Group For Women Raises Eyebrows
'Ladies Who Launch' lands in Central Mass.
The chairs were pink. The pens were pink. Even the M&Ms and Tic Tacs set out as a snack were pink. As a handful of women gathered at a children's activity center in Northborough for the first time early this month, it was clear that the new MetroWest/West Ladies Who Launch group would be something different from established organizations promoting entrepreneurship in Central Massachusetts.
Ladies Who Launch, a national company with licensed groups in 45 cities, promotes itself as a support system to help women start businesses - or, sometimes, other projects - in a distinctly "feminine" way. But some local businesswomen say aspects of the Ladies Who Launch model may be dangerous for women beginning the difficult process of founding a brand new company.
Non-Linear
To people familiar with start-up companies, the biggest surprise about Ladies Who Launch is probably that it does not tell new entrepreneurs to write a formal business plan before moving forward.
"I can't imagine having to do that before you start your business," she said.
Toomey said the group does encourage women to think through their ideas and make plans, but that actually sitting down and writing out a complex document can be overwhelming for some.
The Ladies Who Launch approach stands in stark contrast to the one used by the Center for Women and Enterprise.
CWE, a nonprofit group that has trained more than 13,000 entrepreneurs in Massachusetts and Rhode Island over the past 12 years, recommends that their clients take a class on writing business plans even if they do not intend to seek outside funding.
"As an entrepreneur, you're juggling so many responsibilities," said Sherry Handel, director of CWE Central Massachusetts. "It's very easy to get off of the plan, getting sucked into something that may not be a priority for the business."
Shari Worthington, president of Worcester marketing firm Telesian Technology Inc. and a consultant for CWE, as well as a member of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Venture Forum, said moving forward without a clear plan can create serious problems.
"Before you get yourself in debt over your head you want to make sure you're going in to the right sort of business," she said.
But Toomey said the Ladies Who Launch incubators are less about the nuts and bolts of starting a business than about sharing ideas and support with others in a similar position. Participants in Northborough, who paid $250 apiece to take part in the incubator, spent most of their first meeting simply talking about themselves and their plans, which included using franchises to expand an existing web site for parents, opening a belly dancing studio and starting an interior design consulting company. Toomey told the group that the purpose of the incubator is to encourage participants, not to criticize or poke holes in their plans.
"I wouldn't judge anybody and say your idea is a little off-base, based on the demographics," she said.
Down-To-Earth Benefits
Toomey said she would encourage participants to think through issues like how big the market for their product is, or what competitors exist, but not necessarily in the context of the incubator. She said participants might also want to hire a business coach or seek a chamber of commerce mentor.
Beyond what Toomey calls the "touchy-feely" tone of the incubators, Ladies Who Launch offers a number of concrete benefits.
After finishing an incubator, participants who pay an annual membership fee can take part in monthly gatherings where members sometimes offer free services like image consulting or professional headshots. Members also gain access to an online community where they can post ads, sell products at an eBay store and find professionals like copyright lawyers and web designers to help them with their companies.
Ladies Who Launch also sends out weekly e-mail messages, letting business owners know about a television show looking for child-focused businesses or a hotel chain seeking a producer of body-care products.
For all its serious content, the first thing a visitor to the Ladies Who Launch web site is likely to notice is its design - all in various shades of pink, with images of lipstick, sunglasses and high-heeled shoes as its menu icons.
Looking at the web site for the first time, Worthington said, "Stereotyping women as these fluffy, not serious entrepreneurs is not doing them any favors. We need to make sure that we're training men and women to look at the data, analyze the data and make sound decisions."
But Worthington, who was not previously familiar with Ladies Who Launch, said she was impressed with some of the members profiled on the site.
"I love the idea of helping more women launch businesses," she said.
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