A Moonshot for the American Dream
(Originally posted in August 2017, updated September 2025)
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy declared that the United States would land a man on the moon before the decade’s end. What mattered most wasn’t just the landing itself, but the spirit of ambition—and the thousands of milestones NASA laid out to get there.
Today, we need that same ambition for the American Dream.
Entrepreneurship drives American dynamism and economic growth, yet new business creation is at a 40-year low. More than three-quarters of venture capital flows to just three states. Less than 5% of VC funding goes to women founders, and less than 1% to Black and Latino founders. Rural communities, women, and people of color are disproportionately left behind.
At Access Ventures, we believe entrepreneurship is a fundamental right — a pathway to dignity, agency, and thriving communities. That’s why, in 2017, we joined the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Zero Barriers movement and asked a bold question:
What would it take to deploy $1 trillion into new businesses over the next 10 years?
Like Kennedy’s moonshot, this vision required breaking the challenge into one-, three-, five-, and ten-year horizons. Together with Village Capital, we convened 50 leaders from across the country—investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, community leaders, and faith voices—to imagine solutions. Take a look at the results from this event in our Moonshot Playbook — many ideas still active today!
Three Areas of Focus
Discover – Find and elevate entrepreneurs in untapped places, populations, and sectors.
Develop – Strengthen ecosystems with resources, mentorship, and local “quarterbacks” to guide collaboration.
Invest – Unlock capital through diverse structures and blended finance that truly meet entrepreneurs where they are.
Why It Still Matters
The Moonshot was never just about capital. It was about vision. It was about saying the American Dream belongs to everyone—not just those born in the right zip code, with the right connections, or the right safety net.
That belief remains core to our work at Access Ventures today. From character-based lending and microfinance, to community round funds and venture philanthropy, we are building the tools and ecosystems that make entrepreneurship accessible to all.
A Call to Action
This challenge isn’t about one program or one foundation. It’s about a movement to restore the American Dream. The question is no longer if we should pursue this moonshot, but how.
What milestones will we set? Who will we bring to the table? And what trillion-dollar ideas can we unlock if we start today?
Join us. Share your ideas. Build in your community. Together, we can make entrepreneurship a fundamental right—and create an economy where everyone has the opportunity to flourish.
Recommended Next Steps
Want to go further into the intersection of capital, entrepreneurship, and inclusive systems? Here’s where to start:
Read more from the Access Ventures blog
Investing In A Vibrant Entrepreneurial Ecosystem — on risk-tolerant capital and Render Capital’s role in Louisville & Southern Indiana.
Economic Agency and the Empowerment of Entrepreneurs — how Collab Capital uplifts Black founders.
Removing Barriers For Entrepreneurs — the landscape of alternative capital models in mid-American regions.
Listen to these More Than Profit episodes
New Capitalism with Jean Case — reimagining capital for equity and long-term change.
Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is with Jay Lipman — on aligning investing with values.
Beyond Good Intentions: Confronting the Complexity of Community Development with Bill Taft — on blended capital and systemic investment strategies.
Engaging with these resources offers stories, tools, and insights to help us move closer to an economy where everyone has the opportunity to flourish.