IVCA
Profile: WiSTEM is the Women in Tech Program Based at ‘1871’
March 2, 2016
In July of last year, the highly anticipated
WiSTEM program was launched at “1871” (the technology and business development
hub at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago). The goal of the program, an anagram
for Women in Science, Technology and Math, is to connect women entrepreneurs to
capital, technology and community. WiSTEM just finished its first 16 week
program with their start up partners – which they call “cohorts” – in the fall,
and had its first showcase of start ups in January of 2016. The next group of
start ups will begin the Spring session next week.
One of the key moves that WiSTEM made as part
of their launch was to connect and partner with Ms. Tech, a membership
organization for women-in-technology ventures. The co-founder and president of
that organization, Nicole Yeary, was named “Co-Facilitator” of WiSTEM and moved
the operations of Ms. Tech to 1871. WiSTEM also has support from a extensive
network of local and national initiatives, including Google for Entrepreneurs’
#40Forward initiative, and is supported by the Lefkofsky Family Foundation and
the Motorola Mobility Foundation. Nicole Yeary represents the organization in
the following IVCA profile of WiSTEM.
IVCA: What factors motivated the founding of WiSTEM?
WiSTEM: The goal in creating WiSTEM has been to produce a
purposeful and long lasting program that meets real needs and creates impact
oriented opportunities for women. That’s why WiSTEM focuses on three critical
areas for women entrepreneurs – capital, technology, and community. Chicago is the
global leader for start-ups founded by females, and we hope to build on that to
facilitate opportunities for even more inclusion in the tech and
entrepreneurial communities.
IVCA: What principles of Ms.Tech did you apply to facilitate
WiSTEM?
WiSTEM: Over the past six years, the Ms. Tech community has
developed to become a forum for early, mid-career and executive level
individuals who are committed to developing themselves as leaders through
education, mentorship, networking and knowledge sharing. Our vision aligned
with these core values, and we continue to facilitate a learning community that
provides women in technology ventures and innovative companies with
inspiration, knowledge and connections to reach their full potential. Finally,
it’s our mission to remove unjust obstacles for technology innovators, and our
partnership with 1871 has helped to bolster that mission.
IVCA: Your three guiding principles are connecting women tech
entrepreneurs to capital, providing supporting tech for them and community.
Given the many steps it took to launch your program, how has the focus been on
those guiding principles?
WiSTEM: The curriculum learning objectives hit on all three areas
of technology, community and capital. First, we have WiSTEM sessions on leadership
every week where we cover topics around business acumen and relationship
building. We also recognize peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing is
critical on their journey, so every week we host a ‘Cohort Confab’ that
provides the space to candidly ask for help with present challenges and
celebrate their successes together.
When it comes to connecting to capital, we
ready the entrepreneurs with pitch training and guide them through preparing a
fundraising strategy. This not only helps the entrepreneurs perfect their
pitches, but also includes a parallel benefit of meeting guest judges who
happen to be investors, potential advisors and industry leaders.
In relation to technology, our network of
expert mentors hosting workshops and office hours help tremendously in teaching
the entrepreneurs in WiSTEM the critical components of technology in order to
hire the best team and to make the best decisions when it comes to running
their businesses. And this is all in addition to events and programming that exist
at 1871, which make the programming that much more robust.
IVCA: How did the partnership with Google #40Forward take the
program into a new realm? What does that resource provide besides monetary
incentive?
WiSTEM: Google has been an amazing partner to women entrepreneurs
at 1871. In addition to Google’s #40Forward initiative being one of the
original sponsors of WiSTEM, 1871’s partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs
has created amazing opportunities – including participation and funding from
the Google Demo Day, access to the Blackbox Connect program, participation in
Google Exchange programs, and access to educational opportunities with Google’s
experts – for WiSTEM and other women entrepreneurs at 1871.
