How CEO Kathleen Griffith is teaching the world how to ‘Build Like A Woman’
In 2021, we can proudly say that there is a growing number of woman-focused organizations with the sole purpose of bringing together like-minded women through community support systems.
Whether it be technology or the intricate art of business, there seems to be a growing variety of resources available, no matter how small of an association you may be looking at.
But statistics tell a different story. And as we all know, numbers don’t lie.
Though 47% of people in the workforce are women and the number of breadwinning mothers has jumped 29% since 1960 — even though women make up 1/3 of graduates from university out of necessity to land a job — women have a few strides to make in order to catch up to their male counterparts, especially when it comes to business.
The most startling thing for founder and CEO of Grayce & Co. Kathleen Griffith, was that in 2017, only 17% of venture startups were founded by women.
Supplied with a thirst for community success, Build Like A Woman was born with what seemed like an effortless appeal.
The idea isn’t a new one. Grayce & Co. focuses on marketing and strategy building, making it accessible for the hub to gear towards female entrepreneurs in an effort to “ignite and harness the innate business building superpowers that women have by offering support, inspiration, funding, and leadership.”
Yet, the objective is bigger than that. Above all, these communities offer something that isn’t normally advertised as a main feat in similar associations: comfort.
“[We want to] really talk to female founders who have transformed their breakdowns into breakthroughs for their companies, and what that took. The unpolished, unvarnished side of things. What does it take to really embrace your fear and take greater risks?”
The program is split into two divisions. The online portion consists of a 6-week coursework schedule that is completed on your own time and leisure.
The second part is the networking apportion, where participants are able to meet in corresponding gatherings in cities.
“Griffith and her team are at work developing a suite of easily accessible and affordable digital tools to help women entrepreneurs tackle all the challenges that are inherent to launching a business — everything from market sizing, brand positioning, profit and loss statements, pitch decks and business plans.”
The coursework has been carefully selected and aimed at educating businesswomen.
“We’re doing this because we believe that too much creative genius and intellectual capital women have is going untapped, and frankly speaking, women’s ideas have the power to move.”
Griffith’s hope is to build a concrete community both digitally and in real life. Build Like a Woman is using big name celebrities to become the voices of their brand, famous woman entrepreneurs such as Jessica Alba, CEO and founder of The Honest Company.
“What does it take to really embrace your fear and take greater risks?” Kathleen asks, posing a question that is as open ended as it is important.
Whatever your answer may be, Build Like A Woman is here to teach, nourish, and inspire others to follow the path of successful women who have been there and done that, and bring confidence to those who are just starting their journey.