Tech Equity Working Group
Powered by GET Cities Chicago
Collaboratively designing city-wide solutions and collective infrastructure
to address gender and racial inequities for Chicago-based tech founders
About
The Tech Equity Working Group (TEWG) is a pioneering initiative of GET Cities Chicago. TEWG is a dynamic cohort of accelerators, incubators, funds, and ecosystem supporters aligned across shared goals to design city-wide solutions and collective infrastructure to address gender and racial inequities for Chicago-based tech founders.
Launched in 2020, TEWG focused initially on building and testing pilot interventions with a principal focus on the mission of TEWG: to foster inclusive and equitable opportunities for Chicago-based tech founders with a particular emphasis on addressing gender and racial disparities. As we collaboratively tested the pilots these past few years, we gained valuable insights into best practices and policy recommendations to drive meaningful change in the tech ecosystem.
Tech Equity Working Group’s Scaling Pilots
Five of TEWG's pilots are now being scaled with some of our partners to expand the impact and ethos of the Tech Equity Working Group. Topics range from diversifying deal flow, disrupting non-dilutive funding, tech-enabling small businesses, connecting startups to corporates, and supporting diverse entrepreneurs to raise in new geographic markets.
TEWG remains committed to rigorously evaluating the outcomes of these initiatives to create a more equitable tech industry where every entrepreneur has access to the support and resources they need to succeed.
Seed Founder Cohort
In 2022, TEWG's pilots focused on supporting seed founders to help these marginalized entrepreneurs navigate one of the most crucial phases for startups: the seed phase. From facilitating introductions between founders and venture capitalists to organizing PR and marketing efforts, TEWG helped nine founders take targeted steps toward their next funding milestones while simultaneously helping TEWG develop resources and consolidate efforts with real-time founder input.
