Women entrepreneurs want more resources, support in Austin

FILE: City of Austin seal

AUSTIN (KXAN) — There a variety of challenges that women entrepreneurs in Austin face when starting and growing their business.

Areas that need improvement are things like access to capital, broader professional networks and more business resources.

The Mayor’s Task Force for Austin Women Entrepreneurs is tackling those challenges.

What is the task force?

Mayor Kirk Watson formed the group last summer in an effort to address obstacles women-owned businesses deal with.

The goal was to figure out how to make Austin a great place for women to launch and build businesses.

The Task Force is filled with women entrepreneurs from all different industries: finance, tech startups, government and consumer goods.

Founder and Managing Director of Dynabrand Ventures, Carla McDonald, was named as its chair.

The obstacles women face

The group was tasked with creating a report that included recommendations to address the needs of female founders.

According to the report, they “surveyed more than 300 Austin women entrepreneurs, held five focus groups and conducted numerous one-on-one interviews with our city’s women business owners.”

The research showed three significant obstacles:

• Access to capital
• Access to a broader, more helpful network
• Access to affordable goods and services

Access to capital

The report said access to capital was the biggest obstacle Austin women entrepreneurs face in operating and expanding their businesses.

“Sixty-two percent of those surveyed cited access to capital as the biggest challenge they face in building their business,” the report said.

It said this issue is the biggest problem when women are in the profitability stage of their business.

“Forty-five percent of those surveyed who are running profitable businesses said ‘access to capital/funding’ is a significant obstacle for them,” the report said.

As a result, the report said women fund their companies in other ways:

• Sales
• Savings
• Credit cards

Access to broader, more helpful network

Another obstacle is the lack of a helpful network and access to mentors.

The survey found that 52% of participants cited “access to a broader, more helpful network” as a significant barrier to running and growing a business.

“Thirty percent highlighted ‘access to mentors’ as an obstacle, and many noted the challenges in navigating an ecosystem defined largely by male entrepreneurs who have known each other for decades,” the report said.

As a result, the report said many women have launched dozens of different women-only networking groups.

Still, the Task Force pointed out that this doesn’t help women address their challenges or “integrate them into the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Access to affordable goods and services

Participants in the report said access to affordable business-building goods and services was another obstacle for them.

“Respondents communicated concerns about affordable access to business advancing tools and technologies (39%), office space (32%), healthcare (28%), education (17%), childcare (10%), and eldercare (5%),” the report said.

Another barrier was permitting delays. Women entrepreneurs said those delays can keep them from opening their businesses, which impacts their capital.

Task Force Recommendations

The Task Force came up with 12 recommendations based on the needs they identified in the survey.

The report said some of the initiatives can be done immediately while others will require more time and planning.

The recommendations are:

1. Open a U.S. Small Business Administration Women’s Business Center in Austin
2. Create an angel investor group to invest exclusively in women-owned businesses
3. Create the Mayor’s Fund for Austin women entrepreneurs
4. Establish the Capital Pledge
5. Increase access to affordable debt financing
6. Create an online marketplace for affordable goods and services
7. Create the Austin Women Entrepreneurs Childcare Initiative
8. Create the Women’s Innovation Academy
9. Create a virtual hub that centralizes resources and facilitates connections
10. Create an Austin Women Entrepreneurs Council at the Austin Chamber of Commerce
11. Audit and streamline the process for starting a company
12. Establish an Austin women entrepreneurs advocacy position at City Hall

“The recommendations in this report are pragmatic, actionable, and tailored to meet the distinct challenges women entrepreneurs face in Austin,” the report said.

KXAN’s Sarah Al-Shaikh will have more on this story. You can watch tonight on KXAN News at 6pm.