Monday, May 20, 2013

ChicksStarter Pulls Together Funding For A Lucky Female Startup

There has long been a disparity between the number of startups founded and started by women, and those founded by men. Plus--with a majority of venture investors being men--it's often difficult to break through the invisible curtain between that "old boys" network and women founders.

However, a new effort, ChicksStarter, is trying something new, to help one lucky startup--with a female founder--avoid all of that. The crowdfunding effort is pooling together, event-by-event and contribution-by-contribution, enough money to help out one female founder with their startup efforts. According to Kim Christensen, a director of the Broads Circle, the group which created the effort, entrepreneurial women actively engaged in a business (past idea stage), can apply to win the dollars raised through the effort. The best idea will be selected by a panel in October.

Broads Circle is donating $5 from every event ticket sold through October 24, 2013 towards the funding pool for ChickStarter. As a part of ChicksStarter effort, Broads Circle is letting female founders who appy for ChicksStarter.com to attend the group's event this week--focused on The Women of Silicon Beach--at a discounted rate of $20. According to Darya Allen-Attar, founder of the Broads Circle, the groups wants more female founders at that event.

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