We are excited to announce that Beta Boom has teamed up with Womenpreneurs to run a startup academy for women that will take place from April to September 2020. Womenpreneurs is a leading organization supporting female entrepreneurs in Utah and beyond. Their workshops and programs have helped more than 300 women improve their leadership skills, prepare for fundraising and connect with valuable mentor and investor networks. Beta Boom is focused on helping founders find product-market fit and build skills in lean product development and startup marketing to better ensure long-term success. Together, Beta Boom and Womenpreneurs aim to empower female entrepreneurs with the skills and tactics through a 6-month startup academy that will provide daily coaching from product, marketing, leadership and fundraising experts.
The year 2020 marks an important milestone for women throughout the U.S. and in Utah. It is the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing and protecting women’s right to vote. This year is also the 150th anniversary of women in Utah being able to vote under the state’s equal suffrage law. Despite these laudable pioneering efforts in the fight for gender equality, we are constantly reminded that we have a long way to go, particularly in economic equality and equal opportunities for leadership in economic and public life.
There remains a stubbornly large pay gap between men and women, particularly in the technology sector. Female entrepreneurs across the country continue to receive a paltry share of venture capital investment. In Utah, our home state, women receive only 2% of venture capital investment in 2017, and the Brookings Institute found that Utah County was last among the regions they studied in terms of the share (4%) of women-led, venture-backed startups.
As two woman-led companies that support female founders, we want to honor the work of the pioneers of the gender equality movement by focusing our full energy in 2020 to support female entrepreneurs. We can make a dent in the unfortunate statistics mentioned above!
The academy is open to female founders of early-stage software startups that are looking to build a fundamentally strong business, a convincing pitch, and connections to investors, mentors, and supporters. Admission to the program is highly competitive and applications are open until March 1st with the academy kicking off on March 30th. Founders based anywhere in the U.S. are encouraged to apply, and accepted teams will be required to spend three one-week periods in the Salt Lake City area, where Beta Boom and Womenpreneurs are based. However, the program will follow an executive MBA-style format allowing founders to participate remotely if they prefer.
To apply, please visit the application page at: https://betaboom.com/apply/
Admitted founder teams can expect an intensive program consisting of daily coaching from product, marketing, leadership and fundraising coaches. This means that at least one of the team members needs to be committed full-time to your business to participate. The scope of the academy will include measuring baseline product-market fit, customer interviews and surveys, weekly marketing experiments and product enhancements, ongoing leadership training for women, preparation for fundraising, and pitching venture capital and angel investors.
For more information on the academy and the application process, please visit: https://betaboom.com/academy/.
Please help us spread the word by sharing with your professional and personal networks! And if you’d like to participate as a mentor, co-investor, or strategic partner, please email sergio [at] betaboom.com.
Let’s make 2020 the year we make the biggest strides in closing the opportunity gap for female entrepreneurs!