In 2012, the State of Women-Owned Businesses Report first assessed 25 cities’ growth of women-owned firms. St. Louis ranked dead last. Jennifer Ehlen, a vice president of Thompson Street Capital Partners, read the report and swung into action. Earlier this year, she founded Prosper Women Entrepreneurs to help give local businesswomen a leg up.
“Prosper has two divisions,” Ehlen explains. “The Prosper Institute is a nonprofit focused on training and mentoring women in the entrepreneurial community. Prosper Capital is a for-profit organization focused on increasing women entrepreneurs’ access to growth capital, as well as the number of women investing in early-stage businesses.”
In the former group, locals including Teresa Miller of Treats Unleashed and Linda Wash of Linda M. Wash Real Estate serve as mentors. Through the Institute’s Mastermind program, Ehlen says, “groups of five to seven women meet monthly to hold each other accountable for moving their businesses forward.”
“We had more than 100 women apply for these spots, and we have about 33 participating in our first class,” she adds. “That’s a huge success.”
Prosper’s Youth & Collegiate Initiative works to promote entrepreneurship among young women, from high-school students to college graduates. “We believe if we’re truly going to create a culture shift, it has to happen with youth,” she says.
Prosper Capital gives startups what they need most: cash. Its Startup Accelerator offers $50,000 equity investments to women-led startups working in tech, life sciences, and consumer products.
“We’d like to put this city on the map for women entrepreneurs,” Ehlen says. “This can be a destination, where women know they can come to St. Louis and receive the resources to grow their companies.”
