Women's Business Development Council

The Women's Business Development Council (WBDC) deployed Launch Pad in 2021 as a pilot program to help establish and scale pre-venture, start-up, and emerging enterprises owned by women and entrepreneurs of color throughout the state of Connecticut. Through microgrant awards up to $2,500 coupled with participation in WBDC's Guide to Plan for Success (GPS) 9-session business plan development course and expert technical assistance, 13 diverse women have been given the tools and access to seed money they need to launch, survive, and thrive as small business owners - and hundreds more wait in the wings. 

Launch Pad conducts strategic outreach to entrepreneurs in historically underserved and distressed communities, often from within the community itself. We provide bi-lingual information sessions, eligibility readiness support, microenterprise education, access to future funding relationships, and tailored pre- and post-award business counseling. Through regular open application periods, applicants are carefully reviewed by diverse internal and external review committees that reflect the racial and ethnic demographics of the communities we serve. To be awarded, applicants must be graduates of GPS with a completed business plan, be registered as a women-owned business with CT and in operation for less than 2 years. We then award grants and closely support and track entrepreneur progress toward goals.

As evidenced by Launch Pad's more robust sister program, Equity Match Grant (EMG) program - which has provided $1.2M to 129 longer-established businesses - this model helps level the playing field where women- and minority-owned businesses can grow toward economic independence and prosperity.

Women are an economic engine in our state, with 112,000+ women-owned businesses generating $16.5 billion in annual revenue and employing more than 95,000 people. Yet women- and BIPOC-owned businesses have historically encountered a systemic disadvantage attempting to access core elements of business success, and services and funding for inexperienced aspiring entrepreneurs is in scarce supply. Women and BIPOC-owned entrepreneurs often cannot compete in the small business marketplace due to lack of knowledge, networks, support, and capital - and many entrepreneurs tend to shy away from accessing – or even applying for – traditional loans due to high fees and collateral required, or unimpressive cash flow. Moreover, and a catalyst for the deployment of WBDC's microgrant program, COVID-relief funding allocations have not equitably represented the needs of our state. Of the 60,000 PPP loans granted in Connecticut, 84% were made to white-owned businesses, and 78% were made to men.

By focusing programs on income stability, wealth accumulation and job creation through entrepreneurship and financial education, WBDC comprehensively addresses the triple threat of joblessness, poverty and income inequality. Of the 3,409 clients served by WBDC in 2021, 8% were in the pre-venture stage of business, and 54% were start-up or emerging businesses, indicating that more than half of existing clients could be eligible to apply for the Launch Pad program. While the number of Launch Pad-eligible businesses in the community is difficult to ascertain, it is estimated that 1,500 potential applicants exist across the state. 

The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) is a non-profit technical assistance and grant-making organization that has been empowering women- and minority-owned businesses in Connecticut for 25 years. Exceptionally aligned with the MIT Solve Challenge to provide transformational support to women and BIPOC-owned businesses in the United States, WBDC's mission is to empower "economic prosperity in women through entrepreneurial support and financial education". With the right knowledge, entry to the right financial relationships, and seed money to bring creative vision into reality, WBDC clients gain access to a world of business they did not have before and/or were unable to fully unlock on their own unaided efforts. The result is a transformational impact on women- and BIPOC-owned businesses as individuals in both their personal and professional lives, as well as a continuous "moving of the needle" in the economic power dynamics in the state. When women get a voice and a seat at the table, lives and communities can change for the betterment of all. 

To achieve this, WBDC conducts the exact activities articulated in the selected Challenge dimensions of facilitating growth to scale through TA and of assisting with access to capital and financial education. Staff work closely with clients to assess needs and help implement goals; entrepreneurial education addresses business finance, management, procurement, marketing, and more; and short and long-term budget coaching provides individuals with the strategies to change spending / saving behaviors, build assets, climb out of impending crises, and create solid financial foundations from which to grow.  

WBDC program participants are 95% women and more than half (70%) represent low- and moderate-income brackets. Many are looking for alternative pathways out of economic instability; others are facing personal life events such as divorce, health crises, loss of employment, or death of spouse which threatens to plunge them into dire financial straits. Of clients awarded grants through Launch Pad's sister program, EMG, more than half (51%) were women of color, representing a higher proportion of BIPOC-owned businesses than the state demographics (34%). 

