year, and Binc encourages all BIPOC entrepreneurs interested in opening a bookstore in their community to apply.
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| Ken White | |
"We're looking for people who don't just want to open a bookstore but people who have to open a bookstore," said BincTank program manager Ken White, emphasizing BincTank's mission-driven nature.
Pam French, Binc's executive director, stressed the importance of being place-based: "Every community deserves their bookstore. Having someone who is part of that community is key."
BincTank has been "a long time coming," said French. In 2017, a number of individuals approached Binc asking if the organization helped prospective bookstore owners start their businesses. At the time, French recalled, the answer was no--it wasn't part of Binc's mission, and the organization felt it wasn't well positioned to provide those services. That same year, a number of potential funders approached Binc asking essentially the same question. "We agreed the industry and communities needed more bookstores," French said, "but we weren't sure the challenge should be picked up by us."
As more parties asked Binc the same question, the team decided, "maybe we should listen." Rather than jump right in, the Binc team began researching the need for such a service and whether Binc would be the right organization. That research, conducted with a mission-driven organization called Strategic Growth Group, actually began in January of 2020.
Just a few months later, those efforts "got put on the back burner a bit," French remarked, but seeing the way communities rallied around their bookstores during the pandemic, and the way bookstores in turn helped keep those communities together, made the team realize that "maybe this idea wasn't as far-fetched as we'd thought."
In fact, White continued, their research showed that Binc would be the "best place for this to be happening." The organization has experience giving out money and grants; has shown that it can "pivot in a crisis"; and, as a 501c3, is able to give direct help in a way that other industry organizations could not. He added that BincTank's multi-pronged approach, which internally is referred to as the five pillars, also sets it apart. In talking with various industry partners, "they tend to focus a lot on one piece," whether that be capital or education or another factor. "It takes all of those pieces."
BincTank's early funding has come from Abrams, the American Booksellers Association, HarperCollins Publishers, Litographs, and Macmillan. French noted that conversations with publishers about BincTank have been "very enthusiastic," with many publishers having internal programs meant to support diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry. BincTank aligns with those efforts, and publishers have shared helpful data with Binc.
Asked how it feels finally to announce BincTank, French said she got "choked up" simply seeing the first complete draft of a press release about the incubator. She has always believed very strongly in the importance of reading and literacy, and being part of something that aims to expand the foundations of literacy feels "very powerful for me personally."
White, who identifies as a queer person of color and has been in the book industry since the early 1990s, said a program like BincTank has "been needed for a really long time." It is "really exciting" to be part of a project addressing the inequity in bookselling, and White hopes that, long term, BincTank helps give rise to a new generation of bookselling leaders.
More information about BincTank can be found here. Anyone interested in becoming a funder for BincTank can contact kathy@bincfoundation.org, while general inquiries about BincTank can be sent to ken@bincfoundation.org.--Alex Mutter