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Women

The University of Maryland has been and continues to be the launchpad for thousands of entrepreneurs, innovators, business owners, and creatives; many of whom are female founders, inventors, investors and artists.

Entrepreneurship Content

MD SBDC
  • Fabulous Fempreneurship - No matter what stage your entrepreneurship business is in, the blog can help with tips and strategies as you start, grow, scale up and fund your business.
  • Female Entrepreneur Association - Is an online hub designed to inspire women and help them turn their ideas and dreams into reality. The blog covers topics such as business basics, marketing and business growth, mindset and personal development, money and finance, and systems and productivity.
  • Green Room by Backstage Capital
  • Golden Seeds
  • Ladies Get Paid
  • See Girl Work - The blog’s mission is to curate valuable business and lifestyle content for ambitious, entrepreneurial-minded women.
  • She Did It Her Way - This blog founded by Amanda Boleyn includes practical tips to help entrepreneurs with both business efficiency and personal growth.
  • Springboard's Alumnae Blog - This blog features posts written by Alumnae of Springboard.
  • Dear Female Founder: 66 Letters of Advice from Women Entrepreneurs Who Have Made $1 Billion in Revenue - Showcases a diverse spectrum of women, who have done and achieved amazing things in entrepreneurship.
  • Girl Code -  It is a roadmap for female entrepreneurs, professional women, side hustlers and anyone in-between to start sharing what they’ve learned to make each other better.
  • Living the Confidence Code - This book empowers the next generation of young women to make a difference in the world.
  • Own It: The Power of Women At Work - In this book, you’ll learn how to weaponize traits you might have originally seen as disadvantages into true strengths.
  • Rage Becomes Her - A transformative book urging twenty-first century-women to embrace their anger and harness it as a tool for lasting personal and societal change.
  • The Creator's Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs - This landmark book is based on 200 interviews with today’s leading entrepreneurs including the founders of LinkedIn, Chipotle, eBay, Under Armour, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, Spanx, Airbnb, PayPal, Jetblue, Gilt Groupe, Theranos, and Dropbox.
  • The Gift of Struggle - This book explores how our struggles teach us the lessons that will ultimately inform and guide our more authentic leadership philosophy.
  • The Multi-Hyphen Method - The book teaches the reader that it doesn't matter if you're a part-time PA with a blog, or a nurse who runs an online store in the evenings - whatever your ratio, whatever your mixture, we can all channel our own entrepreneurial spirit to live more fulfilled and financially healthy lives.
  • Unladylike - A field guide for identifying, understanding, and uprooting the creepy, crawly patriarchal species women and girls encounter throughout society’s ecosystem — and reclaiming the space they take up. Simply put, it’s the guide for women and girls everywhere who are trying to find their way in the world.
  • You Are a Badass - This book helps you uncover your burning tenacity as an entrepreneur.  It’s not only educational, but also a very entertaining read for female entrepreneurs. It’s a great motivational read for female entrepreneurs who need that extra push to keep hustling to make their business a success.
  • Ask A Manager - She is no longer releasing new episodes of the Ask a Manager podcast (a partnership with HowStuffWorks), but you can find all the earlier episodes below. On each show, I took calls and talked directly with listeners about how to deal with clueless coworkers, toxic bosses, impossible employees, and much more
  • Bootstrapped VC Backstage Capital - Founder & Managing Partner, Arlan Hamilton, hosts this behind the scenes to show you what it's like to build a fund from scratch, and give you deep insights into what investors are really looking for.
  • Bossing It - A podcast for women in business brought to you by entrepreneur Lara Sheldrake.
  • Career Chaser - In this podcast, Latesha Byrd provides encouragement, accountability, and a strategic approach to navigating the nuances of the working woman. 
  • Dare to Lead - Brené Brown has conversations with change-catalysts, culture-shifters and more than a few troublemakers who are innovating, creating, and daring to lead.
  • Fabulous Fempreneurship - A collection of podcasts by a variety of exports on a wide range of subjects to help women entrepreneurs. 
  • hey, girl. - This podcast unites the voices of phenomenal women near and far. Created with sisterhood and storytelling in mind, author Alex Elle sits down with people who inspire her. From friends to family members and strangers, the guests give you a peek into their stories through candid and intimate conversations.
  • Raise the Bar - Frankie Cotton hosts a series of intimate conversations with leaders who are making an impact. Interviewing startup founders, business leaders, researchers, creators, politicians and activists, Raise The Bar examines how we can work and live better. From creating multi-million dollar companies to progressing women’s rights and building ethical technology, Raise The Bar explores it all through a female lens.
  • $how Her the Money - Host Diondraya Taylor talks to women in Venture Capital and learns about their passion for investing in female founders. Listen to hear about business, mindset & entrepreneurship!
  • The Broad Experience - A 25-minute podcast hosted by Ashley Milne-Tyte that tackles some of the big issues facing women in the workplace - things we think about, but don't always talk about.
  • Unladylike - Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin investigate how sisters are doin' it for themselves in spite of all those unwritten but all-too-real bullsh*t expectations of how we should live our lives.
  • Unlocking Us - Brené Brown has conversations that unlock the deeply human part of who we are, so that we can live, love, parent, and lead with more courage and heart.
  • Your First Million - A podcast by Arlan Hamilton that goes behind-the-scenes and teaches you how to make your first million dollars, get your first million downloads, or find your first million customers. Arlan is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, has raised more than $10M, and has invested in over 100 companies led by people of color, women, and/or LGBTQ.
  • Ascend - Shivani Berry interviews women leaders at top companies about influencing difficult stakeholders, empowering their teams, and managing failure. Listen to open and honest conversations with these inspiring leaders about how they’ve succeeded at work.
  • Female Founders Lead the Way - A playlist of women entrepreneurs, female founders, and women in VC.
  • The Shatter Summit (March 10, 2021) - An event held live on Zoom before a virtual audience global leaders in venture capital, finance, tech, and sports, who care deeply about maximizing female access to capital and expertise. The conversations revealed stunning and original insights into overcoming and avoiding real-world obstacles by learning from each other.
  • Top 5 Women Entrepreneurs: Startup Stories - This video proudly presents the inspirational videos of the top female successful leaders of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Blakely, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and more! In this best motivational video ever, watch how these women have conquered all challenges placed in their path to become some of the most powerful women in the world today!

Programs

Ladies First Collage
  • Ready Set Raise - The Female Founders Alliance Ready Set Raise is a virtual, industry agnostic national startup accelerator, consciously created by and for women and non-binary founders.
  • Springboard Enterprises - Springboard was the first to identify the opportunity presented by high-potential women entrepreneurs, and they have been the best at producing results ever since.
  • WBENC Collegiate Accelerator - Premier startup program that fosters growth for the next generation of female founders and women-owned businesses.
WomenOwned

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping women-owned businesses thrive. We believe diversity promotes innovation, opens doors, and creates partnerships that fuel the economy. That’s why we not only provide the most relied upon certification standard for women-owned businesses, but we also offer the tools to help them succeed.

