Ascender: Pittsburgh’s Grassroots Incubator Fueling Inclusive Entrepreneurship
By Jonah Shapiro
Pittsburgh Roots and Mission
In the heart of Pittsburgh’s AI Avenue, located in the East Liberty neighborhood, Ascender buzzes with the energy of new ideas. Founded in 2012 amid the city’s tech renaissance, Ascender began life as “Thrill Mill” – a grassroots effort by local professionals who saw untapped potential in Pittsburgh’s post-industrial resurgence. The nonprofit incubator’s mission is simple yet bold: help entrepreneurs of all kinds start and build their companies through education, mentorship, and a coworking community. “Pittsburgh has always been an entrepreneurial city,” reflects Ascender CEO Nadyli Nuñez, “and Ascender has been integral in creating a truly connected community where all kinds of entrepreneurs and experts can come together, share ideas, and work hard to make their vision a reality”. That vision – rooted firmly in Pittsburgh’s collaborative spirit – has guided Ascender from its humble origins to its role today as a linchpin of the region’s AI startup ecosystem.
Founding Leadership: Steve Matteson’s Vision and Nadyli Nuñez’s Journey
Ascender’s story is driven by the leadership of founder Steve Matteson and CEO Nadyli Nuñez, whose philosophies blend business insight with human-centered purpose. Matteson, a Pittsburgh native and seasoned entrepreneur, helped launch Ascender on the premise that the city’s innovators deserved a platform beyond traditional tech hubs. He and his co-founders were “inspired by the potential Pittsburgh had to grow into a nationally recognized entrepreneurship hub”, noticing “a gap in the early stage ecosystem that no one had been paying attention to”. From the beginning, Matteson cultivated a culture of tenacity and openness – Ascender’s unofficial motto became “the only requirement here is that you have to be willing to put in the work”. This ethos of hard work over pedigree meant founders from any background or industry could find support at Ascender, so long as they brought grit and determination.
Nadyli Nuñez, who joined Ascender and later rose to executive director and CEO, personifies the incubator’s inclusive spirit. Guided by her mother’s mantra that “whatever you do, you should do your best,” Nuñez developed a leadership style grounded in empathy, excellence, and empowerment. At Ascender, Nuñez has taken Matteson’s founding vision and amplified it with her own “detailed, hands-on approach to ensure the success of her clients”. She is known to be involved in nearly every aspect of Pittsburgh’s startup community – from one-on-one mentorship sessions to cheering on founders at pitch competitions – earning a reputation as a tireless community builder. It’s a mindset that has helped Nuñez and the Ascender team guide hundreds of early-stage entrepreneurs and position them for growth and investment.
Pittsburgh’s AIEcosystem: A City Transformed for Startups
Ascender’s rise is intertwined with Pittsburgh’s own economic transformation from Steel City to AI City. Over the past decade, the region has cultivated an ecosystem uniquely suited to early-stage companies – one built on institutional strengths, public-private partnerships, and a supportive culture. World-class research universities like Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh provide a steady pipeline of tech talent and innovation, while local corporations and venture firms increasingly engage with homegrown startups. Major foundations such as the Richard King Mellon Foundation have also fueled entrepreneurship through grants and social-impact investments, recognizing Ascender as “one of the region’s premier destinations for entrepreneurial programming, incubation and coworking space”. Perhaps most distinctive is Pittsburgh’s collaborative infrastructure: instead of a single industry focus, the city’s startup scene thrives on cross-sector connectivity. Ascender itself was designed as a hub to “draw universities, funders, service providers and corporations to connect with entrepreneurs”. Its 11,000 square-foot facility –sits across the street from tech anchors like Google’s Pittsburgh office, symbolically bridging startup scrappiness with corporate and research resources.
