Untapped Potential attended a fantastic event at the Greenwich Library to participate in a discussion on the State of Women’s Entrepreneurship.
We were in the esteemed company of incredible female entrepreneurs, such as Rachel Galligan, UP Pledging Partner, Cates Consulting East LLC.
Key takeaways from the event were many. Historically, there were specific and significant barriers to women owning businesses, but today, an array of support is flourishing! Fran Pastore, CEO of the Connecticut Women’s Business Development Council, shared that:
Prior to 1988 (thanks to the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988), women couldn’t receive commercial loans in their name! Yet, they could have their 17-year old sons sign on their behalf!
Until 1999, even though funding was available (since 1988), Connecticut had no formal resource for supporting women entrepreneurs - hence the launching of WBDC!
Prior to 2011, women-owned businesses were unable to competitively bid for government sourcing contracts. Even after that, up until a change made in 2014, women-owned businesses were still knocked out of bidding for lack of one other woman-owned business in the running.1
Things are quite different in Connecticut for women entrepreneurs today:
Since 2007, there has been a 27% rise in women’s entrepreneurship!
Over the past year in Connecticut alone,125,000 women-owned businesses have generated $16.5 billion in sales.
Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom looking to add value in the economy or a working mom looking to engage as an entrepreneur, Connecticut now has resources for you! In addition to the service from CT WBDC, UP got its start with support from the University of Hartford Women’s Business Center, reSET’s Social Enterprise Trust and we are a great fan of Steve Blank’s Lean LaunchPAD. learn more...