Women business leaders take the UW ‘LEAP’

UW–Madison’s innovative program to support women entrepreneurs — known as LEAP, which stands for “Launching Entrepreneurial Advisory Panels” — started its most recent class for women business owners in Grainger Hall in June. The new class consists of eight entrepreneurs and a panel of 35 professional men and women who have volunteered to serve as advisors.

Training was provided by Marian Walluks, a Madison-area entrepreneur and business development expert, as well as former LEAP participants who shared advice on how to make the best use of panels.

LEAP is a groundbreaking program at UW–Madison built on the results of faculty research that indicated women entrepreneurs were disadvantaged in the marketplace because they had poorer networks than men.

LEAP was designed to enrich women’s networks and provide advice that the business owners might not have access to or be able to afford. Since it started in June 2001, LEAP has worked with 30 businesses and provided more than 120 professional men and women to serve as panel members.

LEAP is designed to serve women entrepreneurs who have been in business more than three years, either have or are planning to have employees, and are undertaking changes or improvements in their businesses. The program also considers applications from female-male owned businesses if the woman has significant power in the business. Advisors, who volunteer to serve for one year, are drawn from the business, professional and academic communities.

LEAP is administered by the UW–Madison School of Business Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship in partnership with the Women in Business Council. It is supported, in part, by program revenue from entrepreneurs who pay $500 for the year-long program.

Anyone interested in learning more about the LEAP program can view the Web site, or contact Helen Capellaro at (608) 262-9213 or hcapellaro@bus.wisc.edu.