Fund looking to track women-owned businesses

VERMONT - The Vermont Women’s Fund announces the launch of “This Way UP: there’s power in our numbers,” a new initiative to identify and track women-owned businesses and women leaders throughout the state. While women business owners are a strong part of Vermont’s economy, there is no conclusive data to determine how many there are, in what sectors, and what gender-specific challenges they might face such as lack of access to funding.
Meg Smith, director of the Vermont Women’s Fund, sought funding and hired Louisa Schibli, co-founder of Milk Money VT, a statewide equity crowdfunding platform, and Marguerite Dibble, owner of GameTheory, a game-based educational and research company in Londonderry, to build a database of female founders. Together they designed a website where women business owners sign in, take a 10-minute survey, and see the impact of their business on Vermont’s economy in real time.
The data gleaned from the survey creates an interactive map and real-time infographics, providing users instant information on how their business contributes to Vermont’s overall economy. To learn more about “This Way UP” and to register a business visit ThisWayUpVT.com.