  • Women Owned is an initiative from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and WEConnect International to create a movement of support for Women Owned businesses. We support female entrepreneurs and those who do business with them by raising awareness for why, where and how to buy Women Owned. Any storefronts, websites and product labels bearing the Women Owned Logo have been certified as at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women by WBENC in the United States and WEConnect International globally. 
  • Get Certified - WBENC Certification validates that a business is at least 51 percent owned, controlled, operated, and managed by a woman or women. This means one or more women must have unrestricted control of the business, a demonstrated management of day-to-day operations, and a proportionate investment of capital or expertise. To become certified, business owners undergo a thorough vetting process, including review of business documentation and a site visit.
    • Once Certified there are even more ways to get involved. Follow this checklist of valuable involvement areas to fully leverage your WBENC Certification.
      • WBENC DATABASE ACCESS: Get acquainted with WBENCLink2.0 – this is where you will download your certificate, update your profile for corporate and government representatives to find you, and access the corporate and WBE database. Attend a WBENCLink2.0 training session designed for new WBEs — click on “See Your Upcoming Schedule.”
      • USE THE WBENC SEAL AND WOMEN OWNED LOGO: Market your certification using the WBE Seal and/or Women Owned Logo. Both are available for download in multiple file types and formats in WBENCLink2.0. Be sure to also download and follow the brand guidelines. Questions about the WBENC brand and logos? Email us at brand@wbenc.org.
      • IDENTIFY YOUR BUSINESS TARGETS: Build your list of target customers from WBENC Corporate & Government Members. Find contact information for supplier diversity reps from each member in WBENCLink2.0. Register in the supplier portals for corporations with which you would like to do business.
      • RPO INVOLVEMENT: Get engaged with your Regional Partner Organization. Subscribe to their opportunity email blasts, attend regional events, and get to know other WBEs and Corporate Members in your region.
      • PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAMS AND EVENTS: Explore upcoming WBENC programs and events – from executive education to national pitch competitions, WBENC is here to help fuel business opportunities and facilitate growth.
      • KEEP UP WITH WBENC NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: As a certified WBE, you are automatically subscribed to WBENC email blasts about opportunities with the email address you used to register in WBENCLink2.0. Make sure others on your team are in the know – subscribe here.
      • PROMOTE YOUR CONSUMER PRODUCT: If you have a consumer product, get listed on the Women Owned directory and explore other opportunities at womenownedlogo.com
  • Arlan's Academy - A curated list of pay-to-watch courses from Arlan Hamilton and her community of experts.
  • Ascent - A free learning platform for women entrepreneurs offered by the Small Business Administration. Ascent is divided into major topics called Journeys, developed by experts in women's entrepreneurship. Choose any journey to start, skip the ones you already know. Within each Journey, you'll find Excursions with the tools you need to master a topic. Each excursion includes a time estimate for completion. You're the boss of when and how to apply these tools to your business.
  • Ladies Get Paid - A curated list of pay-to-watch courses from qualified instructors to teach you how to grow your career and your bank account.
  • Sara Blakely MasterClass on Self-Made Entrepreneurship - With little more than an idea and a drive to find her way, Sara Blakely went from selling fax machines door-to-door to becoming the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire in 2012. Now the inventor, entrepreneur, and founder of Spanx teaches you to open doors and close deals. Learn Sara’s customer-first approach and her tactics for prototyping, branding and building awareness, and bootstrapping your way to success.
  • The Bank of America Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship at Cornell - Earn a certificate in business from this Ivy League university through a free online program made possible by Bank of America, students will gain the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to build, manage and scale a successful business.
  • ALL RAISE - A community, a movement, and a rallying cry centered on the belief that our personal ambitions can and will include the prosperity of all women.
  • Cartier Women's Initiative - An annual international entrepreneurship program that aims to drive change by empowering women impact entrepreneurs.
  • Female Founders Alliance - FFA’s curated, founders-only virtual network is a hyper-relevant community of peers who understand what you are going through. We share the startup journey together. And we share a mission to help each other succeed.
  • Global Invest Her - The Go-To Global Platform for Women Entrepreneurs who want to get funded faster.
  • Great Dames - A dynamic, diverse community of women who are connected, empowered and inspired to create the impact they desire. Since 2009, they have engaged more than 11,500 women and girls at salons, conversations, workshops and peer mentoring groups. Join a chapter near you.
  • National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) - NAWBO is the unified voice of over 10 million women-owned businesses in the United States representing the fastest growing segment of the economy. Find the NAWBO chapter near you.
  • Ladies Get Paid - A global platform for professional women. By providing their members access to best-in-class education and a supportive community, they are a trusted source for anyone who wants to advance in her career, grow her wealth or start a business. The Ladies Get Paid network is made up of over 100,000 women worldwide who support each other through sharing advice, resources, and job opportunities.
  • Springboard Global Expert Network - Springboard has built a large national network of outstanding entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial organizations, academic institutions, lawyers, bankers, accountants, consultants and investors committed to the support of the Women Transforming Industries.
  • The Fourth Floor - This organization brings vetted female founders and professionals together so they can increase the number of women on boards, be more competitive fundraisers, and create wealth for female investors and entrepreneurs. 
  • Women Business Collaborative - WBC is an alliance of business women’s organizations working together to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business.
  • Women Founders Network (WFN) - WFN exists to provide access to capital, visibility, and mentorship to female founders. They are a community of highly motivated women who come together to be inspired, celebrate, and to invest in the future.
  • Women Innovators & Leaders Network (WILD) - WILD is a social enterprise that supports global development leaders at all stages of their careers, and their employers, to become even stronger leaders and to foster cultures of inclusive leadership.
  • Women Moving Millions - A community of 340 individuals who each make a minimum $1M commitment to organizations and initiatives benefiting women and girls. Together, they represent a new era of resources by and for women, using the power of their voice and their influence to inspire others to invest with a gender lens. Guided by their mission and work to accelerate progress toward gender equality, they come together to think creatively and work collaboratively to sprout new solutions to propel everyone closer to a more equitable future.
  • The Washington, DC Women’s Business Center (DC WBC) is a business development organization that serves women entrepreneurs in the Washington, DC Capitol Region. The DC WBC provides training and consultation to assist in the growth of women-owned businesses. We also provide technical assistance to women-owned businesses interested in federal and local government procurement opportunities. Schedule an appointment today! We look forward to helping you grow your business.
    • Services: Training and Events, Free 1-on-1 Counseling, Resources, Grant Opportunities, Microloans, and Crowdfunding.

Maryland Women's Business Center

MWBCGetInvolved

Maryland Women's Business Center (MWBC) works with entrepreneurs across Maryland’s capital region by way of three locations.

Through their resources, they encourage women to start, sustain, and grow their businesses.

Through workshops, individual counseling, facilitated peer group support, special resources, and access to capital, MWBC annually helps more than 1,500 women gain the skills, connections, and confidence necessary to navigate entrepreneurship.

Mission: To empower small businesses and women entrepreneurs to launch and grow in Maryland's Capital Region.

Vision: That Maryland becomes a recognized leader for growing and launching successful and innovative women-owned enterprises.

Values: Collaboration, Empowerment, Expertise, Inclusivity, Innovation

MWBC Business Counselors are available to help you effectively assess where you are on your entrepreneurship journey. Whether you are just beginning or seeking to grow an established company, our highly experienced counselors stand ready to help you navigate through what can often be a challenging and confusing process. Let MWBC be your accountability partner as you navigate through the entrepreneurship journey.

Some of the services they provide–free of charge and confidential–include one-on-one counseling sessions and peer group discussion sessions where they guide you and other business owners through entrepreneurial challenges.

