Using Entrepreneurship to Grow Your Business

The number of businesses run by women has jumped by nearly 60 percent in the last 11 years. These female leaders employ more than 9 million people across the U.S. A new survey from Fast Company and Inc. set out to better understand the experiences of these female entrepreneurs, finding that overall they are more politically progressive than their male counterparts. We spoke to Stephanie Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company about the results of the survey.

Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water. It’s one of the poorest cities in America. But the birthplace of General Motors is also one of the most resilient cities in the country. IInnovation incubators like the one at the University of Michigan in Flint and the 100K Ideas non-profit are supporting small businesses like Kalm Clothing and Stemletics as they grow and develop. We spoke to small business owners and business leaders about how Flint is sparking innovation.

Jennifer Byrne, co-founder and President of start-up accelerator Quesnay, and Marci Weisler, co-founder of SWSI Media, discuss the launch of the "Female Founders in Tech" competition that aims to nurture woman entrepreneurs in the fintech space. Weisler adds that SWSI (Smart Women, Smart Ideas) and Quesnay made the ideal partnership for such a competition because of the alignment in both companies' values. Both leaders talk how, although women entrepreneurs still receive less funding than their male counterparts, female-led companies are on the rise. A new American Express study found that 4 out of 10 new companies are created by women. Both leaders say they're encouraged by those numbers, noting that the purpose of their competition is to mentor and support female founders throughout the duration of each company's journey to kick off their new business. Entrepreneurs can apply for the "Female Founders in Tech" competition through the end of October.