Within this dense ecosystem, Pittsburgh offers competitive advantages often absent in coastal hubs. The cost of doing business is lower – from office rents to salaries – allowing startups to conserve capital for “sustained investment in reliability and precision rather than venture capital theater,” as AI pioneer Andrew Moore observed of Pittsburgh’s tech culture. More importantly, the city’s ethos prizes substance over flash. “We take really interesting, fascinating things, but we get serious about them quite quickly,” Moore notes, contrasting Pittsburgh’s practical bent with Silicon Valley’s hype cycle. That pragmatic culture means entrepreneurs here focus on solving real problems and building sustainable business models. Ascender’s founders harnessed this cultural trait when shaping the incubator’s programs. “Everyone who enters Ascender will leave in a better position,” said co-founder Bobby Zappala during the incubator’s rebranding, emphasizing that Ascender supports all “starters and builders, not just startups chasing venture capital… This is a place for those starting or building any kind of business or organization”. From tech spinouts and AI startups to Main Street retail businesses and nonprofits, Pittsburgh’s ecosystem – and Ascender in particular – make room for a wide array of innovators. It’s an environment where a robotics Ph.D. and a local food entrepreneur can swap advice over free coffee in the coworking lounge, and where informal meetups often lead to formal partnerships. As Nuñez puts it, “one new connection can completely change a founder’s trajectory – be a part of that movement because I can assure you, you’ll be part of that success too”.
An Incubator for All: Inclusive Innovation at Ascender
From its inception, Ascender has championed inclusive innovation as a core value. Unlike exclusive accelerators that might cater only to high-growth tech startups, Ascender opened its doors wide to founders of “all industries and people of all backgrounds”. This expansive definition of entrepreneurship is evident in Ascender’s programming and outreach. The incubator runs a year-long incubation program that accepts startups ranging from app developers and AI firms to social enterprises, craft manufacturers, and neighborhood small businesses. In addition, Ascender offers free or low-cost educational workshops, mentorship office hours, and even mini-grants for Black-owned and Latine-owned businesses, ensuring that underrepresented entrepreneurs have a foothold in the ecosystem. The organization’s leadership deliberately tries to meet founders where they are. “There is no one-size-fits-all – your goals and current circumstances play a large role in determining what to do next,” former Ascender COO Stephan Mueller explained, highlighting that Ascender tailors its coaching to each startup’s needs. By eschewing a cookie-cutter approach, Ascender creates a more inclusive environment for those who may not fit the stereotypical startup mold.
Ascender also proactively partners with initiatives focused on diversity. In 2024, for example, Ascender teamed up with Chloe Capital to host an Invest In Women showcase that spotlighted female founders and connected them with investors. “Each year Ascender impacts hundreds of entrepreneurs across many industries,” Nuñez noted in that context, underscoring that continued collaboration with national programs helps “power up” underrepresented founders. This community-powered approach aligns with Pittsburgh’s broader commitment to inclusive innovation. A recent Brookings Institution report lauded Pittsburgh for fostering incubators and hubs that help diverse entrepreneurs via mentorship and co-working communities. It singled out programs like Ascender as critical to ensuring the city’s tech boom benefits a wide cross-section of residents, rather than mirroring the inequities of other hubs. Nuñez takes that mandate personally: she challenges the community to “collectively propel [founders’] ventures” by opening doors and making introductions, reminding Pittsburgh that “since no one is an island,” the success of one startup can lift the whole region. Under her leadership, Ascender cultivates not just entrepreneurs, but an entire support network around them – advisors, peers, investors, and alumni who share a mindset of mutual aid. This intentional inclusivity has become part of Ascender’s brand. Walk into its Penn Avenue facility on any given day and you might find a workshop on pitching to investors, a brainstorming session among founders of different ages and ethnicities, or a casual networking happy hour with a mix of techies and creatives. The message is clear: no entrepreneur is left behind. By lowering barriers to entry and actively reaching out to underrepresented communities, Ascender is widening the funnel of who gets to participate in Pittsburgh’s innovation economy. As a result, the incubator sees over 600 startup founders and small business owners come through its programs each year – a diverse cohort that better reflects the community at large.