IVCA: What was the criteria for your first class of 13
entrepreneurs, which began last fall? What do you think they all had in common?
WiSTEM: There were two main qualifications – the companies must
have at least one woman as a co-founder, and the companies must be technology
enabled. The first cohort includes women running companies that are focused on
a variety of industries and that are at varying stages of development. What the
first cohort’s members have in common is a focus on participating in and
growing a community that advances women entrepreneurs.
IVCA: You had your 'demo day' last month, what positives came
from that event, and what did WiSTEM learn from the caliber and indications of
the entrepreneur presentations?
WiSTEM: Over 200 individuals from the community showed up to the
WiSTEM Showcase. WiSTEM’s entrepreneurs were able to pitch their businesses,
making connections with potential partners, advisors, and investors. A
significant positive from the showcase event was the boost in applications for
the next cohorts. After seeing the program come full circle, there was no doubt
the WiSTEM program had been a significant value to the entrepreneurs presenting
– and frankly we learned a lot. Not just from the presentations at the
showcase, but before, throughout and after the program.
We learned that one all day weekly program was
better than splitting chunks of program time three days a week. We learned that
hands on, lab-oriented sessions were more valuable over pure workshop
sessions. Working through the pivots, we observed the ‘eureka’ moments, the
cohort camaraderie, and the growth in leadership. The confidence and ability to
articulate a business case for the problems in their businesses that they had
built-in – and to find a solution for them – has been an incredible experience.
I felt lucky to have shared the entrepreneurial journey with each one of the
founders.
IVCA: Studies have concluded that women are much more efficient
with start up capital than their male counterparts. To what do you attribute
that efficiency, and how can that be an advantage for investors?
WiSTEM: While it’s true that it has been published that women-led
start ups generate 12% higher revenue, and women-led private technology
companies generate a 35% Return On Investment, it’s also still true that 93% of
investor money goes to startups founded by men, according to Business Week.
Rather than speculate, I’ll point to what we
do know – that there are a number of factors and variables that play a role in
the success or failure of any start up. Every investment on a start up is a bet
on the entrepreneur and team. So considering what we do know, I would indicate
that any investor not funding woman-led startup companies is at a
disadvantage, and missing out on high growth opportunities by not intentionally
seeking out diversity in their portfolio. I would discourage looking through
the gender lens, but encourage opening up new channels to discover a diverse
group of high potential entrepreneurs building high growth technology
companies.
IVCA: We're only a couple generations away from the equality
movements that evolved women into businesses of all kinds, plus the notion of
investing and entrepreneurship has been entrenched for centuries with the male
power base. What factors do you think will equalize this field in the next two
generations going forward, for example?
WiSTEM: What it takes to launch and build a high-growth tech start
up is different from what it takes to advance within a corporate hierarchy.
Recognizing that high growth start up companies are essential to job creation
and economic growth makes this an economic issue, not a gender issue.
We will start seeing more exits led by women-led
start up founders, which will help perceptions in several ways. The women
founders of those companies will become role models, advisors, and mentors to
subsequent generations. Those founders will also reinvest in the next
generation of women-led start up companies. And of course, gaining more women
on both sides of the table, in general, will be a significant way to gain
equality going forward.
IVCA: What would you tell the membership of the IVCA about the
WiSTEM, that you think makes the concept viable and most desirable to
investors?
WiSTEM: Upon entering WiSTEM, each company has gone through a
rigorous application process. Throughout the program, start ups become
‘investor ready’ – founders are armed with tools, resources and knowledge to
become more effective and efficient. They also build on and expand their
network of industry experts, and they solidify a board of advisors.
All of these elements help the companies make
the best business case for investment. – WiSTEM meets companies where they are.
While we have a curriculum that focuses around our three pillars of community,
technology and capital, we are tuned into high-level vision and short-term
tactics to guide each company in exceeding goals and reaching set
milestones.
For more information about the WiSTEM, click www.1871.com/wistem