Funding – Page 6 – More from the Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship at Cornell

Apply For the Female Founder Fellowship

Since launching in 2009, the Founder Institute’s Female Founder Fellowship program has graduated over 575 female-led businsses across six continents. The fellowship program’s goal is to narrow the gender gap in high-tech startups.

If you are a woman who is working to build an enduring tech or tech-enabled company, you are eligible to apply. (This includes aspiring entrepreneurs currently working full-time, solo entrepreneurs, teams, and entrepreneurs in established companies that are pre-funding.) Click here for more information about the program.

Lessons from Stitch Fix CEO, Katrina Lake

In this 6/1/2019 Forbes piece, Katrina Lake, founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, a fashion-based subscription service shares her lessons learned after taking her company public. (She is the youngest female CEO ever to do that!)

Strategies For Women Who Self-Fund Their Businesses

piggy bank with coins — Photo by **Skitterphoto**

According to the 650 female small business owners surveyed in Visa’s State of Female Entrepreneurship study, 61% chose to self-fund their own startup (mostly out of necessity). This May 4, 2019 article in Forbes shares other options for funding. In addition to bootstrapping, women can also look to grants or SBA loans

6 Questions Investors Don’t Ask Male Founders

Research shows that investors interview women differently than men. Women who want to maximize their chances of getting funding need to learn how to navigate the bias that investors may not even realize they have. Check out this May 1, 2019 article in Fast Company to learn more.

Minority Women Entrepreneurs Are Thriving Despite Funding Challenges

Cartoon image of minority woman standing on a stack of currency — Image credit: Sebastien Thibault

This April 9, 2019 article in Entrepreneur discusses the explosive growth of female minority owned businesses but also highlights how funding options are less available to these founders. The piece also shares examples of how these women are using pitch competitions as alternative funding sources.