In the grueling startup culture, female entrepreneurs face particular and well-documented challenges, from limited access to early-stage capital, mentors and networks, to disinclination for self-promotion.
Now DreamIt Ventures has launched DreamIt Athena, a new Philadelphia-based accelerator track focused on providing women with the tools necessary to grow viable companies.
“DreamIt Athena aims to make a significant difference…by providing specific, dedicated resources to meet [female founders’] needs,” says Karen Griffith Gryga, DreamIt managing partner.
The accelerator's female-focused curriculum will address the challenges head on.
“The lack of role models is one of the primary differences,” she explains. “Women are relatively new to the entrepreneurial scene; we were only granted the right to business credit in our own names in 1974. Like any successful entrepreneurial ecosystem, the presence of role models is critical.
“The lack of access to capital is another challenge faced more acutely by female entrepreneurs,” continues Griffith Gryga, noting that most angel investors and venture capitalists are males and often not interested in women entrepreneurs’ ideas. “Female founders also face challenges that are more trait based. Women’s qualifications and decision-making skills are often scrutinized more deeply and critically than their male counterparts. Additionally, women have a tendency not to self-promote, and research indicates that women downplay their accomplishments in comparison to men even though they are actually over-performing.”
Named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, DreamIt Athena will offer $25,000 in seed money, plus coaching, mentorship and workspace at the Innovation Center @3401, DreamIt Ventures’ Philadelphia headquarters. DreamIt Athena will also partner with the women’s angel network Golden Seeds and women entrepreneur/top-level exec network Springboard to further ensure access to resources, guidance and seed money.
DreamIt received nearly $500,000 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to launch Athena, and is looking to accept, at minimum, four women-led startups for the program, which runs February through May 2015.
The application deadline is Monday, December 8.
Source: Karen Griffith Gryga, DreamIt Ventures
Writer: Elise Vider