Fresh Start
Entrepreneurship
Turning Business Ideas Into Reality
Business ownership offers returning citizens an alternative path to sustainable income and wealth creation. Fresh Start Entrepreneurship & Financial Capabilities provides the education, mentoring, and legal guidance to help aspiring entrepreneurs start and grow a business.
The Fresh Start program was developed by First Step Alliance in partnership with Harvard Law School, the Boston Mayor’s Office of Returning Citizens, and SCORE, the nation's largest volunteer business mentoring organization. The program equips participants with essential business and money management knowledge and helps them create a business plan. Graduates receive a Certificate of Completion from First Step Alliance and Harvard Law School and are better prepared to take their idea to the next level.
Program workshops are supported by individual, real-world guidance from peer mentors and certified financial educators, business mentors, and credit counselors. Our instructors are graduates of top business and law schools, including Wharton, Harvard, Berkeley, and NYU. Through partnerships with community organizations and agencies, we continue expanding our reach, helping more people overcome barriers and work toward financial empowerment.
Fresh Start is a training program that helps people who are at the very beginning of dreaming about their business. They’re just starting to figure out, how do I do this on a larger scale? How do I make this a sustainable income source for myself?
-- Harvard Law School, Program Partner
Read more about our program in From Incarceration to Entrepreneurship, featured in Harvard Law Today.
If you're interested in joining our upcoming cohort and you are a returning citizens living in Greater Boston, please apply here: Fresh Start Spring 2026 Application
Our Impact
What our graduates say
Wayne
"Dreaming after incarceration can be difficult. The Fresh Start program helped me out in ways you couldn't imagine. My vision widened, and I decided I wanted to open a CDL driving school. Fresh Start helped me put that plan into action."
Tatiana
"This program is empowering! Not only am I more knowledgeable in business, I'm also so much more confident in my venture. The mentors are amazing. Thank you for the experience, encouragement, and all of the help."
Zilla
"The Fresh Start Program gave me the foundation I needed to launch my business, and I'm grateful for the chance to give back and hopefully inspire others who are on the same path I once walked."
Jose
"The experience with the program opened my eyes to what it really takes to have a successful business. It made me realize you need a business plan, a vision, a goal and a plan to get there."
Caroline
"Thank you so much for everything! This class was great and I looked forward to it every week. I wasn’t sure if I could do it all and make it to the end but now I feel I can do anything I set my mind to."
Sonny
"The Fresh Start program is more than a program. It's an opportunity to change the rest of your life. God bless these guys. We need more programs like this."
Marquis
"Thank you all for this program. It was very beneficial for all of us. I really did learn a lot. Blessed are the ones that never give up."
Charles
"Best program in the city for returning citizens!"
Friendy
"This is a great program to help future entrepreneurs on their journey."
REAL RESULTS
Fresh Start Graduates
Zilla recently launched her own recycling business – now officially certified as a Woman- and Minority-Owned Small Business!
She shared her Fresh Start program experience with a new cohort and how she's applying what she learned to achieve her business and financial goals.
In 2024, Wayne started a CDL licensing business and has already trained 40 community members—opening doors to meaningful careers in trucking.
He was recently featured on a reentry podcast, sharing his journey and how the Fresh Start program gave him the confidence and knowledge to start a new business.
Read our article Entrepreneurship After Prison: Fresh Start Business Ideas for more information about practical and affordable business ideas for returning citizens.
