10 great Sources for Female Founders of Startups – to help them succeed
“Female founders know a thing or two about failure, setbacks and success. Failure? Part of the game? Risk? The greater the risk, the greater the reward, because feeling satisfied tells you you’ve made the product that you are proud of”
Female Founder’s Resources: Digital Undivided, Womens’s Venture Fund, 37 Angels, Winning Women, Female Founders, Women’s Business Circle, SoGal Ventures, Lioness, Ladies that Launch, Women 2.0:
This year’s headlines are full of stories on technology’s “bro culture” and the gender imbalance in entrepreneurship & the tech world. For all the strides that women have made in starting businesses, a massive divide still exists between male & women founders: only 18 % of Startups have at least one female founder and only 16 % of small business Loans go to women entrepreneurs.
Pleasing Progress. However, in the nearly two decades since I launched my first business, I have seen real progress in terms of Resources. Today, there’s an abundance of groups, programs, networks, & platforms designed to encourage & boost female entrepreneurship. Women who have made it are reaching out to help other women, without expectations of anything in return.
10 Resources. If you’re looking to launch or want to grow an existing business, you don’t have to go it alone. Here are some incredible resources for female entrepreneurs – not in any particular order.
Digital Undivided leads high potential Black & Latina women founders through the startup pipeline. Their programs include a 26-week incubator program, #ProjectDiane (a research initiative focused on women of color & tech entrepreneurship), + networking events. Their mantra: “We’re all about investing where others won’t. Championing what others don’t. We’re doubling down on opportunities that others consider small bets.” Yes!
Women’s Venture Fund is a “non-profit” organization that helps women establish businesses in urban communities with business development programs, advisory services, technical assistance, & funding (in NYC metro area). To date, they’ve helped launched more than 3,200 small businesses.
37 Angels is a community of women Investors with the mission to educate Early-Stage investors & train more women to become investors. 37 Angels was founded by longtime entrepreneur, Columbia Univ. Business School professor & Pipeline [Angel Investors] alumna Angela Lee, so she has lots of experience in funding women’s startups.
Progress. Last year 2016, 26 % of Angels were women. That figure has more than doubled since 2011 when it was only 12 %, but we can still do better. 37 angels offers Investor Boot-Camps (both online & in NYC) to learn the art of Angel Investing. And, female (and male) founders can apply for a chance to pitch their product or service to the 37 Angels network in NYC.
Entrepreneurial Winning Women program helps women-owned businesses with $2M in revenue or above “scale” quickly. It’s a national competition & executive education program (includes year-round education, networking, and events). If you’re interested, keep in mind that applications are closed now but will open again in March 2018.
Women Who Startup is a network of female entrepreneurs that are supported by accelerators and investors in Denver, Colorado. Founder Lizelle Van Vuuren founded the organization after asking herself “Where were all the women in the room in corporate networking and startup events”. Women Who Startup holds regular basecamp events in Denver and Boulder, and there’s also Women Who Startup Radio, an awesome podcast featuring insightful and inspiring interviews with female entrepreneurs.
Female Founders Fund launched in 2014 to invest in early-stage female-founded technology companies. Areas of focus include e-commerce, web-enabled services/products, marketplaces, and platforms.
Women’s Business Center
> 100 Women’s Business Centers [WBC] located throughout the US to help women start and grow small business centers. These educational centers are run by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA), Office of Women’s Business Ownership. Their goal is to “level the playing field” for women entrepreneurs. Check out the SBA website to find a WBC near you.
SoGal Ventures (not SoCal) calls itself the first female-led millennial Venture Capital firm. They invest in Pre-Seed to Series A startups in the U.S. and Asia with female founders. SoGal initially started as a community group inside a USC (this is Univ of So Cal) classroom after co-founder Pocket Sun noticed that very few of the Guest speakers in her entrepreneurship classes were women.
Tory Burch Foundation aims to empower female entrepreneurs through capital, education, & fellowship programs. Their Capital program with Bank of America helps provide access to affordable loans through Community Lenders. Through a partnership with Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses, the foundation provides women small-business owners with business & management education. And, the Tory Burch Fellows Program includes workshops, a year of support, a $10,000 award, + a chance to pitch for a $100,000 grant.
BOSS Network, motto is “Bringing Out Successful Sisters,” is a networking platform & membership organization for primarily African American women entrepreneurs & professionals. Their mission is to promote the small business spirit & professional development of multi-cultural women. The community supports each other through online & event-based networking.
Additional “content-based” Resources.
There’s a vast amount of articles & other resources available on the web. I find these resources so beneficial to keep me motivated and provide viable solutions to challenges I face in my business (or challenges I face while trying to balance my life and business). Some of the sites worth checking out include: Ladies Who Launch, Lioness, Women 2.0.
Conclusion: This list is by no means exhaustive; it’s just a compilation of some of the funding, networking & support resources that are on my radar today.
Comments: Do you know of any other good Resources for Female Entrepreneurs?
from Mashable.com 04 Oct 17 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz
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