FemHealth Accelerator Announced in Northwest Arkansas
StitchCrew Works with FemHealth Founders to Launch an Accelerator in Northwest Arkansas Focused on Women’s Health
The accelerator looks to support women entrepreneurs building technology-enabled products and solutions that drastically improve women’s health and wellness.
Fayetteville, AR | September 8, 2022 – Today, StitchCrew, an organization building a more equitable economy through entrepreneurship, announced it’s working with FemHealth Founders (FHF), an organization focused on cultivating a world-class femhealth ecosystem in the heartland, to launch an accelerator program focused on women’s health and wellness solutions. Made possible in part by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, the accelerator will provide a learning platform for the next generation of leaders in the femhealth space.
Alongside StitchCrew, FHF and industry experts, participants will have the opportunity to refine and scale their approach to bringing women’s health and wellness products to market. Selected participants will receive a $10,000 non-dilutive grant, and learn from Industry Executives, Venture Capitalists and other thought leaders in the space. At the end of the program, participants will have the opportunity to meet StitchCrew and FHF extended network of investors and industry leaders during a Founders Retreat in Bentonville, AR.
“The time to invest in Women’s Health is now. We are proud to partner with FHF and the Walton Family Foundation to support women entrepreneurs building solutions that improve care delivery, address stigmatized areas and deliver culturally sensitive and tailored care options for women.” said Erika Lucas, Co-Founder of StitchCrew.
The accelerator program is specifically designed for early-stage companies providing solutions to improve healthcare for women across a number of female-specific conditions, including maternal health, menstrual health, pelvic and sexual health, fertility, menopause, and contraception, as well as a number of general health conditions that affect women disproportionately or differently (such as osteoporosis or cardiovascular disease). The program excludes biopharma and incumbent medical devices given the timeline and regulations required to bring products to market.
“About 1 percent of healthcare innovation and research is invested in female-specific conditions, beyond oncology. That number should be far higher,” said Natalie Shew, FHF co-founder and leading principal. “We’re excited to work with like-minded organizations to propel women founders in the heartland who want to improve and expand women’s health and wellness solutions.”
StitchCrew and FemHealth Founders are hosting an event on Tuesday, September 27 in Bentonville, Ark., to share various funding options for women-founded startups and additional details about the FemHealth Accelerator. Speakers include Erika Lucas (StitchCrew and VEST Her Ventures), Elise Alexander (AcreTrader), Charu Thomas (Ox), and moderated by Jessica Mathews (Fortune). Those interested in learning more or to register, visit https://femhealthfounders.com/events.
To be considered, startups must be women led and be based in the U.S. Selected participants will be required to travel to Northwest Arkansas for a portion of the program to engage in-person programming. The application will open in November, 2022. More information on the program, applicant eligibility and instructions on how to apply is available at https://www.stitchcrew.com/femhealth-accelerator
###
About StitchCrew
StitchCrew is an organization building a more equitable economy through entrepreneurship by designing and implementing programs that democratize capital, resources and networks for underserved entrepreneurs. Since its launch, StitchCrew has partnered with organizations like the NBA Team the Oklahoma City Thunder, Google, BASF and the Canadian Embassy to serve traditionally overlooked founders. To learn more, visit: https://www.stitchcrew.com/
About FemHealth Founders
FemHealth Founders (FHF) is an innovation hub that empowers female founders to build and lead profitable, women-centric companies that are offering solutions to women’s health-related issues. Founded by three Northwest Arkansas women entrepreneurs, April Roy, Elizabeth Prenger, and Natalie Shew, the organization cultivates innovation, validation, mentorship, and investment in women’s health and wellness solutions (often referred to as femhealth). To learn more, visit https://femhealthfounders.com/.
Photo credit: Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, UA
