Jewel Burks, CEO & Co-Founder Partpic with Roshawnna Novellus, Creator EnrichHER; Photo By J Braxton Photography
I fell in love with the Atlanta Startup Ecosystem when I witnessed Jewel Burks win the Rise of the Rest Pitch Competition with Steve Case. I served with this woman on the board of Amplify 4 Good for years and was amazed that she had the capacity to give so much to the community while simultaneously leading an award-winning startup. At that moment, I determined that what made the Atlanta ecosystem unique is the integrated focus on civic engagement and high growth business enterprises. I knew that I had to figure out how to make a larger contribution to this ecosystem immediately.
As a woman who has always had a love for technology, the state of affairs in the Southeast is very different than what I experienced elsewhere. When I started worked as an engineering intern at the age of 17 at Hewlett Packard in San Diego, I was one of a handful of women out of an 800-person department. Today, we have women represented throughout the ecosystem. I take pride in knowing that trailblazers such as Bernie Dixon of Atlanta Technology Angels and Theia Washington-Smith of Women Entrepreneurship Initiative serve as both pipelines of growth and capital to Entrepreneurs in the Atlanta region. I believe that increased access to accelerators and sources of capital is the key to helping women-led businesses achieve success. To help entrepreneurs with this, I compiled a list of the top accelerator programs and investor funds for women-led businesses.
After making a bad equity investment in a company earlier in my career, I decided that the best way to understand the nuance of selecting good companies is to learn as much as possible from seasoned practitioners. I remember the first time I attended an angel group meeting in Atlanta. The only other woman in attendance pulled me aside and told me that the community needed me. She asked me to commit to being a part of the movement and staying in the loop. I mistakenly thought that I could sneak in unnoticed and learn from the audience, but fortunately, I came away with a challenge to stay involved. I believe that sometimes being told that you are needed is all of the motivation that is required to create change.
Later, I learned that Harvard University performed a research study that concluded that all investment disparity towards investing in women-led businesses disappears if at least one woman has a seat at the table in evaluating companies. For this reason, I became determined to be part of the solution. I studied the angel-investing curriculum offered by Pipeline Angels, co-founded Bootstrap Capital and helped to raise capital slated for investment in a women-led business. This process illustrated that there is so much room for all types of people to contribute in Atlanta. The most important thing that I learned is that we cannot always wait for others to solve a problem. Sometimes we must stand up and take action to be part of the solution. I believe that angel funds such at The JumpFund are making impactful strides, and I encourage more organizations to have the courage to step out and create a path for others to walk through.
These experiences contributed to my belief that program integration is necessary to elevate Atlanta from a tier-2 to a tier-1 ecosystem. This is especially true since women-led businesses in Atlanta lead the nation in revenue growth. Also, Atlanta is also in the top 5 cities nationally for new companies started by women. I created EnrichHER so that entrepreneurs in the arts, civic engagement and technology sectors could come together and leverage their collective resources so that they are successful. One of my favorite quotes is, “I’m not competing with anyone, I hope that we all win.” By offering a platform where organizations can share their programming with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs can gain access to education, inspiration, and capital, I believe that EnrichHER is providing a platform for success.
About: Dr. Roshawnna Novellus, known as the Wealthy Yogi, is the co-founder of Bootstrap Capital and Host of Startup Funding. She is passionate about helping business owners ready to attract funding. Dr. Novellus has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, WSJ, and Rolling Out. She has also completed the Pipeline Angels Fellowship, a Kauffman program in angel investing. Roshawnna serves on the Commission on Women for the City of Atlanta, and was honored as one of the Women Who Means Business by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
We are…
The world’s first and only, women entrepreneur-focused, debt-based funding platform.
A groundbreaking movement to unite founders and funders who share a vision for sustainable women-led ventures.
AS SEEN IN
What we do?
We help women get up to $250,000 to grow their business
Our Mission
We believe in inclusive economic growth and disrupting traditional and predatory access to small business financing. To create opportunities for women-led businesses, we focus on social change, empowerment and creative uses of monetary value. Through EnrichHER Funding, EnrichHER Society, and EnrichHER Spark, we are an ecosystem of entrepreneurs and capital providers who have pledged to support 10,000 women grow incredible ventures.
How you can participate in the EnrichHER Community?
Apply for funding here.
Invest in a female founder here.
Make a donation here.
Join our online community here.
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