North Texas Daily

DataReady DFW announced this month that it will be hosting its first SHEPreneur event on Nov. 18. SHEPreneur, which will run from 6 to 9 p.m. at Stoke coworking space, will be an event for female entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to a crowd, and the winner will receive funding for her business.

The event will serve as the official launch for the nonprofit DataReady DFW and aims to empower women to start their own businesses.

Executive director, founder of DataReady DFW and Carrollton resident Angel Durr is in charge of the SHEPreneur event to give back to the community of female business owners.

“I decided to do the event after going to a Her Texas event that is specifically for women entrepreneurs and at the table, we had a discussion about how we wish there was more funding [for] women entrepreneurs that was easier to obtain, especially if you’re a new business venture and we talked about that a lot in detail,” Durr said.

The event will be a live crowdfunding event, meaning that each woman will be given three minutes to present her event proposal and describe her immediate financial needs. Judges will determine the top three winners. The first place winner will be awarded cash to go toward their business and the second and third place winners will receive other resources to help them kick-start their business needs.

One entrepreneur who plans to participate is Little Elm resident and founder of The Enchanted Floral Rose Company, Emily Elizabeth Chrastka.

“Obviously I would like to win and earn capital for my business,” Chrastka said. “Winning would open up a lot of opportunity for me. Aside from the monetary aspect, I am always looking for new ways to educate the public about my company, its product offerings and the mission and vision of my company.”

The funding for prizes will come from ticket sales. Tickets are on sale now, until Oct. 31 for $18 and after Oct. 31, they will cost $22. For children, tickets are $12 until Oct. 31, then will raise to $15. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time or at the door.

“By attending, you’re saying that you want to help a female entrepreneur,” Durr said. “You could be anyone from the community or know someone that is in the event. The event is open to the public, so anyone who wants to attend is welcome to.”

Audience members have the opportunity to learn about various business ideas that local residents have.

“[Individuals attending] can be prepared to see a really rich and diverse reflection of the female entrepreneurs that exists right here in the North Texas area,” Durr said.

Those who present are given an opportunity to showcase their business, leading to funding and networking opportunities. Anyone who identifies as a female may present in the event as long as she has started her own company and is willing to present to an audience and panel of judges.

“People presenting can expect to have an opportunity to share their business ideas with a group of people who provide them feedback about what they think,” Durr said. “As an entrepreneur, I know that the thing that has helped me most is having a group of people to provide feedback about my business idea and also having other people to network with.”

WTFemme Podcast cofounder and Denton resident Birdie Holly will be presenting her business at SHEPreneur. She said that establishing connections is important for entrepreneurs to make their name known in the community.

“[At SHEPreneur], we would love to make more connections in DFW with fellow entrepreneurs who are like-minded in their business practices,” Holly said.

WTFemme Podcast cofounder and Denton resident Marie de Menthe said the prize funding would help them to enrich their company.

“We hope to win,” de Menthe said. “We would like to be able to afford to fulfill some staffing positions that will really help support us as we grow as a business.”

In the months leading up to the event, Durr has been working to make sure everything is in line to ensure the event will run smoothly.

“To plan the event, we have been contacting different organizations in the area and looking for partnerships with different businesses for the event,” Durr said. “We’ve also been looking at different avenues for people who want to serve as judges in the event.”

The venue for the Denton event was donated by Denton resident and executive director of Stoke, Heather Gregory.

“We are always looking for new partnerships and people who are doing programming events to help us meet our mission,” Gregory said. “We work to help provide opportunities and raise awareness around diversity and inclusion in startups and in entrepreneurship, which aligns with DataReady’s mission and hosting this women entrepreneur-focused event.”

Aside from location scouting, marketing has also been important to locate people to present in the event.

“[People who want to present] have found me through networking events that I have been at where I have talked about the events,” Durr said. “I’ve also posted in different entrepreneur groups that I’m in on Facebook and through my immediate network of female entrepreneurs that I’ve met.”

Strategic promotion skills were important to finding people to present in the event.

“I heard about the event through a Facebook ad,” Chrastka said. “I have to say their geofencing parameters for the ad were definitely on point for their target market.”

Durr said she believes female entrepreneurs are important to the community and that it is always important to support local businesses. Giving back to the community opens opportunities for all parties involved.

“I [put my ideas] into action to find a way to fund women starting new businesses,” Durr said. “I firmly believe that the best way to help yourself is to help others.”

To purchase tickets, visit www.stokedenton.com/events.

Featured Image: Angel Durr is in charge of the SHEPreneur event. Durr is the executive director and founder of DataReady DFW. Image by Maria Lawson