When Economic Opportunity Comes to a City, Who Benefits?
Updated: 5 days ago
Major events and investments can bring significant economic activity to a city. We see it with global events like the World Cup and the Olympics, as well as major conventions, infrastructure projects, and corporate investments.
Visitors arrive. Businesses need vendors. Institutions purchase goods and services. New investments are made.
With Oklahoma City preparing to host Olympic competition in 2028, there is understandable excitement about what this moment could mean for our city and region. For us, it has also surfaced a question that extends far beyond any one event:
When significant economic activity comes to a community, who gets to participate and benefit?
Economic activity doesn't automatically create economic access
For nearly a decade, StitchCrew has worked alongside entrepreneurs and the organizations and communities that support them. One thing we've learned is that having opportunity in a community doesn't necessarily mean everyone can access it.
Small businesses may be capable of delivering a product or service but never hear about an opportunity. They may struggle to get in front of the right buyer, understand how an institution purchases, or navigate contracting and procurement processes. At the same time, buyers may want to work with more local businesses but lack an easy way to find and evaluate them.
There are already directories, supplier databases, procurement portals, certifications, and programs designed to close these gaps. But too often, they operate in silos. A business can be listed in a database without ever being connected to a buyer. It can receive technical assistance without knowing which opportunities to prepare for. And buyers can still struggle to find businesses that match what they actually need.
The challenge isn't a lack of businesses or opportunities. It's that the pathways connecting businesses to those opportunities are often fragmented, difficult to navigate, or simply missing.
From visibility to opportunity
FOUND is our effort to address that gap by making it easier for businesses and buyers to find one another, but discovery alone isn't enough.
Technology can improve visibility and surface opportunities, but it can't replace the relationships and support that help businesses pursue them. After nearly a decade of coaching entrepreneurs, building networks, and connecting founders to capital, customers, and resources, we've seen how much access depends on preparation, relationships, and trust.
FOUND combines both. The platform creates greater visibility between businesses and buyers, while StitchCrew and our ecosystem partners help entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses, build relationships, and prepare for opportunities as they emerge.
The goal isn't another directory. It's a stronger pathway from visibility to readiness to opportunity.
Access requires participation on both sides
Creating better access can't fall entirely on small businesses. The institutions that purchase goods and services have a role to play, too.
Large organizations may already have supplier databases and procurement systems, but those systems often become useful once a vendor is already known or a purchasing need exists. Smaller and midsize organizations may want to buy locally but lack the time or infrastructure to continually identify businesses and build new supplier relationships.
If we want more economic activity to benefit the communities where it happens, buying local has to be more intentional. That means knowing which businesses are already there, understanding what they can provide, and building relationships before the need arises.
FOUND creates a shared place for that to happen. Businesses gain visibility with potential buyers and a clearer view of opportunities and resources that can help them grow. Buyers gain a way to discover businesses they might not otherwise encounter and broaden the relationships they can draw from when purchasing needs arise.
From economic activity to economic access
Economic development is often measured by how much investment comes into a community. We should also ask how much of that activity reaches the businesses already rooted there.
That requires more than attracting investment. It requires better connections between businesses and buyers, greater visibility into opportunities, and support that helps businesses prepare to pursue them.
That's what we're working to build through FOUND, technology paired with the relationships, networks, and hands-on support that help businesses move from visibility to readiness to opportunity.
If you're a local business, make sure you're visible. If your organization buys goods or services, make sure local businesses have a way to be seen. Join FOUND →