TechFW, Texas Woman’s University partner to focus on female innovation, business owners

TechFW, a leading tech incubator and accelerator, and the Center for Women Entrepreneurs at Texas Woman’s University announced March 11 a partnership aimed at giving female business owners access to entrepreneurial coaching and female innovators opportunities to take their ideas to market.

The agreement is TechFW’s first outreach effort in Denton County. “We’re excited to expand our support of female innovators and for this chance to work with Texas Woman’s University and the Center for Women Entrepreneurs,” said Hayden Blackburn, executive director of TechFW.  “We are proud to say that 43% of our current clients have women on the founding and management teams, and look forward to growing that support through this partnership.”  

The partnership with the Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership / Center for Women Entrepreneurs has three components:

  • TechFW’s Women & Wealth seminar May 20, which will connect female entrepreneurs and investors. Speakers will discuss how and why they invest and what they look for in leaders seeking investments, and discuss strategies that grow companies.
  • Awards that will remove barriers for as many as five female innovators to participate in programs provided by TechFW, including ThinkLab, the technology accelerator. Female entrepreneurs throughout Texas are eligible, including non-students.
  • Collaboration with SmartStart, the TechFW incubator program that helps entrepreneurs formalize their business framework to facilitate a path to market.

“Access to capital and entrepreneurial training are often stumbling blocks for woman-owned businesses,” said Tracy Irby, director of the Center for Women Entrepreneurs.  “The partnership with TechFW will give women the opportunity to develop their financial strategy and shape new technologies, innovate and improve learning outcomes.”

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The Center for Women Entrepreneurs is part of TWU’s Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership and was funded in 2015 by the Texas Legislature to promote women entrepreneurs in Texas . The JNIWL is dedicated to preparing women to take on successful roles in business and public service, and ensure women have the education to establish careers as successful C-suite executives, the skills for business entrepreneurship and the framework needed to run for public office.

Texas Woman’s University joins a growing list of TechFW university alliances. TechFW partners with the commercialization departments at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth and the University of Texas at Arlington. TechFW also partners with Texas Christian University to provide experiential learning opportunities for students through internships and fellowships, as well as a partnership with UT-Southwestern and LaunchBio in support of the Biotech Hub at Pegasus Park in Dallas.

For more information:

https://www.techfortworth.org/twu-education-award