What is Women Tech Founders?

Women Tech Founders is a small nonprofit with the big goal of diversifying tech. We are a lean startup, highlighting female tech founder stories through our video platform and hosting live events to gather feedback and learn the needs of our followers.

Each story and event highlights diverse founders who are challenging the status quo of traditional industries with fresh solutions. We celebrate these founders to inspire and educate future founders. Our immediate goal is increase women in the Chicago startup pipeline. Our long-term goal is to build a diverse fellowship of world-class talent, high-performing startups and big exits.

Why tell stories?

WTF is building a video library of diverse and inspiring female founder stories to give aspiring women the role models they can relate to. The primary reason women do not enter the tech world is a lack of confidence and a lack of role models. We’re on a mission to break down this barrier.

Why support Women Tech Founders?

“Having people with a different worldview and different ways of solving problems gives you the raw materials to be more innovative and to be able to solve problems that nobody has asked before.”—Brian Welle, Google Diversity Trainer

Supporting Women Tech Founders is about building great companies and a better world. Research show that diverse leadership teams build more resilient, more successful companies that achieve greater returns using less capital. Statistics also show that women-led organizations typically serve humanity. Supporting Women Tech Founders builds the talent pipeline for the startup ecosystem and increases the chances that game-changing technologies, services and products will be developed and flourish.

How can supporting WTF help my organization?

Leaders who support progressive efforts are sought out by talented progressive professionals as a preferred employer, investor or partner. Supporting WTF shows the world that you support a diverse and inclusive technology industry.

How will WTF measure its immediate success?

We’ve engaged thousands through a combination of our innovative, in-person events, video and social media and we’re just getting started. We will record engagement through the website, social media and subsequent events, as well as measure diversity in internships and hiring as those we inspire progress through the pipeline (metrics). We will inspire women to action and direct the to existing resources (such as the WBDC, The Chicago Network, etc.). Let’s normalize and de-trivialize the idea of women as tech founders through local and national media, highlighting the scores of women who are already running innovative tech and tech-enabled startups.

What does long-term success look like?

Our  diverse speakers  bureau will change the face of tech-related events in the city. Accomplished women in the tech scene will be included in annual “Tech Top 50” lists. Entrepreneurship and computer science programs will maintain a 50/50 gender split among students and faculty. Investment firms and angel groups will choose to invest in early-stage startups with women founders. The world will benefit from the social impact that will be generated from solving diverse problems.

How can you help?

We’re excited to chat with those who believe in our mission and can help us build our community, expand our educational video library or underwrite event costs. Become an Ambassador or Sponsor!