The female network Female Founders has launched two support programs for women in management positions. Grow F is a three-month startup accelerator where startups with at least one woman in the core team can join. With Lead F, the initiative in partnership with insurer Uniqa has started a special program for women in management positions.
"We develop our products very closely with the community and see the first batch as a test batch to gain experience," says Female Founders co-founder Tanja Sternbauer. For the Accelerator Grow F, a team of international experts has been set up, some of which have already helped in international programs. Each startup gets their own mentor. "So far our community has shown that soft skills are very important for women: how to pitch, how to approach meetings and to conduct negotiations", Sternbauer describes the main topics. The question of how to be confident with male investors often concerns female entrepreneurs. The program also covers topics such as market entry, growth hacking and internationalization.
Grow F is for startups that have at least one "minimal viable product" or prototype. There must be at least one female team member with an equal share in the company. "We do not exclude men for the program," says Sternbauer. If the startup meets the criteria, the male colleagues can also participate in the program. The Accelerator is also aimed at international startups, a move to Austria for the time is not necessary.
Parallel to the Accelerator the three-month-long Lead-F program will be in session. "This is for women who want to do something in a corporate environment with startups," said the Female Founders boss. The program partially overlaps with Grow F and is aimed at (future) executives in the innovation environment in companies. In contrast to the startup accelerator, Lead F has a tuition in the amount of 5,000 EUR.
The organizer for both programs is Lena Hödl. Applications are possible until 31 January. Each batch will welcome 10 startups, and for 2019 two batches are planned. Grow F and Lead F will start in April, after the concluded selection phase.