In the early evening on Sunday, January 21, I joined about 30 or more entrepreneurs gathered at Hub Ned for the first meeting of the Founders and Funders Series. With 100 percent of the attendees being women, this informal gathering did what it set out to do: designed by Rebecca Wickre and Jen Karowe, the Founders and Funders Series helps connect women in business with each other and with potential funders.
Rebecca Wickre is a local mom and founder of several of her own businesses, including SmartReg Consulting and her newest venture, Fourth Family, which she created to help normalize postpartum women, supporting women in their fourth trimester.
Jen Karowe is also a local mom and founder of the Nederland coworking space, Hub Ned. Both women serve on several local non-profit boards and are active in the community. They prioritize supporting small businesses, youth, families, and education.
The gathering started with an informal meet and greet, followed by a short informational video. Each of us then took a turn introducing ourselves, our businesses, and our various roles in the community. I have to confess, with 30 women in one room it was difficult to count how many businesses were represented. I might be wise to invest in hat boxes, as each of us wears more than a few.
This group brought together women with a broad range of backgrounds: in music and songwriting, fine arts, healing arts, hospitality, food and nutrition, coffee, deep tech, non-profit, business risk and crisis management, real estate, property management, promotions, and pickles.
The series is an informal gathering meant to pick up where previous like-minded groups left off prior to COVID. It is not connected to any larger international group you might find in an online search.
This first meeting focused on connecting local women entrepreneurs. Future meetings will focus on identifying our business needs and potential Peak to Peak investors, both those who are experienced and those who would like to invest but may need help stepping into that role to support local Peak to Peak women-owned businesses.
I have long since felt one of our core values as a community is women helping women. I returned to my desk reinvigorated with a newfound admiration for our Peak to Peak community, our diverse talents and tenacious entrepreneurial spirit. Look forward to another inspirational and informative gathering in the next month or so.
If you are looking to connect with start-up founders and active investors, join the conversation by emailing host@hubned.com.