Get started today, and reach out to your nearest MWBC Business Counselor! They meet with more than 150 women each year and open the doors to other resources, including a network of expert professional volunteers–accountants, business coaches, lawyers, marketing experts, and others–who also provide their mentoring free of charge.

Si usted es propietario de un negocio Latino y necesita ayuda en su idioma para iniciar o hacer crecer su negocio, tenemos servicios de asesoramiento disponibles en español. Comuníquese con Martha Jimenez al 301-355-2206 o martha@marylandwbc.org para comenzar.

MWBC – Montgomery County
Martha Jimenez – offers counseling in English & Spanish
Martha@Marylandwbc.org
301-355-2206

MWBC – Prince George’s County
Angie Duncanson
Angie@Marylandwbc.org
301-383-1550, ext. 104

MWBC – Frederick County
Karen Kalantzis
Karen@Marylandwbc.org
301-355-2208

  • Procurement Program - If your established business needs to replace revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, sign up for our FREE Procurement Series.
  • Childcare Business Development Program - MWBC’s Childcare Development Program provides tools, information, and training to family childcare providers, center directors, and owners.
  • WEgrow Maryland - WEgrow Maryland program helps review your business model through a blended learning approach.
  • Shop Local - Shop Local is an incubator of women entrepreneurs in Maryland. It is sponsored by the Maryland Women Business Center.

Maryland Women’s Business Center (MWBC) Interactive Roadmap for Business Success helps women entrepreneurs and small business owners launch, nurture, and grow their businesses to achieve economic sustainability through every business phase. If you’re new to MWBC, they offer a comprehensive interactive roadmap to help guide your entrepreneurial journey. They’re here to support you every step of the way through planning, training, business advice, access to funding sources, and more!

  • Planning/Starting a Business - When starting a new business, it helps to follow some basic steps to ensure you have a sound plan and required documentation. They will connect you to the proper agencies and resources needed to get started.
  • Growing a Business - Access the resources needed to take your business to the next level. From funding options and certification criteria for woman-owned, minority, and disadvantaged businesses, to finding office space, developing HR policies and staffing, they provide information to help you grow and sustain your business.
  • Trainings, Workshops & Seminars - They offer a wide range of workshops and seminars to start and grow your business. Expert instructors lead workshops that are fast, convenient, and geared just for you.
  • Intensive Training Programs - Three intensive programs take a deep dive into specialized businesses—procurement, childcare, and retail—to develop skills that create success. They also offer an in-depth financial resilience program to help women business owners achieve economic stability and growth.
  • Networking - MWBC offers many options to connect with other entrepreneurs, business owners, community leaders, funding partners, and more. From informal coffee & connection events to their largest event of the year—their awards luncheon—they help businesses foster relationships with valuable partners that can help them thrive.
  • Advising - No matter what stage your business is in, their highly experienced counselors stand ready to personally help you navigate through the next steps for your business and develop an action plan.
  • Funding - Accessing capital is often difficult for women. They are skilled at removing barriers for women trying to launch, scale, and grow their businesses and boost the skills, connections, and confidence necessary to navigate entrepreneurship.
  • Montgomery County
    • 51 Monroe Street, PE-20, Rockville, MD 20850
    • (301) 315-8091
  • Prince George’s County
    • Bowie State University
    • 14000 Jericho Park Road, Suite 3212, Bowie, MD 20715
    • (301) 315-8091
  • Frederick County
    • Office Of Economic Development
    • 118 North Market Street, Third Floor Frederick, MD 21701
    • (301) 600-1058

TEDCO's Women Entrepreneurs Leadership Programs

Learn about TEDCO's newest program, the Women Entrepreneur Leadership Programs, from the Executive Director of the program, Dr. Linda Singh, TEDCO's Board Member and immediate past Chair of the Board, Myra Norton, and TEDCO's CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall as they discuss the program.

TEDCO is building an alliance to enable promising, diverse, and disadvantaged women business leaders for a more equitable future.

TEDCO's Women Entrepreneurs Leadership Programs is leveraging the unique expertise of Maryland’s four Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan State University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore – and other colleges, universities, economic development centers, and counties to build an alliance of diverse founders and CEOs to enable promising women business leaders to focus on unique challenges for female entrepreneurs and as they navigate Maryland’s entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem and raise the economic standards for all. As we work together with our collaborators, we are creating a business multiplier for all women entrepreneurs to create sustainable and repeatable growth for Maryland.

Leading Women's Program

TEDCO is continuing to move the dial forward to support tech-based female founders, co-founders, and CEOs creating a community of entrepreneurs to support each other and provide a best-in-class entrepreneur leadership development program focused on building critical skills that foster resilience. We bring together entrepreneurial leaders in a cohort to develop a network of peer advisors and a community that seeks collaboration. TEDCO leverages strategic partners across Maryland to determine these entrepreneurs' needs at the intersection of research, tech transfer, and education. This program is designed for Montgomery County-based business owners, though entrepreneurs located outside of Montgomery County will be considered based on available slots.​​​​​​​

10-Month Program Overview

This program will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual sessions, with one of each taking place every month. The in-person sessions will be held at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland. All sessions will begin at 4:00 pm. 

Program Sessions:

  • Pre-Requisites for Prep Session
  • Introductory and Preparation Session
  • Leadership and Communication Workshop (8 Sessions)
  • Real World Perspectives (7 Sessions)
  • What’s Your End Game (Development Plan) (4 Sessions)

Tentative Program Dates:

  • October 11 (In-Person), 25 (Virtual)
  • November 8 (In-Person), 15 (Virtual)
  • December 13 (In-Person), 20 (Virtual)
  • January 10 (In-Person), 24 (Virtual)
  • February 7 (In-Person), 21 (Virtual)
  • March 7 (In-Person), 21 (Virtual)
  • April 11 (In-Person), 25 (Virtual)
  • May 9 (In-Person), 23 (Virtual)
  • June 13 (In-Person), 27 (Virtual)
  • July 11 (In-Person), 25 (Virtual)

Requirements

Applicants must be a founder, co-founder, or CEO whose company is at a minimum of pre-seed to growth stage and a maximum of pre-series A.

If a participant accepts admittance into the program, the only cost a participant will incur is a $250.00 registration fee to cover a portion of the assessments highlighted in the prerequisite session. Participants can miss no more than two sessions to graduate from the course. If the participant completes the course, $200.00 of their fee will be returned to them. If a participant cancels after the cancellation date, they will forfeit their registration fee.

Open Institute for Black Women Entrepreneur Excellence (Howard County Pilot Program)

TEDCO, along with Maryland’s four HBCUs are creating a community of entrepreneurs to support each other and to provide a best-in-class entrepreneur leadership development program focused on building critical skills that foster resilience. We bring together entrepreneurial leaders in a cohort to develop a network of peer advisors and a community that seeks collaboration. TEDCO’s strategic partners at the Maryland HBCUs determine these entrepreneurs' needs at the intersection of research, tech transfer, and education. This program is designed for Howard County-based business owners, though entrepreneurs located outside of Howard County will be considered based on available slots.

10-Month Program Overview

This program will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual sessions, with one of each taking place every month. The in-person sessions will be held at the Maryland Innovation Center in Columbia, Maryland. All sessions will begin at 4:30pm. 

