by Lee Porter
Earlier this year, NerdWallet listed Denver as 9th best in the nation for women entrepreneurs with 30.1% of businesses owned by women. The story was picked up by Forbes, Entrepreneur and others. See the infographic from Intuit here.
A lot of talk about diversity in the workplace has been spinning around since Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg published her book Lean In, which contends that although there is a systematic boys club atmosphere in business, a lot of what holds women back is their own fears and apprehensions.
Can women create their own business ecosystems? That’s the topic of an event September 3rd in Boulder at Macky Auditorium called Startup Phenomenon Women.
The Van Heyst folks who have pulled this event together have reached into big companies (Google) and small (The Cotery) to create a day-long event that explores everything from serial entrepreneurship to funding to talent and diversity in the workplace.
A “little sister” to the main event Startup Phenomenon in November, SP Women will attack the source of the problem (women’s grounding in science and technology ie STEM) and a number of other obstacles along the way (role models in media ie Hollywood) as well as the topic I consider to be the connective tissue of business today, money and access to investment.
One such investor, Kelly Hoey of the women’s VC firm Women Innovate Mobile, will be featured in an upcoming InnovatioNews INterview, so stay tuned for more on her perspective, which includes a leadership role in 85Broads, the ultimate women’s power circle.
In Colorado, women are organizing to support one another and counter the disadvantages they find in starting new businesses and getting what they need to be successful. Here are just a few of those efforts:
Moxie Exchange, the brainchild of Fort Collins entrepreneur Maureen Berkner Boyt is a great example of this…organized around the principal of mutual mentorship, Moxie has chapters across the country.
A shout out also to StartupDenver Female Entrepreneurs Monthly meetup and the work of Lizelle van Vuuren to bring together a diverse group of women who are making it happen.
The Colorado Women’s Chamber also brings together business women for leadership education, networking and issues advocacy.
Women with great ideas start businesses all the time and the obstacles to success are far fewer than in years past. As a female entrepreneur I relish the opportunity to create something new, rise to the challenges of running a business and add to the conversation about why innovation is the engine of our economy.
If I can do that in a way that promotes diversity, encourages new companies and ideas and creates something of lasting value, I’m happy. I’m also excited to be part of a movement with this kind of estrogen.
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connect on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/leehporter/
