Citing the growing "neighbor effect," 12-week
Milestone Circles program sees record demand.
SAN
FRANCISCO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The
non-profit Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center and Wells Fargo
have announced the third year of the Milestone Circles program, a
commitment to serving even more women in year three, while bringing
the peer-driven mentorship program to a total of 4,000 women by the
end of next year.
Since the program launched in 2021, Milestone Circles has
graduated 1,960 women business owners through a peer-led milestone
setting program. The program is beginning to scale amidst record
demand in a challenging funding environment.
Each 12-week Circles cohort convenes women entrepreneurs from
comparable stages or focuses of their companies, bringing
participants together biweekly virtually to meet with a group of
peers and coach facilitator to share ideas, trade resources, grow
their networks and achieve set milestones.
"The changing landscape of access to capital is driving founders
to focus on practical, accessible resources in the greatest
abundance, with social capital and peers as sounding-boards proving
to be the most accessible tools that also serve as a critical
confidence-builder," said Nicola
Corzine, executive director of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial
Center. "We're calling this phenomenon the 'neighbor effect,'
because people are looking to their right and left for immediate
operational support to actualize their biggest dreams. A
business owner with a network is more resilient. We believe that
this effect is what's driven our Circles program to a waiting list
of 6,000 additional female entrepreneurs. Our work is just
starting."
This program is free for entrepreneurs and is made possible
thanks to the generous support of the Wells Fargo Foundation. Since
2021, the Foundation has invested in over $3.7M towards supporting women entrepreneurs in
partnership with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center.
"Milestone Circles is a key piece of our Connect to
MoreSM program, and it highlights the importance of
mentorship and peer support to help accelerate growth and equality
for women-owned small businesses," said Jenny Flores, Head of Small Business Growth
Philanthropy at Wells Fargo. "We have a long history of supporting
women entrepreneurs, and we are very focused on innovating and
partnering with organizations that address key challenges to
becoming successful business owners."
The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center is also unveiling the Capital
Pathways Workbook, a first-of-its-kind resource, that helps
entrepreneurs build a personalized capital map focused on their
vision and financing needs for their business.
Media
Brittany Anthony,
925-451-0769
Brittany.Anthony@wellsfargo.com
The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center
thecenter@extensionpr.com
About The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center
The Nasdaq
Entrepreneurial Center is a non-profit committed to growing
inclusion and access for entrepreneurs worldwide. The Center meets
the real time needs of entrepreneurs through educational
programming and then shares its learnings with policy-leaders,
capital allocators and academic institutions. For more information
please visit: http://thecenter.nasdaq.org/.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading
financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets, proudly serves one in
three U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the
U.S., and is a leading middle market banking provider in the U.S.
We provide a diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage
products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance,
through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking
and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking,
and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 47 on Fortune's 2023 rankings
of America's largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the
company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable,
inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small
business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy. News,
insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available
at Wells Fargo Stories.
Additional information may be found
at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo
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SOURCE Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center