Program Sessions:

  • Pre-Requisites for Prep Session
  • Introductory and Preparation Session
  • Leadership and Communication Workshop (8 Sessions)
  • Real World Perspectives (7 Sessions)
  • What’s Your End Game (Development Plan) (4 Sessions)

Tentative Program Dates:

  • October 13 (In-Person), 27 (Virtual)
  • November 10 (In-Person), 17 (Virtual)
  • December 14 (In-Person), 21 (Virtual)
  • January 12 (In-Person), 26 (Virtual)
  • February 9 (In-Person), 23 (Virtual)
  • March 9 (In-Person), 23 (Virtual)
  • April 13 (In-Person), 27 (Virtual)
  • May 11 (In-Person), 25 (Virtual)
  • June 8 (In-Person), 22 (Virtual)
  • July 13 (In-Person), 27 (Virtual)

Requirements

Applicants must be a founder, co-founder, or CEO whose company is at a minimum of pre-seed to growth stage and a maximum of pre-series A.

If a participant accepts admittance into the program, the only cost a participant will incur is a $250.00 registration fee to cover a portion of the assessments highlighted in the prerequisite session. Participants can miss no more than two sessions to graduate from the course. If the participant completes the course, $200.00 of their fee will be returned to them. If a participant cancels after the cancellation date, they will forfeit their registration fee.

USPTO Empowering Women's Entrepreneurship

Women Entrperenuership Initiative

Empowering Women's Entrepreneurship (WE)

WE is a community-focused, collaborative, and creative initiative to encourage and empower more women founders across America.

While women represent the fastest-growing category of entrepreneurs worldwide as of 2020,1 they are less likely to secure the capital and the intellectual property protections they need and are severely underrepresented as business owners compared to men. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey (ABS), while men have an ownership stake in about 80% of U.S. businesses and a majority ownership share in 63% of U.S. businesses, women hold an ownership stake in about 37% of U.S. businesses, and only had a majority share in 21% of businesses.

The Women's Entrepreneurship initiative provides a community-focused program that lifts women up and taps their potential to increase equity, job creation, and economic prosperity through their ideas, insights and innovations.

Browse Journeys of Innovation articles featuring inspiring female innovators 

The USPTO seeks to inspire and encourage diversity and innovation by highlighting women innovators and chronicling their stories. Find inspiration from the journeys of these inventors and entrepreneurs—where they got their start, the challenges they faced, and what it took to bring their ideas to fruition and their brands that impact society to life. These stories also emphasize the importance of creating and protecting intellectual property, and the critical role it plays in innovation.

Below are more than two dozen descriptions of stories highlighting women innovators and entrepreneurs:

  • Perseverance, thy name is Bette - Single mother Bette Nesmith Graham struggled to financially support her son on her meager secretarial salary while trying to overcome a technological learning curve that could very well have cost Nesmith Graham her job. Through ingenuity and perseverance, this high school dropout became a business magnate who transformed the office supply industry in the 20th century.
  • A Girl’s Window into History - Ignoring conventional wisdom on toys, educator Pleasant Rowland saw a market for tweens and created a beloved $300-million company. With more than 160 million books sold since 1986, the characters Rowland created continue to help children explore American history using stories about 9-year-old girls growing up during challenging times.
  • Making Maternity Wear Fashionable - In 1939, Elsie Frankfurt and her sister Edna patented an adjustable skirt for pregnant women that soon became their new company’s most valuable asset. With the help of their younger sister, Louise, the three sisters became celebrities in their own right, famous coast to coast for designing, manufacturing, and marketing the most fashion-forward maternity clothes Americans had ever seen.
  • Second Act - Discontent with the slower pace of retirement, Tanya Bryant, along with her two daughters and the help of USPTO educational resources and pro bono legal assistance, turned an idea brainstormed at the dinner table into a business with a patent and registered trademark.
  • Conquering Impostor Syndrome - With the help of IBM mentors and her first patent in 2008, Tara Astigarraga, who is part Choctaw Indian, conquered impostor syndrome and now helps younger women and men from underrepresented backgrounds see the possibilities of a career in STEM.
  • A Sustainable Pivot - After inventing a greener way to manufacture nylon and winning several student pitch competitions, Daniela Blanco realized investors were more interested in the artificial intelligence (AI) technology she'd developed that led to her discovery. She then pivoted her company to focus on creating AI tools to help others across the chemical industry operate more sustainably.
  • Artificial Intelligence for All - Beyond the buzzwords and hype about artificial intelligence (AI), scientist Natalia Bilenko works to develop AI tools that are transparent and usable for everyday people. She focuses on capturing and codifying human knowledge by collaborating with scientists and individuals from a variety of backgrounds and aims to advance AI without replicating human biases and stereotypes.
  • Sights on the Prize - Dr. Patricia Bath, a visionary physician, scientist, inventor, and 2022 National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee, overcame barriers of race, gender, and socioeconomic status with grit and persistence.
  • "There's a better way of doing that" - With 49 patents, Beulah Louise Henry was one of the most prolific inventors of the 20th century. Her typewriters, toys, sewing machines, and women’s apparel made Henry a famous and beloved figure across the country.
  • One Girl's Commitment - At 16 years old, Gitanjali Rao has invented a device to detect lead in water (inspired by the crisis in Flint, Michigan), an anti-bullying app, and was named TIME’s first “Kid of the Year” in 2020, among other notable accomplishments. But with her laser-focused commitment and a personality that “sparkles,” what makes her really unique is her ability to encourage other kids to realize their full potential.
  • Building Blocks of Opportunity - Growing up, Debbie Sterling’s favorite subjects were math and art, but she didn’t realize her creativity and knack for numbers would set her up for a successful engineering career. In fact, she didn’t even know what engineering was until college. Now, she’s made it her mission to introduce young girls to engineering concepts in fun and engaging ways through GoldieBlox, her visionary line of toys and children’s media.
  • Keeping Innovation Fresh - As a 12-year-old, Kavita Shukla drank water believed to be contaminated. Because of her grandmother's quick homemade remedy, she didn't get sick. Since then, Shukla has devoted her life to figuring out why the remedy worked and how to replicate and advance its effects to mitigate world hunger.
  • Out of the Limelight - Maude Adams, the most famous actress of the early 20th century, worked with engineers at General Electric to invent and patent the largest incandescent bulb to date. This and her other innovations in lighting and stagecraft revolutionized the performing arts and delighted audiences across the country.
  • A Patent for Girls’ Empowerment - Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts of the USA and patented the organization’s iconic trefoil badge in 1914. A three-leafed clover design adapted from the Boy Scouts’ similar badge, Low’s trefoil suggested a fundamental equality between girls and boys on the eve of women’s suffrage and continues to signal girls’ invaluable contributions to American life and culture.
  • Cultivating Curiosity - Arlyne Simon doesn't want to be a statistic. She is a biomedical engineer, patent-holding inventor, author, and entrepreneur. Today, that puts her among a very small number of women—especially women of color—but Simon is on a mission to change that.
  • Dogged Determination - In third grade, students typically focus on multiplication, division, reading, and writing. In 2011, however, Marissa Streng, an industrious 9-year-old from central Florida, invented a product that better dried her dog Mojo after his baths. With the support of her parents, she then began learning about intellectual property and what it takes to run a family business. She even met a few celebrities along the way. Now in her first year of college, Streng proves that age really is just a number when it comes to invention.
  • Tiny Particles Make a Big Impact - Since she was a child, Sangeeta Bhatia has enjoyed figuring out how things work. Now a biomedical researcher, MIT professor, and biotech entrepreneur, she has invented human microlivers to study drug metabolism and liver disease as well as nanoparticles that help diagnose, study, and treat ailments like cancer. She is also a mentor, helping her students understand the importance of protecting their own intellectual property.
  • Establishing the New Fit - Hinda Miller, Polly Smith, and Lisa Lindahl designed the sports bra to decrease discomfort for female runners. Since then, their invention has become a necessity for female athletes and a modern fashion staple. The empowering story of these three women offers a compelling example of determination, ingenuity, and creativity.
  • Persistence is Omnipotent - Faced with daunting challenges throughout her life, Martine Rothblatt learned to push past the idea of the insurmountable. Her long list of accomplishments includes creating and commercializing satellite radio, founding a biotechnology company that seeks to provide an unlimited supply of transplantable organs, setting world records for electric flight, becoming a leading advocate for transgender rights, and delving deep into the future of artificial intelligence with her work on digital immortality.
  • Augmenting Ability - From a young age, Susann Keohane was intrigued by innovation. Though she expressed an innate interest and talent in math, it took the completion of her electrical and computer engineering degree and guidance from a few key mentors for her to realize that she could become an inventor herself. Now, 20 years and almost 200 patents into her career, Keohane is an IBM Master Inventor and the IBM Global Research Leader for the Aging Initiative. She is also a leading advocate for increased participation of women in STEM fields and an outstanding example of what’s possible for female inventors.
  • "I'll do it myself" - To protect her fine china and avoid having to hand-wash them herself, Josephine Cochrane set out to invent a better dishwashing machine. Widowed early in this effort, she struggled against society’s limits on women, working tirelessly to build a successful prototype, sell her invention, and ultimately turn a tedious task into an iconic American appliance.
  • Thinking like the Herd - Unable to speak until almost age four, no one expected Temple Grandin to do much in life, let alone become one of the world’s compelling voices in science and innovation. Yet, thanks to a determined mother, a tenacious spirit, and a summer away from home, the girl who thought in pictures did just that.
  • Beyond the Nobel - In 2018, Frances Arnold became the first American female Nobel laureate in chemistry. Reflecting on her 30-year career to make chemistry green, clean, and more efficient, her proudest accomplishment is mentoring more than 200 young scientists in an emerging field.
  • Failure or Challenge? - National Medal of Technology and Innovation winner Cherry Murray and Patents for Humanity winner Irina Buhimschi may work in very different fields, but they share a common outlook on the role failure plays in the innovative process and, among other things, the importance of keeping good notes.
  • A Strong Will - In 1883, Harriet Williams Russell Strong—a graduate of Miss Mary Atkin’s Young Ladies Seminary, mother of four, and recent widow—became the sole owner of a California ranch on the brink of financial ruin. Her will to learn saved her ranch and led to several patents. Later, her advocacy to Congress would forever change how water is managed in the western United States.