Impact and Outcomes: Building Companies and Community
After more than a decade, Ascender’s impact in Pittsburgh is visible in both concrete outcomes and intangible cultural shifts. The organization has incubated dozens of companies that have collectively created jobs, attracted investment, and enriched the local economy. In a recent incubation cohort alone, Ascender’s startups generated $1.8 million in combined revenue and investments, demonstrating that founders nurtured in a collaborative environment can compete for capital and customers. Some Ascender alumni have gone on to raise major funding rounds or gain national recognition, while others have become sustainable small businesses anchoring Pittsburgh neighborhoods. These success stories validate Ascender’s model of steady, hands-on support. Nuñez often notes that in total, “Nuñez has positively impacted more than 600 founders and small business owners” through Ascender’s programs. Each of those entrepreneurs represents not just a business launched, but a person empowered – someone who might have otherwise lacked the know-how, network, or confidence to pursue their idea. The ripple effects extend further: Ascender’s graduates frequently return as mentors, investors, or role models for the next generation of founders, creating a virtuous cycle of pay-it-forward mentorship. This “community of helpers” is perhaps Ascender’s most significant product. “When Ascender is really working, membership…will include law firms, design firms, university entrepreneurship programs, corporate innovation teams, right alongside the entrepreneurs who need their support,” co-founder Bobby Zappala envisioned. Today, that vision is alive – Pittsburgh’s entrepreneurs have a far more connected web of resources and champions than existed a decade ago, and Ascender is widely credited as a catalyst for that connectivity.
. As Ascender celebrated its 10-year anniversary, Nuñez remarked that the incubator’s “impact on Pittsburgh’s entrepreneurship scene remains undeniable”, noting how it sees hundreds of founders annually and works with an “incredibly diverse group” of partners across the region. Those outcomes validate the bet that Ascender’s founders made on Pittsburgh back in 2012, when they saw not a struggling Rust Belt city, but fertile ground for innovation.
Beyond the Coasts: Lessons for the Future of Startup Ecosystems
Ascender’s journey carries important implications for the future of startup ecosystems, especially in cities outside the traditional coastal tech hubs. Pittsburgh’s success – to which Ascender is a key contributor – suggests that intentional community-building and inclusivity can be a competitive advantage for emerging tech cities. Rather than trying to replicate Silicon Valley’s model wholesale, regions like Pittsburgh are forging their own identities as innovation centers. Ascender’s model offers a playbook: leverage local strengths (like research universities and a loyal alumni base), encourage collaboration across sectors, keep costs manageable for startups, and make inclusion a cornerstone from day one. This approach can yield what one local tech leader called “serious” innovation rather than superficial hype. In Pittsburgh’s case, close collaboration between public, private, nonprofit, and academic stakeholders was crucial to the city’s “turnaround”. Ascender itself was born from such cross-sector imagination – funded by philanthropy, partnered with other organizations, and welcomed by the community. For mid-sized cities looking to grow their startup communities, Ascender demonstrates the impact of having a physical and cultural hub where entrepreneurs can “build, belong, collaborate, and thrive” together.
Looking ahead, Ascender’s leaders remain clear-eyed about the work still to come. “Depending on how you look at it, a ten-year anniversary is both a huge milestone and a reminder of the work still to come,” Nuñez wrote, emphasizing that untapped opportunities remain and bold progress is needed in the next decade. For Ascender, that means doubling down on its inclusive mission, strengthening partnerships, and continuing to adapt as industries change. For Pittsburgh, it means staying true to the factors that differentiate its ecosystem – the deep expertise, the modest authenticity, and the “community of helpers” – while constantly striving to broaden the circle of opportunity. Ascender’s case shows that when a city invests in all of its talent and fosters a genuine community around entrepreneurship, it can create an environment where innovation isn’t confined to a few but flourishes among the many. In doing so, Pittsburgh and Ascender offer a hopeful blueprint for other rising startup cities: one where success is measured not just in unicorn valuations, but in the diversity of dreams realized and the resilience of a community that rises together.
Sources:
Nuñez, Nadyli – Ascender at 10: Looking Back and Looking Forward, Medium (Jul. 27, 2022) medium.commedium.com
Mueller, Stephan – Quoted in Ascender at 10, Medium medium.com
Zappala, Bobby – Press Release, Thrill Mill rebrands to Ascender (Nov. 3, 2016) slideshare.netslideshare.net
Nuñez, Nadyli – Press Release, Chloe Capital Invest In Women Pittsburgh (May 3, 2024) chloecapital.com
Smart Business Dealmakers Podcast – Episode featuring N. Nuñez (Jul. 15, 2022) smartbusinessdealmakers.libsyn.com
Richard King Mellon Foundation – News Release (Dec. 16, 2021) rkmf.orgrkmf.org
Brookings Institution – Centering Racial Equity in Pittsburgh’s Innovation Economy(2022) brookings.edubrookings.edu
Moore, Andrew – Interview in Technical.ly (cited in Lovelace AI case)
