Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business Executive Education, a leader in innovative business education, is launching the Women’s Innovation Lab in Fall 2023, the first women’s entrepreneurship program of its kind in the Southeast. The virtual, four-day certificate program is for emerging women entrepreneurs and innovators around the world who recognize a problem they want to explore solving, have a business idea, or are in the beginning stages of growing their business and want guidance on the next steps.
“I am incredibly excited about this new program for women entrepreneurs,” said Coogan Perrin, assistant dean of non-degree education at the Scheller College of Business. “In the U.S. today, almost half of all businesses are owned by women, yet only about 2% of venture capital funding goes to female founders. With the biases and barriers that exist, the more we can arm women with knowledge, practical experience, and a strong network, the more successful they will be. I cannot wait to see this program in action.”
The accelerated program is taught by Melissa Heffner and Sara Martin Henderson, program directors for Georgia Tech’s VentureLab. The curriculum consists of eight sessions over four days, with synchronous sessions in the morning and assignments in the afternoon. The program culminates with a final capstone project. Students can enrich their experience and attend an optional in-person networking opportunity during the last session to meet classmates and guest speakers.
The Women’s Innovation Lab program addresses the specific challenges and opportunities women entrepreneurs face when starting a business. Students will learn all the basic tenets of entrepreneurship, including ecosystem mapping, product innovation, pitching, fundraising best practices, and more. The program provides women entrepreneurs with the tools, methods, and insights they need to create a scalable business and navigate the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Students will also join a supportive community where they can expand their network and gain guidance and support as they grow their business.
“Sara and I launched our first program for female founders with the hopes of empowering women to claim their ‘seats at the table’ and become visionaries in a heavily male-dominated field,” said Melissa Heffner. “What we’ve learned in working with more than one hundred female founders is that by creating an inclusive space designed specifically for women to succeed, our founders have the breathing room to build on their ideas and bring them to fruition.”
Sessions for the fall cohort of the Women’s Innovation Lab are on October 2, 4, 9, and 11. Registration is open until September 18.
Learn more about the Women’s Innovation Lab.