1776 Announces Reignition Campaign, Changes Name to 76 Forward

Embargoed Until:

August 5th, 2021, 9:00am EST

76 Forward Press Contact:

Charlotte Lee, President

1776 unveils a new President, a new name, a new logo, and a renewed sense of purpose.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, August 5th, 2021 - 1776, a network of startup incubators, offering flexible workspaces and programming for entrepreneurs, has announced an official rebranding in an effort to re-establish their identity and re-ignite their mission. At the core of this rebranding is not only a change of the company name to 76 Forward, an update to the company logo and a new website, but also the promotion of Charlotte Lee to President of the organization.

Since the 2017 merger of DC-based incubator 1776 and Philadelphia-based coworking company Benjamin’s Desk, the newly rebranded 76 Forward has gone through a myriad of changes as they’ve navigated the ever-shifting landscape of the Northeast Corridor's entrepreneurial ecosystems. Over the past 18 months, the 76 Forward team has spent weeks workshopping ideas and speaking with trusted stakeholders to help solidify their future aspirations.

“Our team has faced challenges recently but we constantly went back to our mission and vision to guide us,” says 76 Forward CEO, Jennifer Maher. “We knew we couldn’t back down from the adversity of 2020. And we knew there was more that needed to be done in order to re-establish ourselves as leaders of innovation. That’s when our fight response kicked in.”

76 Forward’s Director of Strategy, Melissa Rucci, pointed to a phrase which she states was critical for her team to come to terms with, “The unforeseen demands of pivoting during the pandemic aside, as a team we realized we needed to shrink to expand. We knew what we could become, we just had to make some difficult decisions in order to take the first steps to accomplishing our goals as a company.”

The immediate changes you will see as part of the rebrand are a new website, www.76forward.com, an updated logo and tagline, and a change of style, voice and vision. 76 Forward will continue a slow roll out of their overall rebrand strategy throughout the next several months. Internally, the 76 Forward team is working to continue their mission as a platform for possibilities, providing access to growth resources for all.

“We believe this new identity not only aligns with our current mission and vision, but sets an aspirational tone for where we could go in the future. Coupled with a new tagline, ‘Venture Forward Together’, we hope this change will inspire current and future members, partners, and entrepreneurial communities to join us in forging new paths of innovation,” says Charlotte Lee, newly appointed President of 76 Forward. Lee started with Benjamin’s Desk as a Campus Manager, and has worn various hats over the years, including Events Manager, Director of Operations, and Chief of Staff.

76 Forward is intentionally seeking to enter more diverse marketplaces, collaborate with partners who will help them elevate the work of Black and Brown Founders, and establish themselves as innovators and advocates for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

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About 76 Forward

76 Forward is a nationwide network of business incubators that cultivates and empowers companies and entrepreneurs to fuel innovation and growth. 76 Forward transforms markets by curating communities of entrepreneurs and enterprises in flexible work environments. Our members gain access to a dynamic network and focused programming to provide the knowledge and resources necessary to spur innovation and solve complex challenges. For more information, please visit www.76forward.com