Introducing: Pioneer Women – Female Entrepreneurs of Tech Ranch!

Pioneer Women: Female Entrepreneurs of Tech Ranch

by Nicole Vickey, Dinner Elf Co-founder

Tech Ranch® Austin has been home base for my start up, Dinner Elf, for a little over a year now.  The Ranch has immersed the Dinner Elf team in a diverse community of like-minded entrepreneurs, with whom we’ve shared the ups and downs of our start up journeys.

 

At the start, I felt like one of the few female faces at the Ranch. As the only woman in my Venture Forth® cohort, I was repeatedly approached for “the female perspective”.  I get it. I grab every chance I get to sit down and get feedback from professional women, as Dinner Elf’s primary customer is the working mom. When I talk with a working mom who is also a start-up person, the gems of advice start to pile up and I usually walk away with a friend and on-going advisor.  Selfishly, I want more of that.

I recently presented at the women’s group of the Austin-based GSD&M ad agency. I saw the power in setting aside a little time each month for women who work side-by-side to connect with each other, and I wanted that kind of camaraderie at the Ranch.

In the spirit of that, we’re kicking off a monthly gathering of “Pioneer Women”. Whether you work on-site, are an alumnus of one of the Ranch programs and/or a local female entrepreneur we encourage you to join us for coffee and breakfast goodies:

May 8th, 8:30-9:30am

Tech Ranch® Training Room

Our first meeting will be a chance to quickly introduce ourselves and the ventures we work on, and get a feel from the group about interests for future conversations. Ideas so far include:

• Offering the floor to female-run Ranch companies to present and get feedback on current challenges in their ventures.
• Inviting successful Austin-based female entrepreneurs to share wisdom
• A discussion to share all the ways to leverage time
• Advice for communicating effectively in a male-dominated company
• A self defense class

Help us make Tech Ranch® a place with a thriving community of female entrepreneurs!

Thanks and we hope to see you next Friday!

Nicole