Creative Capital Access Collaborative Launches and Sparks National Conversation on Future of Capital

The International Business Innovation Association (InBIA) officially launched the Creative Capital Access Collaborative (CCAC), a national initiative bringing together Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs), investors, corporations, and funders to design and deploy innovative capital solutions for entrepreneurs.

CCAC was created to address a persistent challenge in entrepreneurial ecosystems: many high-potential businesses stall not because they lack value or opportunity, but because traditional investment and lending systems overlook them. The Collaborative aims to break these barriers by helping partners build new capital tools, pilot creative capital pools, and expand access to funding models that better support the next generation of founders.

To kick off the initiative, CCAC launched the Creative Capital Table, a live podcast series hosted by Dr. Angelique Johnson, InBIA Director of Training and Director of the Creative Capital Access Collaborative, designed to spark candid conversations about the future of entrepreneurial finance. The inaugural episode on February 19 featured Shane Kelley, Founder and CEO of Cinematica Labs, in a bold discussion titled “VC or Bust!? What Works, What Breaks, and What’s Replacing Venture Capital.” Drawing on his experience as an investor, entrepreneur, and ecosystem builder, Kelley challenged common assumptions about venture capital’s role in the startup economy. As he explained during the conversation:

“Not that venture capital is broken — it’s operating as intended.”

Kelley emphasized that while the VC model works for a narrow category of hyper-growth companies, many sustainable and profitable businesses simply don’t fit that model—creating an urgent need for alternative capital approaches.

The series continues on March 19 at 12 PM EST with “Community Is the New Capital: The Currency of Trust and Solidarity.” Dr. Johnson will host Jill Johnson, CEO of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL), to explore how trust-based networks and community-driven angel investing are expanding who invests, who gets funded, and how capital flows through entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Together, CCAC and the Creative Capital Table are helping ecosystem leaders rethink how capital can better fuel innovation, inclusion, and economic growth.