04.24.19
The Women's Innovation Council gives UNC-Chapel Hill students a forum to accelerate the pipeline of female entrepreneurs
As the entrepreneurial community continues to flourish at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and across the Research Triangle region, female entrepreneurs at UNC-Chapel Hill are blazing their innovation trail through a new Women’s Innovation Council.
The Women’s Innovation Council bridges universities in the Triangle to elevate young female innovators and enhance campus programming. Launched in fall 2018 by Sheryl Waddell, director of the Innovate Carolina Global Network, the council is a partnership between UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University. Both universities nominate five female students to join the council, explore opportunities to advance women in entrepreneurship on their own campuses, and convene to share best practices.
I saw a tremendous opportunity for the talented women on our campuses to spark real change and grow entrepreneurial opportunities for their fellow students.
“I saw a tremendous opportunity for the talented women on our campuses to spark real change and grow entrepreneurial opportunities for their fellow students,” says Waddell. “We know that there are many passionate, successful female entrepreneurs across the university, and this council gives them a formal way to work together to not only expand their own experiences but make new paths for others possible.”
Four UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate and graduate students participating in the inaugural cohort of the Women’s Innovation Council in 2018-19 include:
· Susanna Choi, a graduate student at the Gillings School of Global Public Health
· Denali Dahl, a doctoral student in the Carolina-NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering and founder of MoyoMedical Technologies
· Angelina Patel, an undergraduate student and founder of Kids Code
· Anna Spove, an undergraduate student at the Kenan-Flagler Business School
“As a member of the Women’s Innovation Council, I hope to develop friendships and camaraderie with other like-minded women and empower and support one another to disrupt the status quo and play against the odds,” says Choi. “I also hope to connect with other female trail blazers who have already weathered through the challenges of building successful startups and learn from their experiences.”
The council seeks to create a robust and comprehensive Triangle-wide initiative to accelerate the pipeline of female entrepreneurs—a model that can be replicated and expanded throughout the state and beyond.
“I have been to Silicon Valley, and I was able to meet a lot of amazing UNC women alumni,” says Spove. “They really inspired me to be more connected with the Women’s Innovation Council and to use those connections to create more relationships.”
“It's an amazing opportunity to learn from someone as well-known and experienced as Karin Reed. I felt that her workshop, in particular, allowed us on the council to collaborate and build each other up as we went through the process,” says Spove. “Karin was so encouraging and uplifting that she created a positive, synergistic environment and inspired all of us not to limit ourselves and keep pushing.”
The council is a nine-month program, and includes participants from other local universities. Kelsey Van Dyke, a graduate student pursuing her master’s degree in educational innovation, technology and entrepreneurship at the UNC School of Education, is taking a lead in running the council’s programming. Under Van Dyke’s lead, the program offers opportunities for participants to meet throughout the year at monthly council meetings, quarterly Triangle-wide events, a startup internship fair and a best practices summit.
“The council has been a great opportunity to learn more about women in entrepreneurship and to meet other women with the same goals and passions,” says Spove. “In addition, I’ve felt more connected to the community and engaged with professional women which gives me confidence as I pursue my entrepreneurial passion post-graduation.”
Recently, Emmy-award winning broadcast journalist Karin Reed shared insights with the council around the value of making messages clear, concise and compelling and how to convey them in a powerful and memorable way.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to learn from someone as well-known and experienced as Karin Reed. I felt that her workshop, in particular, allowed us on the council to collaborate and build each other up as we went through the process,” says Spove. “Karin was so encouraging and uplifting that she created a positive, synergistic environment and inspired all of us not to limit ourselves and keep pushing.”
Council members receive specialized innovation training along with hands-on connections with female innovators in the Triangle. Such resources can help change an entrepreneurial culture that has traditionally presented challenges to many women.
“As female entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs-to-be, we face similar barriers, stereotypes, and biases in the male-dominated world of startups. In 2017, 98 percent of VC funding went to male-founder startups,” says Choi. “Stated simply, the odds are against us. I think it’s important for us to recognize the reality that we live in and challenge it together.”
Yet, Choi sees evidence for optimism in the type of work that’s underway with the council. “As dismal as that statistic is, data also shows that startups founded or co-founded by women are performing better than male-founder startups over time,” she says. “This reaffirms that women are just as capable, if not more, as their counterparts to build and run successful companies, and validates the fact that a deeper, underlying systemic issue of sexism and other biases is the cause of a lot of these disparities.”
Innovate Carolina, the campus-wide initiative for innovation and entrepreneurship, is sponsoring UNC-Chapel Hill’s involvement in the council. It’s giving students a forum to apply lessons learned on campus to real entrepreneurial situations.
“Women offer such a different perspective. We have this whole new take on what is important and what is valuable and what needs to change,” says Spove. “I’ve learned through my classes the importance of diversity of thought and using that to create the best product and best services that you can. Including women in the conversation is essential.”
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