Carlsen Center and FourthWave Team to Support Women-led Businesses
The Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is growing in importance as it begins a collaboration to stimulate businesses led by women.
The partnership with FourthWave will not only provide the necessary opportunities for Sacramento State students and female-led tech companies, but it also has the potential to significantly raise the profile of the Carlsen Center.
“This places us on a much bigger stage and marks our commitment to diversity and equity by supporting women-led businesses,” said Cameron Law, executive director of the center, whose goals included union with the innovative community.
Cameron Law, executive director of the Carlsen Center, said working with FourthWave signals “a commitment to diversity and equity”. (State of Sacramento / Andrea Price)
Nancy Perlman, who founded FourthWave to be an accelerator for women-led tech companies, said the nonprofit “is committed to changing the narrative around gender equality, and we believe that an essential part of history is seen through an economic lens. “
Law explained how the Carlsen Center fits in.
“Our specific role is to expand FourthWave’s network of mentors, advisers, subject matter experts and investors, as well as to provide practical support for running the program,” he said. “And, while the Carlsen Center continues to serve as a hub for the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, we will act as a megaphone to ensure that opportunities extend to women entrepreneurs in the region.”
FourthWave is accepting applications from tech companies led by women for the 16-week 2020 accelerator program, which begins Thursday, July 23. Most of the program will be conducted virtually due to COVID-19 and will conclude with an investor lounge hosted by the Carlsen Center during World Entrepreneurship Week in November.
Applications for the FourthWave program are accepted until Tuesday, June 30, on the company’s website at 4thwave.io.
The goal of the program is to provide businesswomen with mentors and the capital to take them to the next level.
As part of this collaboration, two students from the state of Sacramento will be chosen to receive innovation scholarships for women as part of a FourthWave leadership scholarship program. Students will work with FourthWave to connect with founders of successful companies, gain first-hand experience with start-ups, and develop their leadership skills.
Students interested in scholarships should email Law at c.law@csus.edu for more information.
“The first cohort of participating companies, in 2017, then raised more than $ 10 million in funding,” said Law. “This shows the prestige of the program and the caliber of entrepreneurs that the Carlsen Center can now support.”
According to FourthWave, 60% of the companies chosen for the accelerator program will be based in the Sacramento region or are ready to move to the region. Other selected people may have an interest in moving to this area.
Sacramento is a national leader in tech startups owned by women.
New findings from the Female Founder Initiative, powered by the Founder Institute, show that Sacramento is linked to New York City as the second friendliest city in the country for women tech entrepreneurs. Both have a female founder ratio of 71%, surpassed only by Washington, D.C., with a ratio of 75%.
In 2017, the Center for American Entrepreneurship Analysis of Pitchbook Data declared Sacramento the best city in the country for businesses founded by women.
A recent study subscribed by JP Morgan Chase shows that companies participating in an acceleration program generally raise eight times the amount of capital compared to companies that do not. The study shows that women represent only 14% of businesses in incubators and accelerator programs.
Perlman launched what is now called FourthWave in 2016 in Los Angeles, after being a Goldhirsh Fellow at the office of Mayor Eric Garcetti. His idea was to model a mentoring program for women entrepreneurs with a focus on technology.
“We know that investing in women is one of the most effective ways to reduce inequality and increase economic growth,” she said. “FourthWave allows entrepreneurs to chart a new course in corporate culture with an innovative program designed to facilitate the growth of our entrepreneurs as impactful and aware leaders.”
FourthWave expanded to Sacramento in 2017, thanks to a grant from the RAILS (Rapid Acceleration, Innovation, and Leadership in Sacramento) fund from Sacramento. Cheryl Beninga, co-founder of FourthWave, sits on the advisory board of the Carlsen Center.
“The first cohort of tech companies led by women has had a huge impact on our region,” said Law. “The partnership between FourthWave and the Carlsen Center has made it possible to restart the conversation and set the wheels in motion to launch the second cohort this year.
“A key objective is to signal to the region and beyond that Sacramento is a home for founding women and that by investing in them, we can reduce inequality and increase economic growth. I believe this partnership is the essence of what it means for the State of Sacramento to be an anchor university. “
The Carlsen Center and StartUpSac organize a virtual happy hour at 4.30 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, for a discussion on the FourthWave Accelerator program. More information about the event can be found on the Carlsen Center page of the Sac State website and on the FourthWave website. Cheryl Beninga, co-founder of FourthWave, and Janine Yancey, CEO of Emtrain, will be invited.
By Dixie Reid
Published by ExBulletin June 8, 2020