Access USTPO's Free Resources & Services

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offers a wide range of intellectual property (IP) resources, including application assistance, education and training, and other services that support the full spectrum of customers—from independent patent and trademark filers, to attorneys and business advisors in both the private and public sectors. Learn more about what USPTO is doing to expand participation in the innovation ecosystem through inclusive innovation, including our Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI2)

  • Application Assistance Unit (AAU) - Provides assistance with questions and issues pertaining to pre-examination processing of patent applications and the post-examination processing of patent applications.
  • Finding a Patent Practitioner - Search the registry of active patent practitioners who are eligible to represent others before the USPTO in patent matters.
  • Inventors Assistance Center - Provides patent assistance and information to the public to help make filing a patent application simple and efficient before, during, and after the patent application process (i.e., patent maintenance).
  • Law School Clinic Certification Program - Under the supervision of an approved faculty clinic supervisor, law school students provide pro bono representation to individuals and small businesses throughout the country in the prosecution of patent and trademark applications before the USPTO.
  • Patent and Trademark Resource Centers - Nationwide network of 80+ libraries that offers the public trademark and patent assistance. These libraries provide access to examiner-based search systems, and staff demonstrate how to use search tools and offer classes on intellectual property.
  • Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) - Assists customers with the various Patent Electronic Systems, including help with filing their electronic patent application submissions, reviewing patent applications, and using the patent search databases.
  • Patent Pro Bono Program - Provides patent application preparation, filing, and prosecution services to qualifying under-resourced inventors and small businesses. A nationwide network of non-profit regional programs match volunteer patent practitioners with applicants.
  • Patents Ombuds - Provides assistance to all applicants who get stalled or encounter challenges navigating the patent application process after submitting their application (post-filing), managing cases for each inquiry until they are resolved.
  • Pro Se Assistance Program - Helps independent inventors successfully navigate the entire patent application process. Services include scheduled consultations, quick clinics, and reference materials to increase the applicant's likelihood of success.
  • PTAB ex parte appeal brief preparation assistance - Provides an instructional tool on how to write an ex parte appeal brief and file it with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) after a patent examiner rejects claims in a patent application.
  • PTAB Pro Bono Program - Matches financially under-resourced inventors with volunteer patent professionals to provide free legal assistance in preparing ex parte appeals to the PTAB.
  • Regional Offices and Assistance - Provide resources, education, and assistance in your state for filing patent or trademark applications, options for legal assistance, methods for searching for existing inventions and trademarks, and networking opportunities.
  • Small and Micro Entity Patent Discounts - Fees for filing, searching, examining, issuing, appealing, and maintaining patent applications and patents are reduced by 60% for qualifying small entities and 80% for qualifying micro entities that meet statutory definitions.
  • AccessUSPTO - Collaborates with national organizations whose members have intellectual property needs and connect them to USPTO's free services that can help them grow their business.
  • International IP Attaché Program - Specialized IP attachés help U.S. businesses, legal representatives, and rights holders internationally. They also advocate to improve IP policies, laws, and regulations abroad, as well as provide IP training to foreign government officials.
  • International IP Toolkits - Provides detailed information about protecting and enforcing IP rights when doing business in specific international markets, along with contact information for local IP offices abroad and U.S. government officials who can assist.
  • Inventor and Entrepreneur Resources Webpage - USPTO's hub for resources and information for inventors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. This webpage provides centralized access to a variety of USPTO products and services.
  • Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Resources - Resources provided by federal agencies and international organizations for small and medium-sized enterprises looking to grow or expand a business and protect intangible business assets, like intellectual property.
  • Startup Resources Webpage - Provides resources for new businesses, including securing funding, and guarding against infringement litigation. Also contains links to related startup and commercialization resources located at other government agencies.
  • China IP Road Shows and Webinars - Programming initiative for U.S. businesses and rights holders on how to better protect IP in China. Related pilot programming for a similar audience covers how to better protect IP in the Southeast Asian region and other export markets.
  • Events Offering CLE Credits - Provides a list of upcoming USPTO events that may be eligible for continuing legal education (CLE) credits in your state.
  • Global Intellectual Property Academy IP eLearning Modules - Self-study modules in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian, which cover all areas of IP protection, including trade secrets, patents, copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications, enforcement and trade.
  • Innovator Events for Everyone - Annual programs that provide relevant intellectual property, innovation, and invention resources to independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and underrepresented or underserved populations (e.g., women and veterans).
  • Invention-Con - An annual three-day conference that provides an overview of IP protection and commercialization best practices. Participants learn about the importance of IP, what resources are available to them, and how to develop an IP strategy.
  • IP Identifier - Learn how to identify which of your creative ideas might be intellectual property assets and how to protect them.
  • IP Workshops for K-12 Educators - A monthly workshop for K-12 educators interested in integrating IP activities into their STEM/STEAM curriculum. Educators learn about IP and other topics related to innovation and entrepreneurship. Virtual "Office hours" are also available.
  • Legal Experience and Advancement Program (LEAP) - Provides training and oral advocacy opportunities for less experienced advocates to gain practical experience in proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
  • National Summer Teacher Institute - A multi-day professional development course offered to K-12 teachers to inspire and motivate student achievement in STEM disciplines, intellectual property, and entrepreneurship.
  • One-day Patent and Trademark Boot Camps - Collaborates with local organizations to bring IP knowledge to internet deserts across America from rural areas to urban areas. Provides single-day, in-person, comprehensive overviews of how to file for a patent or register a trademark.
  • Path to a Patent Webinar Series - A quarterly webinar series that provides education on intellectual property basics, patent searching, and guidance for drafting and submitting your patent application.
  • PTAB Boardside Chat Webinars - Webinars that explain more complex aspects of Patent Trial and Appeal Board practices for ex parte appeals and AIA trial proceedings on a topic-by-topic basis.
  • PTAB Inventor Hour Webinars - Webinars that cover several introductory aspects of Patent Trial and Appeal Board practices, such as proceeding basics and other useful information for practicing before the PTAB.
  • Public Search Facility - In-person assistance that provides public access to patent and trademark information, including online, microfilm, and books. Staff are available to assist public users with resources and training. Located in Alexandria, VA.
  • Stakeholder Application Readiness Training (StART) - Three-day workshops that provide training and one-on-one assistance to independent inventors in preparing their patent application packet materials and filing those applications with the USPTO.
  • Stakeholder Offerings and Resources (SOaR) - Provides publicly-offered virtual training courses for both continuing legal credit and supporting inventors filing applications without legal representation.
  • Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP) - Provides courses to help patent attorneys, agents, and inventors understand how, and why, a patent examiner makes decisions while reviewing patent applications.
  • Student Programs - Provides a list of USPTO’s paid and unpaid internship and externship opportunities for high school, college, graduate, and law school students.

Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium Event Series

The annual Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium (WES) offers attendees a chance to learn about innovation and business from public and private sector experts. At the WES, you’ll have the chance to:

  • Learn about navigating today’s changing marketplace
  • Explore ongoing efforts to bring women into the innovation ecosystem
  • Hear from senior USPTO officials and other IP experts
  • Discover educational opportunities for girls and women in computer science, invention, and STEM

Women's Entrepreneurship (WE) Video Playlist

Watch videos focused on helping women identify and protect their IP, explore options to fund their ideas, and expand their network of mentors and advisors.

Protect your Business

Expand your Network

Fund your Startup

  • Learn about finding funding from Suzanne Borders - Several federal agencies offer tools for startups to help secure funding. Hear from Suzanne Borders, CEO and co-founder of BadVR, about her experience with America’s Seed Fund, just one of the great programs available to women entrepreneurs.
  • Secretary Raimondo on securing funding for your venture - Securing funding is an important step to protecting and growing your business. Hear from Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo about several federal agencies that offer tools for startups.
  • Finding options to fund your business - The event in Phoenix, Arizona kicked off with a fireside chat between Director Kathi Vidal and Sally Morton, was followed by a panel of experts sharing stories and tips on how to secure options for funding a small business.

Resources for Women of Color

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Grants

  • HerSuiteSpot Micro-Grant - The Yva Jourdan Foundation, Inc. in partnership with HerSuiteSpot has provided micro-grants to Women of Color entrepreneurs since 2017 as a way to assist them in starting or growing a business. The HerRise Micro-Grant provides financial assistance, with the help of our corporate sponsors and donors, to Women of Color creating innovative solutions that impact their community and that are often unable to secure funding for their small business. Each month a $1,000 micro-grant will be awarded to a small business owner.
  • IFundWomen of Color - The go-to funding resource for diverse, early-stage entrepreneurs. IFundWomen of Color was created with our founding partner Caress to help diverse entrepreneurs bring their dreams into reality through raising capital via crowdfunding and providing grants, coaching, and the connections needed to launch and grow successful businesses.
  • SoGal Black Founder Startup Grant - The SoGal Foundation — along with company sponsors like Bluemercury, Twilio and others — offer startup grants to businesses owned by Black women or Black nonbinary entrepreneurs. Grants are available in amounts of either $5,000 or $10,000. Awardees also receive fundraising advice, with a focus on investor financing, and lifetime access to the SoGal Foundation team. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, so you can apply on the SoGal website at any time.

Investment Funds

  • MinervaFund invests predominately in woman-founded and marginalized businesses. We accept applications year round and distribute funding quarterly.
  • Rock Creek Racial Equity Capital Fund - one of the largest diverse-owned global investment firms, has opened applications for the $36 million Exelon-funded Racial Equity Capital Fund to support minority-owned businesses in Exelon’s service areas in Delaware, Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. The fund will help minority businesses obtain capital to fuel growth, create jobs, and strengthen communities that have historically been underserved, under-resourced, and overlooked by financial markets. The fund will provide loans and equity investments for numerous minority businesses throughout Exelon’s service areas over the next three years, with estimated loan amounts between $100,000 and $300,000, and equity investments of nearly $1 million.
  • TEDCO Social Impact Funds - Purposefully designed to engage and invest in economically underserved founders and communities through two funds.
    • Pre-Seed Builder Fund - Invests in amounts up to $200,000 via convertible notes. Funded companies are also provided Builder Fund resources which may include both hands-on and educational executive support, peer-to-peer mentorship/collaboration, and networking opportunities.
    • Inclusion Fund - Focuses on investment opportunities that are often overlooked by traditional sources of investment and financing due to economic disadvantage. One of the biggest challenges is the gap between pre-seed and seed funding for these early-stage technology businesses and the Inclusion Fund seeks to invest in these companies.

Venture Capital

  • Backstage Capital - They invest in companies led by underestimated founders, including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ founders. We’ve invested in 150+ companies so far, and our support goes beyond investment.
  • Exelon Racial Equity Capital Fund - Exelon launched a Racial Equity Capital Fund (RECF), in partnership with the Exelon Foundation, to expand access to capital to minority businesses so they can create more jobs, grow their companies, and reinvest in their neighborhoods and communities. The capital fund is expected to invest in numerous businesses throughout Exelon’s service areas over the next three years with estimated loan amounts between $100,000 and $300,000 and equity investments of nearly $1 million.
  • Fearless Fund - The Fearless Fund invests in women of color led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. Our mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders building scalable, growth aggressive companies. Fearless Fund is built by women of color for women of color.
  • Reinventure Capital is the second generation of a successful racial/social justice venture capital practice. Our high impact + high return strategy and investment process has been proven to deliver nonconcessionary financial returns along with intentional, measurable, and meaningful racial/social justice impact. We invest in US-based companies led and controlled by BIPOC — Black, Indigenous, and other people of color — founders, and/or womxn founders of all identities. Companies  at or near breakeven, commercializing solutions to real problems, in fragmented industries, at the forefront of one or more shifts, and poised to grow profitably.
  • WOCstar Fund - New York-based WOCstar, which stands for “women of color stars, ” focuses on companies with female founders or have a diverse executive team. It invests in early-stage start-ups within digital media, health and wellness, supply chain management, fintech and sustainability in the U.S.

Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is the only federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of minority business enterprises.

MBDA invests in a national network of MBDA Business Centers, Specialty Centers, and Grantees.

These programs offer customized business development and industry-focused services to provide greater access to capital, contracts and markets.

  • Enterprising Women of Color Business Centers - Promotes women entrepreneurs as engines of economic growth in their communities. These Centers focus on helping minority women-owned businesses secure contracts and capital, create jobs, and grow competitive businesses.
    • MP Services, LLC will provide unique, specialized training and guidance to support minority women owned businesses by providing entrepreneurship promotion, including educational workshops, network opportunities and training sessions.
    • Washington Area Community Investment Fund, Inc. will offer business development services, including access to its award-winning Ascend Capital Accelerator a female-focused accelerator that provides 10 to 12 weeks of asset-based development consisting of an interactive workshop series combined with small group matching and individualized support.
  • Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC) focuses on the fast-expanding minority women entrepreneur population as a revenue generators for families, communities, and the nation. Minority women are the fastest growing population of entrepreneurs. While many women are making tremendous strides in the business world, they still face obstacles as entrepreneurs. MBDA serves as an advocate for women’s economic empowerment by supporting efforts to advance women’s equality and promote women economic advancement programming. The vision of EWOC is to ensure women worldwide to reach their economic potential.
  • Black Girl Ventures - This organization's mission is to provide Black/Brown woman-identifying founders with access to community, capital, and capacity building in order to meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship. Apply to join the Change Agent Fellowship.
  • Black Women Talk Tech - A collective of passionate Black women tech founders. They have a unique understanding of the challenges Black women founders face and the advantages they bring in the industry. They are here to identify, support and encourage Black women to build the next billion dollar business.
  • digitalundivided - Serves as a catalyst for Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs, leading the development of programming that takes you from START to success. Whether you just have an idea or you’re ready to make the commitment to start your company, they have a program for you.
  • Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) - Minority-owned firms seeking to penetrate new markets — domestic & global — and growing in size and scale, can access business experts at a MBDA Business Center. Find the nearest MBDA Business Center.
  • Mogulette - This organization helps cities, organizations, and anchor institutions address inclusion disparities within innovation ecosystems.
  • Mom Your Business - Helps Black/Brown female entrepreneurs achieve exponential business growth through mentoring, coaching, and advocacy. Mom Your Business provides support and resources so that they no longer have to choose between family, business, or occupation: they can have it all!
  • Open Institute for Black Women Entrepreneur Excellence (OIBWE2) program - This is a 10-month, cohort-based program focused on bringing clarity around how entrepreneurs can collectively eliminate the barriers and challenges faced by those from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially Black women entrepreneurs. Each cohort focuses on Black women and encourages open participation to enhance awareness, productive discussions, and focused action to move the entire entrepreneurial community forward.
  • Walker’s Legacy - This capital-ready community is the ecosystem and digital platform for entrepreneurial women of color, which offers national-award winning entrepreneurship programming, a community-driven ecosystem, and thoughtfully-curated small business resources and content. Walker's Legacy's goal is to enable 10,000 entrepreneurial women of color to be capital-ready by 2025.
  • The Women Entrepreneur Leadership Lab (The WELL) - The WELL is a network of Black-women entrepreneurs and leaders who are building a community where we support and learn from one another, grow businesses that create wealth, and push the boundaries on our dreams.

