Actuator: Women+ Cohort

Build clarity. Build confidence. Build community.

Actuator: A Women & Gender‑Diverse Founder Cohort is an 8‑week virtual program for founders ready to actively work on their business.

This cohort prioritizes women and gender‑diverse entrepreneurs and is facilitated entirely by women, featuring women subject matter experts and a collaborative cohort experience.

Participants move step‑by‑step through the Business Model Canvas while applying each concept directly to their business.

Program Highlights:

Free, fully virtual
8–10 founder cohort
Practical, structured curriculum
Weekly live sessions + independent work

Apply today!

WHAT IS ACTUATOR?

Actuator: A Women & Gender-Diverse Founder Cohort is an 8-week, cohort-based business development program for founders who are actively working to establish, strengthen, or grow a tech-enabled business.

The program is facilitated by Cultivator and delivered using the Actuator curriculum developed by Black River Innovation Campus (BRIC), a proven regional program that has supported founders across Vermont and the Upper Valley.

Rather than focusing on pitching or fundraising, Actuator centers on the practical work of building a business. Participants apply structured tools and guided discussion directly to their own ventures, gaining clarity and momentum week by week.

Who This Program Is For?

This cohort is designed for founders who:

Identify as women or gender-diverse (priority given)
Have a clear business idea or early-stage business
Are building a tech-enabled business (broadly defined)
Are ready to actively participate in weekly discussions and independent work
Value learning alongside peers at similar stages

You do not need to have launched, raised funding, or be working full-time on your business—but you do need to be committed to engaging with the curriculum and cohort.

What You’ll Work On (Curriculum Overview)

Participants move through the Business Model Canvas over eight weeks, with each session building on

Weekly topics include:

Value Proposition: defining the problem you solve and why it matters
Customer Discovery & Segmentation: understanding who your customers are
Hypotheses & Prototyping: testing assumptions and refining solutions
Channels & Go-to-Market Strategy: how you reach and retain customers
Revenue Models: pricing, sustainability, and growth
Key Partnerships & Resources: including legal and IP considerations
Costs, Metrics, and Business Health
Storytelling: clearly communicating your business

Each week includes:

A 2-hour live, facilitated cohort session
Case studies grounded in real businesses
Discussion with women subject matter experts

Independent work applying tools directly to your business

What You’ll Leave With

- Complete a full Business Model Canvas

- Gain clarity on customers, revenue, partners, and costs

- Better understand business strengths and gaps

- Build confidence discussing their business with stakeholders

- Develop meaningful relationships with cohort peers and mentors

- Be prepared for next steps, whether that’s growth, funding, or deeper technical assistance

- A broader network of fellow founders, advisors, and support

Apply!

Why a Women & Gender-Diverse Cohort

Women and gender-diverse founders continue to face structural barriers that affect business growth, including reduced access to capital, smaller professional networks, and fewer opportunities for peer learning. This cohort was intentionally designed to address those gaps by creating a learning environment where women and gender-diverse founders are the majority, not the exception.

We also recognize that women and gender-diverse founders often navigate entrepreneurship differently and benefit from learning, problem-solving, and building community alongside peers with shared experiences.

What makes this cohort unique:

Facilitated entirely by women
All subject matter experts are women with real-world experience
Cohort-based learning that prioritizes collaboration over competition
Space for candid conversation about challenges specific to women founders

Actuator: A Women & Gender‑Diverse Founder Cohort