From the pages of In Business magazine.
After graduating from UW–Whitewater with an education degree, Heather Wentler, 31, gave teaching the old college try. It lasted three years. “I loved my students but at the end of the day I’d come home and feel so beat up and dragged down by the system. I realized I couldn’t do it for the next 30 years.”
About the same time, her husband — Chris Meyer, founder of Sector67 — was rethinking his career track. “We had real salaries for a while but then realized it wasn’t making us happy so we pivoted into entrepreneurship full time,” Wentler recalls. “It comes down to quality of life.”
Wentler met Amy Gannon of Edgewood College at Startup Weekend 2012, an event that attracted significantly more men than women, and they vowed to change things. Shortly after, they cofounded The Doyenne Group, a membership organization dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs with mentorship and professional development.
In a recent interview, we spoke with Wentler, cofounder and executive director, to learn more about The Doyenne Group.
IB: What makes Doyenne different?
Wentler: There are a lot of organizations that provide either a networking component or a funding component for women, but not that many organizations provide both. That is our competitive advantage. We also have a board of directors and about 25 volunteers that make this possible.
IB: How are you making money?
Wentler: We generate revenue from all of our programming. Members sign up either as an entrepreneur or as an ambassador (established entrepreneurs or business people). Ambassadors are paired with entrepreneurs to provide business support. We also conduct quarterly meetings and strategic planning workshops throughout the year. In 2014 we transitioned into a nonprofit and now we also write grants to build our Evergreen Fund.
IB: Tell us about that.
Wentler: Initially we had a $400,000 goal for the Evergreen Fund, but we just closed and it’s actually $1.2 million thanks to the help of some great community partners. Some of the money is set up for entrepreneurs of color, as well. The original $400,000 was going to include $200,000 in grants and $200,000 in equity investments, but as it’s grown we applied for $600,000 through the city of Madison. Then the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. approached us with $200,000 for loan dollars, as well, and they’ll manage the loans for us!
IB: So what’s the timeline now?
Wentler: We plan to start taking business applications by the end of the year and hope distributions can start in January. There will be $5,000 grants available, up to $25,000 in loans, and equity investments no more than $50,000. Money will be distributed in both 2017 and 2018. Hopefully we’ll have returns on the loans in 2018, but the equity investments will take longer. We’ll also continue to fundraise.
(Continued)
IB: What’s in your five-year plan?
Wentler: We want to take Doyenne regional or national. Our mission has always been to put Madison and Wisconsin on the map as a region that supports women entrepreneurs. In five years, we want to have Doyenne offices in six cities throughout the Midwest, and eight to 10 chapter programs in smaller Midwest communities. That’s what we’re moving toward so now it’s about scaling up.
IB: What would you like the business community to know about Madison’s entrepreneurial scene?
Wentler: That there are ways for all of us to support and mentor all entrepreneurs. We all bring a knowledge base and being able to share that knowledge helps everyone. Businesses are being built here and as they grow and develop they will have a huge economic impact on the area.
IB: What’s been your biggest challenge?
Wentler: I see so much potential in these entrepreneurs and it’s frustrating not being able to get them what they need as quickly as they need it. Sometimes it’s as little as $10,000 but finding that resource can be tough.
IB: What makes you most proud?
Wentler: When we first launched Doyenne at ForwardFest, less than 10% of the attendees were women. Now we’re more equally represented with the event averaging 40% women attendance. As a community, we’re starting to see more women entrepreneurs being recognized.
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