Built for the misfits,
makers and builders
A home base for Palm Beach County’s entrepreneurs, small business owners, and creatives. Where the right resources, relationships, and opportunities come together to help you launch, grow, and scale. For the unconventional thinkers, relentless doers, and those who see what could be instead of settling for what is.
Our origin story
It didn’t exist.
So we built it.
In 2018, Palm Beach County had plenty of entrepreneurial talent, but few resources or spaces where founders could be themselves. Networking was easy to find. A place to be honest about the messy reality of building a business? Not so much.
We believed there was another way to build a business. And a life.
A place where success wasn’t measured by revenue alone. Where taking risks, making mistakes, and figuring things out came with a safety net of people who understood. Because building the founder matters just as much as building the business.
Co-founded in 2018 by Danielle Casey, bringing creative vision and strategy, and Joe Russo, bringing connections and nonprofit expertise, 1909 launched with early strategic support from Jared Fishman and Aaron Nosbisch.
Shana Ostrovitz joined in 2019, helping shape 1909’s programs and growth. In 2020, Shana became Executive Director, and since then she and Danielle have worked side by side guiding the organization’s strategy and evolution.
Named after the year Palm Beach County was founded, 1909 is rooted in its history but focused on its future.
The rest we’ll save for over drinks ;)
Manifesto
We are a collective of creators who believe that if we work together, our ideas, projects and innovations will better our community. We are unapologetically experimenting. We are a place for the process, the mess, the imperfection. We are a place for the unknown to become known.
Exist on your own damn terms.
The team
Not your typical nonprofit people
A soft spot for underdogs and a head full of ideas with a refusal to leave them there. A passionate storyteller with big feelings…and a tendency to stir the pot. Low tolerance for bullshit, high tolerance for animals, sour candy, and Taylor Swift.
Runs on resilience, girl power, and the cup of coffee she’s most definitely misplaced somewhere. Mama, hiker, runner, and living proof that you can be both the sweetest person in the room and the strongest.
Equal parts bubbly and business. Usually found with her husband Jonathan, dog Brig, and a martini at a local haunt. Never skips a workout. Always out making friends and finding excuses to wear cowgirl boots.
Your biggest fan whether you asked for one or not. Full-time hype man, girl dad, piano player, and apple juice connoisseur. Has never met a person he couldn’t cheer on. Occasionally needs to be told to use his inside voice.
Runs a tight ship and wastes absolutely nothing. DJ, Star Wars superfan, collector of everything, and owner of approximately 1,000 pairs of sneakers. Has a system for everything. Do not disrupt the system.
Unbothered. Unrushed. Unreasonably good at staying calm. Matcha lover, excellent cook, and resident zen queen. Probably at Composition Coffee if she’s not here. Please respect her peace.
What we do
Back the ones building
something from nothing
Programs & cohorts
Business education built for real founders, not theory. Cohort programs, workshop series, pitch opportunities and microgrants.
Workspace
A downtown home with desks, offices, meeting rooms and studio space, at roughly 30% below market, because access is the point.
Mentorship
Operators who’ve built here, matched to founders who need them, plus accountability groups and office hours that keep momentum.
Events & community
Workshops, panels, socials, civic engagement and wellness programming. The rooms where introductions actually happen.
What we believe
Non-negotiables.
In people and in practice.
Community
Genuine connection, intentional collaboration and support among founders from every background and industry.
Creativity
We encourage bold, non-traditional ideas, experimentation, and aim high to create solutions with lasting impact.
Character
Transparency, integrity and ownership. When challenged, we act with perseverance, resilience and determination.
Innovation happens when different worlds collide, and that collision is the whole point.
We don’t chase hype. We build with intention, because every decision costs a founder something.
Building something meaningful shouldn’t cost your health, relationships or sense of purpose.
We don’t try to own the ecosystem. We connect it. Turf is for other orgs.
Board of directors
Govern outcomes,
not activity
Our board asks hard questions for clarity, not control, and protects the culture even when it slows growth.
Our partners
We don’t do silos
The best opportunities happen when people stop protecting their corners and start building together. We connect founders, businesses, funders, and community leaders to make things happen that none of us could accomplish alone.