Women are more likely to be stuck in a cycle of long-term joblessness than their male counterparts. Wealth, as opposed to income, is an important indicator of economic stability, and is what provides a cushion in hard economic times. For many low-income women, self-employment is a viable alternative to an economy plagued by sluggish job growth and can be a pathway out of poverty for them and for their children. However, these women often cannot compete in the small business marketplace because they lack personal financial stability, appropriate training, access to capital and credit opportunities. In order to create economic stability and success for themselves, women require specific skills, knowledge and relationships that have historically been difficult to access

Often referred to as “start-ups” or “nascent businesses”, these clients are looking for assistance in establishing good business practices and stabilizing their operations and income through the rough first few years. Most small businesses fail within the first 5 years, and most women-owned businesses (98%) fail if they aren’t generating more than $100,000 in sales.

WBDC's Launch Pad program currently serves all 169 cities and towns across the state of Connecticut. While we have our work cut out for us in our home state, the Launch Pad program model is replicable by organizations in virtually any other state or territory where need exists.

If awarded, funding from the Truist Foundation and MIT Solve will be used to help reach more nascent and aspiring businesses across the state. 

The mission of the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) is to support economic prosperity for women and strengthen communities through entrepreneurial and financial education services that create and grow sustainable jobs and businesses across Connecticut. From starting or growing a business to increasing income, the Women’s Business Development Council drives business success in a tangible and accessible way - across businesses at every stage of development.

Because WBDC is a comprehensive women's small business development organization, we are dedicated to serving nascent, aspiring, start-up, and established businesses as they begin, scale, and grow. As such, both options are best aligned with WBDC's overarching goal. 

With that in mind, 65% of clients served last year had been established for two years or more; the remainder were nascent or start-up enterprises. This may also reveal the difficulty in reaching those entrepreneurs who are yet to establish or register their business. 

WBDC knows that when desire, education, and preparation come together, opportunities are created, ideas are ignited – economies are expanded – and lives and communities can change.

WBDC's theory of change is based on access to intellectual capital and business acumen as well as access to funding and to future financial support relationships that had hitherto not been easy to obtain.

As evidenced over the past two years by Launch Pad's sister program, EMG, results show that of the small businesses who have had their Equity Match Grants for 12 months or more, 82% have already increased revenues, 73% have increased profits, and 36% have created 85 new jobs.

Currently, WBDC's Launch Pad program has served 13 clients since the pilot began administering grants in 2021. Depending on funding allocations currently pending as well as variable client interest and completion of our GPS 9-session course, Launch Pad aims to serve 300 clients over the next year, with a vision to grow to serve 500 clients after five years. 

In 2022-23, we plan to host six open application periods and to intake 50 GPS clients with each session, for a total of 300 applicants during the year. All applicants, regardless of award status, will be offered WBDC's expert technical assistance and access to networking events and other programming. Based on the number of clients who have completed the GPS class satisfactorily and the application, with detailed business plan, WBDC anticipates awarding at least 100 grants of $2,500 each. 

By 2027-28, it is our aim to continue to utilize our network of over 200 diverse organizations across the state to welcome 500 aspiring entrepreneurs annually to WBDC programs and services and to apply for the Launch Pad program grant. While multiple unknown variables make it difficult to project the number of Launch Pad awardees, it is anticipated that at least 200 grants will be administered to clients annually at this stage.

WBDC serves women- and minority-owned small businesses in all 169 towns and cities across Connecticut. Organizational strategy is influenced by WBDC's senior leadership (CEO and COO) as well as the Board of Directors. As the state's leading organization championing female entrepreneurship, and as one of the longest running and most comprehensive small business assistance organizations in CT, WBDC has meaningful working relationships with thousands of women-owned businesses, the US Small Business Administration, and over 200 non-profit, civic, and government offices. These entities provide input and feedback - as well as funding - that informs and supports programming. Currently, WBDC has a funding request pending with the CT Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD) to expand microgrant programming and further reach diverse members of distressed communities. WBDC's mission is integral to the health of local economies and works with municipal leaders who know that diversity is their greatest strength. 

As an organization founded by women with an entrepreneurial spirit who needed to create their own businesses to support themselves and their families, WBDC's philosophy is rooted in women's self-empowerment. Twenty-five years later, WBDC's CEO and COO continue to lead the organization with the same mission, passion, and priority to keep a first-hand connection to the community with which they started. The organization's daily activities and operations are inextricably linked to the local economic environment, as WBDC program staff and business advisors speak one-to-one with hundreds of clients each month; our CEO is imbedded in the local community through her long-standing relationships and regular engagement in meaningful discussion panels, events, local government planning, and advocacy work. A close-knit team, a diverse staff with variegated expertise and community access, and robust communications throughout the organization and with clients and stakeholders helps WBDC keep a finger on the pulse of our service territory's needs and impact. 

