02.21.22
Open Enrollment Begins for Women’s Tech Business Accelerator
Tammy Allen, Director | Marketing & Programs, The NIIC
Cohort 8 Begins March 31, 2022
February 21, 2022, Fort Wayne, Ind.— The WEOC Women’s Business Center (WBC) invites early-stage and growth-driven women tech businesses owners to apply for the Launch Women Business Builder Accelerator. Learn more or apply here.
The year-long accelerator provides a time of intense, rapid, immersive education to accelerate the life cycle of young, innovative companies. “Our accelerator duration is 12 months because we have found that a shorter time frame is not enough time to live life and build a business for most clients. Our cohort members follow through. I am positive it is because of the connection to others who are building businesses at the same time for an entire year,” said Leslee Hill, WEOC WBC Director at The NIIC.
Laneisha Bennet, Owner, Leaving Legacy Memorial and program participant, said, “Being a part of the accelerator has been an amazing experience. It has taught me the fundamentals behind the business. It is not just about the design I provide to customers. The program takes you from basic through advanced business concepts. If you want a successful business, you have to step out of the box and learn.”
Cohort members consistently rate the group mentoring component as high value and a contributor to their success. The accelerator provides a community of support, accountability, motivation, and connectivity. “It can be scary entering into a group of women and baring your dreams and getting completely vulnerable,” said Hill.
Autumn Ferguson, Owner, Simply Serve LLC, said, “I sought a place with like-minded individuals surrounding me. I found that. They helped me take my concept out of my head, put it onto paper, and really think it through. It happened at the right moment in my life. I was able to put myself out there in an uncomfortable manner and join this group. It’s a niche group of women, with an entrepreneurial spirit, like me. They cheered me on. That was what I needed to make my business dream happen.”
Launch Women Business Builder Accelerator Cohort Seven concludes March 7, 2022. Each graduate will pitch her business to fellow cohort members, the WEOC WBC Advisory Council, and NIIC staff. Then they will become part of the esteemed WEOC WBC Launch Women Business Builder Alumnae.
Learn more and apply here for the Launch Women Business Builder Accelerator.
About WEOC Women’s Business Center (WBC) 5,061 individuals across 16 Northeast Indiana counties have been served, trained, and counseled since WEOC Women’s Business Center opened six years ago. WEOC WBC serves Northeast Indiana women at all stages of their business ventures. We respond to women entrepreneurs’ unique needs through business growth coaching, training, entrepreneurial education, connectivity, and access to capital.
WEOC WBC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The NIIC serves as the host organization and provides supplemental funding and complementary resources. WEOC WBC is an SBA designated Women’s Business Center—one of two in Indiana—and more than 100 nationwide. For more information, visit www.weocwbc.net.
About The NIIC 499 new products launched, 196 patent applications submitted or granted, and 2,351 jobs created—that is what entrepreneurs have achieved through The NIIC since its inception two decades ago. The NIIC has also connected Northeast Indiana companies to $100.4 million in grants and capital.
The NIIC is a non-profit, vibrant entrepreneurial community designed to advise entrepreneurs to plan, launch, and grow successful business ventures. The NIIC bolsters innovative companies to move ideas into action. The NIIC is located in a designated U.S. Small Business Administration HUB Zone. In April 2018, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb designated The Northeast Indiana Innovation Park Campus as an Opportunity Zone through the U.S. Treasury. The NIIC is the country’s only ISO9001:2015 registered business incubation and acceleration program. Additionally, the International Business Innovation Association (inbia.org) recognized the NIIC as the 2020 Entrepreneur Center of the Year – Mixed-use and awarded it one of the two prestigious industry awards – the 2020 Dinah Adkins Award. TheNIIC.org.
