​Unlocking Untapped

​Start-up Potential

​After the Prison Walls

Welcome to ReStartup Academy

Restartup Academy is a 501c3 Organization that has evolved to become an incubator to empower formerly incarcerated individuals passionate about starting their own businesses to succeed.  

Formed in 2017 to teach entrepreneurship skills inside Washington State prisons, Restartup Academy embraced this challenge by partnering with Defy Ventures, a national non-profit, to create a thriving life changing programs at Monroe Correctional Complex 

With COVID closing WA prisons to programming, ReStartup Academy has ​

​ReStartup Academy is an independently run 501c3 prison reentry program on a mission to transform our criminal justice system by unlocking untapped business and human potential behind prison walls and beyond. 

Our mission is to turn prisons into incubators for entrepreneurship.
From the US state and federal prisons to the mental prisons of limiting beliefs and circumstances, ReStartup Academy aims to empower aspiring entrepreneurs through purpose-centered, team-driven, transformative curriculum that transcends technology, geography, and the status quo.

Inside and outside the prison walls we provide highly motivated entrepreneurs with the training, knowledge and practice needed to start, scale, and manage new businesses. Currently four interactive courses integrate research based conceptual models and tools with hands-on practical experience in the form of historical and live cases, idea creation, and real business plan competitions.  

What would happen if...

we turn prisons into incubators for entrepreneurship?

Rebuilding Lives

Startups live or die on the quality of the team.  ReStartup Academy graduates learn how to collaborate, evaluate, & build startup teams.

Reframing Obstacles

In every hardship there is an opportunity.  ReStartup Academy empowers graduates to harness their hustle into a viable startup. 

Reviving Communities

Criminals hurt communities.  ReStartup Academy graduates become role models who enrich their communities through entrepreneurship.

Reducing Recidivism

3 of 4 prisoners are back in prison in 5yrs. ReStartup Academy gives graduates a legal way to success as owners & employees of startups.

ARMED OR EQUIPPED?

Watch ReStartup Academy Co-Founder, Spencer O. share his vision of transformation behind bars at the 2013 TEDxMCC.