Funding

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  • The Perdue School of Business Philip E. & Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation Shore Hatchery Business Competition - The Shore Hatchery is open to any Mid-Atlantic business startups. It is a ten-year $2 million initiative, which began in 2013. The program assists entrepreneurs in creating new businesses and jobs in the region. Startups apply for a share of $200,000 annually. The goal of the Shore Hatchery is to reward individuals for their entrepreneurial efforts in the creation and growth of businesses with the potential of positively impacting regional employment within three years. Businesses are required to report back to the Shore Hatchery board annually on their progress.
  • Women Founders Network Fast Pitch Competition - Each year Women Founders Network creates a unique opportunity for Female Founders. The program includes individualized attention allowing the top women entrepreneurs to become pitch-ready in a way that sharpens their plans to scale their companies and makes their business more appealing to Angel and VC investors.
  • Amber Grant for Women - WomensNet founded the Amber Grant Foundation in 1998. The Foundation was set up with one goal in mind: to honor the memory of a very special young woman, Amber Wigdahl, who died at just 19 years old — before realizing her business dreams. WomensNet gives away at least $10,000 every month in Amber Grant money. We've also expanded our grant-giving to include other grants such as our Annual $25,000 Amber Grant. View a list of all available grants.
  • Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards program is designed to support early-stage businesses that are focused on a range of social, economic and environmental development issues. Every year, Cartier awards three grants to women-owned businesses in nine different regions around the world. The first-place business is awarded a $100,000 grant, second place receives $60,000 and third place gets $30,000. Winners also receive executive coaching and the opportunity to participate in a variety of training workshops.
  • FedEx Small Business Grant Contest - A grant program started by FedEx in 2012 to award U.S. based small businesses with grants to enhance their businesses.
  • Grants.Gov - Apply for funding from the government. Seek out grants, learn how to apply for federal funding opportunities, find out if you are eligible, learn grant writing tips, and much more.
  • Grants for Women - The Online Guide To Women Grants, Funding, Scholarships, and More!
  • High Five Grant for Moms -The Mama Ladder organization — along with co-hosts Proof, Belly Bandit and Caden Concepts — offer an annual small-business grant specifically for moms. This grant, called the High Five Grant, is designed to support women caregivers with child(ren) of all ages, including first-time expecting moms, stepmoms and foster moms. Entrepreneurs can submit an application online and share the story behind their business on social media. Finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges and then a public vote will determine the top three winners. The top business will receive a $25,000 grant, the runner up will receive a $10,000 grant and the third place finalist will receive $5,000.
  • IFundWomen - This organization is the go-to funding marketplace for women-owned businesses and the people who want to support them with access to capital, coaching, and connections. The organization offers immediate access to capital through a premium online fundraising experience, access to small business grants from corporate partners, expert business coaching on all the topics entrepreneurs need to know about, and a network of women business owners that sparks confidence, accelerates knowledge and ignites action.
  • USM Launch Fund connects early stage entrepreneurs — builders, creators, and innovators — to existing resources, mentorship, and capital. This capital is flexible and early, in the form of grants (non-dilutive) and investments (dilutive) ranging from less than $2,000 microgrants to grants and investments of generally up to $50,000. This small, early capital is currently a key gap experienced by many individuals getting started and on their way with a venture. This critical foundational capital (including pre-venture funding, first money in, and pre-seed funding) bridges to next-step capital (including revenue/sustainability, bank financing, and seed funding).
  • Angel Academe invests in female-founded tech startups. They introduce more women to angel investing.
  • Belle Capital USA is an early stage fund that invests in high growth companies in underserved capital markets across the USA.
  • Citrine Angels is a membership group providing early-stage investment opportunities and education to female investors in the Washington DC Metro area.
  • Golden Seeds Angel Network is one of the largest and most active of all of these groups – both in terms of our geographic reach, our large number of members and our investments each year. The membership consists of women and men dedicated to evaluating, funding and helping companies with at least one woman in a management role. The members work together to identify investment opportunities, conduct due diligence, monitor the companies’ progress and provide support in many other ways. With nearly 300 members and eight chapters – Arizona, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, New Jersey, New York, and Silicon Valley – plus members in many other locations throughout the country.
  • Pipeline Angels is changing the face of angel investing and creating capital for trans women, cis women, nonbinary, two-spirit, agender, and gender-nonconforming founders.
  • She's Independent is a group of diverse, engaged, and inspired women, impacting money flows and mindsets to bring more women into the funding ecosystem and to support more female-led startups.
  • VITALIZE Angels was created and is run by the VITALIZE Venture Capita team, a seed-stage venture fund.
  • Amplifyher is a Venture Capital firm that invests in diverse leadership teams with a unique ability to create flywheel effects of growth in new markets.
  • BBG Ventures - An early-stage fund that backs big ideas. They focus on female founders who intuitively understand the dominant consumer, enabling them to address the collective or individual lived experience of the 99%. Female founders are poised to do giant things.
  • Capita3 is an early stage venture capital fund investing in women startup founders and the companies they’re building.
  • Chai Ventures - Chai Ventures is a NYC-based pre-seed and seed stage fund investing in women-led companies solving critical problems with businesses that deliver impact at scale across the high-growth sectors of better world, health and wellness, and human connection. Chai Ventures is focused on investing in exceptional women founders who are exceptions to the rule and have been underestimated in some way.
  • Chloe Capital is a movement driven VC firm investing with a gender and diversity lens in companies solving the world's biggest problems. Chloe Capital invests at the seed stage in enterprise SaaS companies with a product in market and early traction.
  • Curate Capital is a venture capital fund accelerating the success of female-founded consumer brands.
  • EchoVC is a technology-focused early-stage VC firm focused on unapologetically investing in underrepresented founders and underserved markets.
  • Elevate Capital is the nation’s first institutional venture capital fund that specifically targets investments in underserved entrepreneurs—such as women and ethnic minorities, or those with limited access regionally to capital and opportunities. Elevate Capital supports visionaries with disruptive ideas and products through two specialized investment vehicles. The Elevate Capital Fund II invests nationally between $100k up to $2 Million in scalable start-ups founded by underrepresented minority founders that include Women, People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, Veterans in technology and health care.
  • Emmeline Ventures - Group of investors who are steadfastly committed to investing in and serving as catalysts for new, emerging founders & businesses. Emmeline Ventures invests in female founders building game-changing businesses which empower women, in particular, to manage their health, build their wealth, and live in a cleaner, safer world.
  • Female Founders Fund - In 2014, Female Founders Fund was created with one simple belief: women will build the companies of tomorrow. Since then, they’ve become the leading source of institutional capital for female founders raising seed capital with over $3B in enterprise value.
  • Golden Seeds Venture Fund (GSVF) has a unique and symbiotic relationship with the Golden Seeds Angel Network. This relationship allows the independently managed Venture Fund to access the entrepreneur funding applications that come to Golden Seeds. In addition, GSVF leverages the Managing Partners’ professional networks, including referrals from other entrepreneurs, portfolio companies, and syndicate partners.
  • Halogen Ventures - An early stage venture capital fund investing in consumer technology companies led by women.
  • HearstLab provides cash investments and services to early-stage, women-led startups innovating across fintech, data analytics, health, transportation, enterprise technology and media.
  • How Women Invest is a venture capital firm singularly devoted to investing in companies founded or co-founded by women. This focus stems from an acute awareness of the underrepresentation and underfunding of women in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.that  The fund leverages its professional network of 14,000 women to identify high-potential female founders and provide the starter-fuel and mentorship to propel these fearless founders to victory.
  • Rogue Women's Fund - An early seed stage fund investing in the best women-led tech startups across the U.S.
  • Rethink Impact - A venture capital firm investing in female and non-binary leaders using technology to solve the world’s biggest problems. Rethink Impact believes that the next generation of extraordinary companies will find success through their relentless pursuit of mission, for the benefit of all communities.
  • Rogue Women's Fund is an early seed stage fund investing in the best women-led tech startups across the US.
  • Sandpiper Ventures invests in women building ground-breaking technology companies as a proactive and profitable business decision.
  • Seed to Harvest Ventures supports founders who operate early-stage technology companies who are historically overlooked and provide them education, resources, and connections to scale their business.
  • Springboard Growth Capital - Founded in 2016 to support visionary women founders building market-leading consumer brands;built a concentrated portfolio of companies.
  • Stand Up Ventures invests in seed-stage, for-profit technology companies with at least one woman in a C-level leadership position within the company who has an equitable amount of ownership.
  • The 98 is an early stage venture capital firm dedicated to funding technology businesses led by women.
  • The Jump Fund - Invests in women-led companies headquartered in the Southeast U.S., specifically in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia.
  • The Vinetta Project - Is a capital platform designed to unleash female drive for Seed and Series A Founders.. Sourcing and elevating high potential female founders is what they do. They are here to help you access all the capital, vetted networks and resources you need for growth.
  • VITALIZE Ventures invests in people-first, data-driven, BIG ideas that transform work outcomes.

UMD Alumnae and Resources

LadiesFirst

Artists & Creatives

Founders

Investors

  • Bootstrapped Episodes - The Dingman Center regularly features female founders, investors, and ecosystem builders on our podcast, Bootstrapped.
  • Maryland Smith Women Inspire - Women Inspire showcases Maryland Smith’s fearless alumnae leaders excelling in business. The annual event celebrates female empowerment that inspires attendees and challenges them to realize and reach their full potential.
  • Office of Diversity & Inclusion - ODI serves UMD by providing leadership and expertise that enriches the experiences of individuals and builds stronger communities.
  • TENx UMD EnTERPreneur Stories - A new video series from the University of Maryland Alumni Association, celebrating the entrepreneurial journeys of alumni founders!
  • Terps Thrive: Women's Mentorship Program - Join a community of unapologetically ambitious alumnae committed to creating a community of supportive Terp women in 2023. This one-month, online mentorship program will help Terps advance their careers, set goals and build community.

Read about Alumnae Founders

Krisztina Christmon PhD

Finding Her ‘Repurpose’

Entomology Alum’s Startup Works to Protect Farmers and Reduce Plastic Waste. Krisztina Christmon Ph.D. ’23 and her co-founder, Benjamin Rickles Ph.D. ’23 launched Repurpose Farm Plastic.

Read about Krisztina
Brin Xu

UMD sociology alum starts company teaching virtual cooking classes

Brin Xu, a sociology alum at the University of Maryland, started a food blog during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read about Brin
Aurora Tights

Aurora Tights, one of the most inclusive Hosiery Brands

UMD alumnae Sydney Parker '16, Imani Rickerby '17, and Jasmine Snead Ferguson '18, MBA/MPP '21 founded Aurora tights out of a need to see athletes and performers (i.e. figure skaters, cheerleaders, dancers, etc.) compete in tights that matched their skin tone.

Read about the Aurora Tights Founders
Seema Alexander

Alumni Excellence Awards: EnTerpreneuer Award Winner Seema Alexander '00

The daughter of immigrants from India, Alexander grew up in an entrepreneurial family that in the 1970s started the first Indian vegetarian restaurant in Washington, D.C.

Read about Seema