TechFW is partnering with the Center for Women Entrepreneurs at Texas Woman's University to give female business owners and innovators access to entrepreneurial coaching and opportunities to take their ideas to market.
The agreement is TechFW's first outreach effort in Denton County.
"We're excited to expand our support of female innovators and for this chance to work with Texas Woman's University and the Center for Women Entrepreneurs," Hayden Blackburn, executive director of TechFW, said. "We are proud to say that 43% of our current clients have women on the founding and management teams, and look forward to growing that support through this partnership."
According to TechFW, the partnership with the Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership and Center for Women Entrepreneurs has three components.
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The first is TechFW's Women and Wealth seminar on May 20, which will connect female entrepreneurs and investors. Speakers will discuss how and why they invest, what they look for in leaders seeking investments, and strategies that grow companies.
The second component includes awards that will allow five female innovators to participate in programs provided by TechFW, including ThinkLab, the technology accelerator.
Female entrepreneurs throughout Texas, including non-students, are eligible, TechFW said.
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The third component will be a collaboration with SmartStart, the TechFW incubator program that helps entrepreneurs formalize their business framework to facilitate a path to market.
"Access to capital and entrepreneurial training are often stumbling blocks for woman-owned businesses," Tracy Irby, director of the Center for Women Entrepreneurs, said. "The partnership with TechFW will give women the opportunity to develop their financial strategy and shape new technologies, innovate and improve learning outcomes."
The Center for Women Entrepreneurs is part of TWU's Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership.
The center was funded in 2015 by the Texas Legislature to promote women entrepreneurs in Texas.
According to TechFW, the JNIWL is dedicated to preparing women to take on successful roles in business and public service. The institute also works to ensure that women have the education to establish careers as successful C-suite executives, the skills for business entrepreneurship, and the framework needed to run for public office.
Texas Woman's University joins a growing list of TechFW university alliances.
TechFW said it partners with the commercialization departments at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth and the University of Texas at Arlington.
TechFW also partners with Texas Christian University to provide experiential learning opportunities for students through internships and fellowships,
The tech incubator and accelerator also has a partnership with UT-Southwestern and LaunchBio in support of the Biotech Hub at Pegasus Park in Dallas.
Female entrepreneurs seeking a method for success should visit https://www.techfortworth.org/twu-education-award to learn more and to submit an award application to the TechFW accelerator program.
