Are you a Wisconsin woman challenged in sourcing capital for your small business? You’re not alone.
The Office of Business & Entrepreneurship (OBE) historically finds fewer women entrepreneurs get capital and overall receive smaller amounts compared to men. In 2022, 47.5% of OBE women clients received capital vs 49.6% of men, with women receiving $63.8M in total compared to men’s $142M.
What is the Capital Readiness Program?
With the assistance of a grant from the Minority Business Development Agency, OBE is on a mission to help women entrepreneurs get access to more capital. We have completed research surveys with women entrepreneurs and focus groups with investors, lenders, and other stakeholders to help us identify particular needs for women-owned businesses.
OBE has created an innovative curriculum based on these findings in four customized tracks:
- Early Stage Business
- Food/Farm/Ag Businesses
- Growth Stage Business
- Tech/Innovation Businesses
This curriculum is tailored to women entrepreneurs and includes modules on building financial acumen, an in-depth study of business finances (including personalized assessments); special interest topics for women (communication skills, gender bias issues); business mentorship based on participant need; and concludes with a company pitch event to lenders and investors specially chosen to best meet the circumstances of each cohort.
Upcoming Programs:
- Summer 2025: Early Stage track (begins June 9th)
- Fall 2025: Early Stage, Food/Farm/Ag, Growth Stage, Tech/Innovation (program dates TBD)
Contact Lora Bray to learn more about the upcoming training opportunites.
Lora Bray, Strategic Projects Program Manager
Do you have questions about the program? Reach out to Lora by filling out the form below.
Entrepreneurs: Join a cohort!
We are currently recruiting for:
- 2025 Summer: Early Stage
- 2025 Fall: Early Stage, Food/Farm/Ag, Growth Stage, Innovation/Tech
Partners: Join our list!
Are you a partner hoping to assist women across Wisconsin to access capital to start and develop their small businesses? Reach out to learn more how you can help!
CRP Webinar Library
As a past and present CRP participant, you have exclusive access to attend and view webinars designed to further support the growth of your business.
Check out the curriculum outlines:
Early Pathway Curriculum (Summer 2025)
Tech Pathway Curriculum (Spring 2025)
- Identify why women need to be focused on financial gender challenges in personal and business finance
- Understand your financial wellness and create action steps for improvement in the areas of saving, spending and debt reduction—including how a credit report impacts your personal and business growth opportunities
- Utilizing personal and business capital to fund growth, including understanding the personal and business banking products that can help finance a business
- Explain the importance of financial statements in supporting business strategies
- Demonstrate and understand balance sheet basics
- Demonstrate an understanding of income statement financials
- Demonstrate the creation of financial projections
- Determine the ability of a business to generate positive cash flows and meet its financial obligations
- Gain tools for identifying and communicating with buyers and end-users.
- Understand methods for analyzing competition and substitute technologies.
- Learn techniques for estimating market size and understanding market dynamics.
- Learn what LeanStartup is, and isn’t.
- Show where LeanStartup is being used.
- Compare Lean Startup to conventional practices.
- Become familiar with Business Model Canvas tool.
- Recognize MinimalViable Products and their value.
- Instilling confidence through uncertainty
- Using executive presence for presentations and pitching the business
- Working through bias as we encounter it
- Express an overall understanding of financial statements
- Understand and apply financial analysis tools and resources to maintain financial health in your business and inform strategy
- Learn the nuances of licensing, direct sales, and strategic partnerships as commercialization strategies.
- Understand the phases of deal-making and key considerations at each stage.
- Gain insights into planning for and managing successful deals and partnerships.
- Template for preparing your investor pitch deck.
- Pitching dos and don’ts Tips for compelling storytelling.
- Gender differences in pitch approaches and investor questions.
- Recommended refinements to pitch deck content.
- Tips for improving pitch delivery.
- Practice navigating post-pitch Q&A.
Find out more about the Capital Readiness Program and its need by reviewing the below reports provided by WIPPS (Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service) Research Partners:
Check out our webinar from March 25, 2024 to learn more and get YOUR common questions answered:
Contact Lora if you would like to receive an intake form to schedule a discussion and learn more about participating in the program.