Tech’s vibrant startup culture offers numerous opportunities for students to create and develop their own companies. While the campus has made efforts to increase diversity across gender and racial lines, startups still struggle to reflect this diversity. The VentureLab and CREATE-X, two startup resources on campus, have recognized this issue and are actively working to address it.
CREATE-X recently organized an event titled “Female Founders How She Built It” with guest speaker Bryanna Marshall, the founder of Thanks Rose, a company focused on preventing maternal outcomes and providing resources for families. Marshall shared her journey of turning an idea into a successful startup, highlighting the hard work and dedication required. This event is part of VentureLab and CREATE-X’s initiative to diversify startups at Tech.
The Female Founders Initiative, as described on their website, aims to bridge the gap and provide more equitable opportunities for women entrepreneurs on campus and nationwide. This five-week virtual program offers valuable approaches, resources, and advice, along with opportunities to expand one’s network. Bryanna Marshall, an alumna of the initiative, spoke at the event because she exemplifies its goals and strives to give back to other female founders.
CREATE-X and VentureLab have a key focus on fostering creative confidence among participants. They aim to debunk the myth that creativity is limited to the humanities and empower individuals to make an impact. The Female Founders Initiative is designed to create a supportive space for women with brilliant ideas to explore entrepreneurship without fear of judgment.
According to Sara Martin, Program Director for VentureLab, success in entrepreneurship heavily relies on one’s network. The Female Founders Initiative seeks to build a diverse network that will make it easier for women from all backgrounds to enter the startup space as founders or participants. The ultimate goal is to expand diversification programs for startups and potentially create similar programs for first-generation college students in the future.
As campus diversity continues to grow, programs like the Female Founders Initiative will gain more popularity and effectiveness in helping students shape their futures. The establishment of a network of startups from individuals of diverse backgrounds will provide crucial support for newcomers. To learn more about the Female Founders Initiative or apply for assistance, interested individuals can visit create-x.gatech.edu/female-founders.
Sources:
– “With its bustling startup culture, Tech has many opportunities for students to create and build companies. Over the past decades, Tech has made efforts towards the diversification of campus across gender and racial lines.”
– “Despite having such a diverse student body, startups are still working to reflect this diversity. Though opportunities may be available, students seem reluctant to take them or are unsure how to access them.”
– “Last Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, CREATE-X presented ‘Female Founders How She Built It’ with guest speaker Bryanna Marshall.”
– Thanks Rose website: “creating preventable maternal outcomes, providing credible resources to families, and ensuring proactive care is the standard.”
– “According to their website, the Female Founders Initiative is a program created to respond ‘to the gap, and the need — both on campus and nationwide — for more equitable opportunities for women entrepreneurs.’”
– Sara Martin, Program Director for VentureLab: “She exemplifies the goals of the Female Founders Initiative…use the community of strong women and use the landscape to give back to other female founders.”
– Sara Martin, Program Director for VentureLab: “There is a myth around the word creativity, that it is reserved for the humanities or that it is a dirty word. There is locked and unlocked creative potential and we want to foster that, bring that out and give people the individual confidence to know that they can impact the world.”
– Sara Martin, Program Director for VentureLab: “Through the Female Founders Initiative, she ‘want[s] to give the women on campus that have brilliant ideas a space to feel comfortable to dip their toe in without being judged.’”
– Sara Martin, Program Director for VentureLab: “Success in entrepreneurship relies on [a] network and that can be hard with the less diverse network.”
– “CREATE-X and the VentureLab plan to expand diversification programs for startups.”
– Sara Martin, Program Director for VentureLab: “Martin hopes to create a similar program for first-generation college students in the future.”