Moreover, WBDC administers annual and quarterly client surveys as well as other evaluation instruments, from random client samplings to regular staff interviews, to closely track metrics. In this way, WBDC stays relevant and contextually well-placed in the community. 

Strength of relationships is very important to WBDC and the effectiveness of our programs. Outreach is conducted via electronic and in-print communications as well as public educational events (virtual and in-person) through a network of 200 other organizations and entities that serve a diverse community. Importantly, targeted outreach is also conducted by  experienced WBDC staff and business advisors who have personal and wide-ranging experience from within the community they serve; and communications through WBDC client and alumni networks or word-of-mouth can effectively reach new BIPOC and women entrepreneurs. Our experience has shown that new clients in targeted demographics are less reticent and have greater confidence to engage with WBDC services when they are introduced to us by a friend, colleague, or family member, especially a client who has experienced the empowering support and positive economic impact of programming first-hand. 

In addition to the number of Launch Pad grants to be made, and in addition to the individual businesses that will enjoy the long-term benefits of increased knowledge and skill - the marketing and public awareness surrounding this opportunity not only brings to light the innovative ideas created by women and BIPOC entrepreneurs, but also showcases the ongoing need for equity in business and finance.

As such, it is WBDC's goal over the next five years to expand the Launch Pad program to reach those who need it, at least 500 entrepreneurs per year. We hope to meaningfully improve client knowledge and skill, helping them to build a viable business plan and to launch and scale operations with grants of $2,500. 

Fran Pastore, WBDC's Founder & CEO for the past 25 years has served as a member of The National Women's Business Council (NWBC), an independent source of counsel to then President Obama, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In 2018, Ms. Pastore was honored to serve on Connecticut Governor Lamont’s Transition Team as Co-Chair of The Jobs and Economy Policy Committee. Most recently, she has served as Chair of the Economic Development Committee on Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons’ Transition Team and on the Governor’s Workforce Council’s BIPOC Committee. Ms. Pastore has worked with women entrepreneurs globally: in Rwanda, Turkey, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia; and has been instrumental in the passage of legislation benefiting women entrepreneurs and currently serves as Chair of the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority and is a member of the Governor’s Economic Advisory Council.

Under the organizational leadership of Fran Pastore, Brenda Thickett, VP of Programs & Business Services, will serve as team lead for the Launch Pad program. Brenda has over 20 years' experience managing projects, staffing and leading teams, and developing program implementation strategies for organizations such as the Boston Consulting Group, where she most recently served as their Global Mobility & Staffing Director. She has her MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an MBA in International Relations & International Economics from John Hopkins University's School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and served as WBDC Board Member before being hired in January, 2021. 

WBDC is excited by the prospect of partnering with Truist & MIT Solve for a myriad of reasons: in addition to the funding opportunity to provide TA to clients, we look forward to the Needs Assessment to help us better understand the community and how WBDC can exact our services to best serve women and BIPOC entrepreneurs. While WBDC collects data from existing clients, and has access to state and municipal statistics, a more accurate account of nascent and emerging businesses - especially among the BIPOC-community is non-existent. 

Moreover, the Leadership Summit would provide a high value-add in anticipation of strategic planning for growth. 

Support on the level which Truist & MIT Solve can provide would enable WBDC the opportunity to 'zoom out' and measure large-scale, overarching impact. Despite the diverse demographics, Connecticut is a state that is slowly moving toward equity access for all residents; yet, there are still many women entrepreneurs who struggle behind gatekeepers. The equalization of access in a state like Connecticut has the power to catalyze transformative gender dynamics across the country, and this would be invaluable to measure. 

We are also eager for learning more about refining our theory of change and partnering for ongoing support to quickly scale this program to best serve our clients. While WBDC has implemented grant applicant management software, we are still in the process of tweaking and refining technical enhancements to make the process as efficient as possible. 

WBDC would like to enhance partnerships with diversity organizations to best understand how to serve our client population, and we welcome learning about other opportunities for partnership which would improve our growth to scale for this program.