At the University of Texas at Dallas, the student population is approximately 40-45 percent female. However, a few years ago, women sometimes made up less than one percent of the participation in entrepreneurial programs.
To address this figure, the school's Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship launched a startup accelerator program specifically for women, hosting about 30 to 40 students each semester.
The school’s mascot, the Comet, inspired the accelerator’s name, GalXc. The program runs twice a year, and lasts for eight weeks.
GalXc is a crash-course in all things entrepreneurship; participants learn how to do things like create a pitch deck, build financial models, conduct audience discovery and more.
Leah Frazier, an entrepreneur from the local startup community, is the program's instructor and teaches the concepts and coordinates guest speakers. Frazier, owner of creative marketing agency Think Three Media, is also an award-winning fashion journalist and consultant to top brands.
The program, which began fall of 2019, is open to both students and alumni, though students do not receive any kind of school credit. This speaks to their dedication, Sarah Crowe, marketing communications manager for the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said.
“I think that speaks to what it takes to be an entrepreneur, which is a lot of internal fire and drive,” she said. “Entrepreneurship certainly isn't glitzy and glamorous, there are a lot of highs and lows that you're gonna face. It takes a lot of drive.”
A member of one of GalXc’s previous cohorts was admitted into the Blackstone LaunchPad Fellowship Program, which is powered by Techstars. They participated in the 8-week program this summer, and another group, Orenda Change, is set to participate in the same program this fall.
A GalXc alumna, and creator of reFIND Shopping, Loriza Ibarra said the program helped her find people with the same mentality and similar goals.
Ibarra’s main takeaway from her 8 weeks was a boost in her confidence. Not only is starting a business difficult, but coming into a male-dominated space as a woman was intimidating, she said. The program gave her a group of women looking to uplift each other.
“It can get pretty lonely,” she said of being an entrepreneur. “Having people there to understand the process you’re going through is so important.”
Crowe said there are many reasons why females are less likely to pursue entrepreneurship, on top of the fact that the space can oftentimes be a boys’ club. Some women have to question whether or not they can have a family while pursuing a startup idea. Women also have to worry about raising money when most venture capitalists are men.
The launch of GalXc was meant to inspire and motivate the women on campus, and let them know that despite the odds, entrepreneurship is possible for them as well.
The first fall that the accelerator was held, the team received over 100 applications from women wanting to participate.
“When you're bringing different mindsets into the economic game, I think you only move forward and go bigger and better,” Crowe said. “If it was all 100 percent male driven, you're not inviting all the ideas to the table.”
The accelerator hopes to continue inspiring women both on and off campus in the future.