Where Women Entrepreneurs Can Find Support in Kansas City

A recent Forbes.com article headline touted “11 Reasons 2014 Will Be A Breakout Year For Women Entrepreneurs.” 

And, indeed, the statistics are looking good.

During the past 17 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of women-owned businesses has increased at 1.5 times the national average. And while the female entrepreneur’s total share of venture capital dollars straggle behind men at  13 percent in 2013, it is a 20 percent jump up from the previous year.

On Wednesday's Central Standard host Gina Kaufmann chats with two local experts and an entrepreneur about the unique challenges and opportunities women face when getting a business off the ground.

From the discussion came this list of resources, including a few more for consideration:

Accelerator/Incubator/Fellowship programs:

• Betablox
• Pipeline
• Spark Lab KC

Angel funding groups:

• Mid-America Angels
• Women's Capital Connection

Networking groups:

• Athena League
• Central Exchange

Training programs

• Kauffman Foundation's FastTrac
• UMKC's Innovation Center

Guests:

• Hilary Brown, founder and CEO, Hilary's Eat Well
• Michele Markey​, vice president of FastTrac, Kauffman Foundation
• Kelly Pruneau, network manager, Women's Capital Connection

Feature story:

• Joni Cobb, CEO of Pipeline
  04-02-Final-JoniCobb-Interview.mp3

  Listen • 4:27