Women launch startup companies at three times the rate of men but attract less than 4% of venture capital investments and represent only 14% of the businesses in typical incubator and accelerator programs.

Cheryl Beninga and Nancy Perlman joined together in 2017 to create FourthWave, a non-profit which specifically addresses this business funding and mentorship gap by supporting women technology entrepreneurs in California. FourthWave’s Accelerator for Women-Led Technology Businesses helps provide women with the training, coaching, and connections needed to build their businesses.

Each year, approximately ten to twelve women entrepreneurs are selected to join FourthWave’s sixteen-week accelerator program. Selected entrepreneurs gain access to a business mentor and leadership coach who work directly with the women to identify gaps, develop conscious leadership skills, work on pitches, and more. All the women in the program also meet weekly to connect, share ideas, and learn from fellow entrepreneurs. The accelerator concludes with entrepreneurs pitching their businesses to investors at an investor salon in Sacramento in the fall.

Anaya Health, a company created by Anu Parvatiya who was part of FourthWave’s 2020 Accelerator program, has landed a spot with Y Combinator, an American seed money startup accelerator that has funded over 3,000 startups like Airbnb, Doordash, and Dropbox. Camille Richman, another member of FourthWave’s 2020 cohort, has raised $2.35 million in funds for Hamama Inc., an indoor microgreen seed kit company. FourthWave’s 2017 cohort raised about $10 million dollars, and their 2020 cohort has raised approximately $20 million dollars. 

Beyond Just Business…

FourthWave is unique in the fact that they support not only women’s businesses but also help women to change from the inside out as well as connect and grow beyond the business level. “The thing about FourthWave is that it has become such a tight group,” says Meg Dennison, Executive coach, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence for FourthWave. “The women who have gone through [the program] are now mentoring the next group. I think that's such a positive thing because we’ve created an ecosystem of women helping other women and are getting funding for these great companies.”

FourthWave is looking for women who demonstrate strong leadership skills, a desire to learn, and brilliant business ideas to join their 2021 cohort. FourthWave’s is currently accepting applications for their third cohort through July 15th.