Women & Entrepreneurship
On January 25, we hosted our second transatlantic higher education-based accelerator matchmaking event between the U.S. West Coast and Germany in a virtual format. With a total of thirty-eight attendees, the event was a success. It featured Anne Cocquyt, founder of THE GUILD and author of Dare to Launch, who discussed the barriers women face in pursuing their ventures – from seeking mentors to raising capital — and how higher-education-based accelerators can better support female entrepreneurship. Participants learned about how to take action steps to ensure that women are equally represented and supported. They were also offered a worksheet and follow-up consultation sessions from Anne.
In February 2017, Anne raised her first round of angel-funding and has rapidly grown GUILD Academy, a pre-accelerator entrepreneurship program that helps first-time female entrepreneurs launch their business Silicon-Valley-style, into a destination networking service for women with corporate and non-profit clients. Today, she is expanding internationally and attracting hundreds of ambassadors, volunteers, partners and top talent to work on creating the first global marketplace for women to connect to each other, to resources and the knowledge they need to expand their careers and grow their businesses.
As these accelerator partnerships progress, we plan to host further events and workshops to boost transatlantic cooperation.
