Individuals with disabilities are the largest minority in the world, said Diego Mariscal, the founder and CEO of 2gether-International, a Washington, D.C.-based startup accelerator for disabled entrepreneurs.
Mariscal and 2gether-International were in town last week as part of the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival to spread his mission, enhance diversity and discuss with other entrepreneurs how they can strengthen the most underrepresented and underemployed segments of the population.
Mariscal was born in New Orleans, two and a half months premature, as his Mexican parents were on a shopping trip from their home in Monterrey, Mexico. He was born with cerebral palsy, which mainly affects his legs.
“I grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, which was very entrepreneurial,” he said. “So I learned from that as I grew up. I went to Washington, D.C., thinking I would do international relations and change the world with politics, but I saw that there was a lot of work to be done on the policy side concerning people with disabilities.”
He began to see how the world of business and entrepreneurship could be a vehicle for change.
In 2012, he established and created 2gether-International to change the usual narrative about individuals with disabilities.
“I want disability to be something that is celebrated and embraced, rather than something that needs to be fixed or hidden,” said Mariscal.
While his legs give him problems, there is nothing wrong with his speaking ability and he credits his parents for instilling in him a sense of independence.
He tells a story about riding a horse when he was young, and he was thrown off the horse. Most young kids would be terrified to get back on the animal, so his trainer was a bit surprised when Mariscal immediately hopped back on. But because of his cerebral palsy, Mariscal had fallen many times in life, so it wasn’t really a big deal to him to just climb back on and try again.
“I grew up with a brother who was not disabled, and our parents treated us the same. The same expectations they had for him, they had for me,” said Mariscal. “With a disability, you have to figure out a lot: How to get dressed. How to drive. How to communicate.”
This instilled in him a wish to broaden the narrative on disabilities.
He began to see how entrepreneurs with disabilities could redefine what people think about disabilities.
He points out how celebrity entrepreneurs like Richard Branson and Elon Musk have come out about their disabilities and how helpful it would have been if they discussed this issue before they became rich and famous. So changing the narrative about disabilities is a key focus for Mariscal and 2gether-International.
2gether-International offers four programs with their most well known program being the accelerator program. They also offer a platform for founders who are in the early stages of creating their companies, and they create events to raise awareness. A fund for supporting emerging entrepreneurs is in the early stages of creation.
Over 600 entrepreneurs with disabilities have been through 2gether-International’s 10-week program, and most of these founders are in high-growth, high impact industries. They get training that helps them elevate their business.
A normal accelerator program is a business program that supports early-stage, growth-driven companies through education, mentorship and financing.
Approximately 600 founding entrepreneurs who have disabilities have been through 2-gether International’s program. They have been responsible for 70 startup companies, and collectively they have raised $50 million so far.
Mariscal explained how critical it is for disabilities to be part of any discussion on diversity.
He believes all Americans should be concerned about the recent pushback against some minorities. He wishes to make sure that people with disabilities are well represented in business and in our social culture. The more entrepreneurs with disabilities are supported, the more strength the general movement has.
He has found a sector (entrepreneurship) where he feels he can make a difference.
“I grew up in Mexico where the laws are much behind the United States. I didn’t have Medicaid or supplemental Social Security. Taking those rights away from people with disabilities would set us all back,” Mariscal said.
