Gaining startup capital for a new business can be extremely challenging. Women and minorities are often cut out of lucrative venture capitalist funding, leaving them with few options to accumulate the funds they need to launch their new venture. This woman entrepreneur sought to help other women gain independence with a platform to help fund their dream ventures.
Tracy Garley, founder partner and CEO of GoFundHer, launched a crowdfunding platform for women to convene in a space to receive financial and community support. The Liberian-born entrepreneur worked with crowdfunding owner and founding partner Roger Mensah to make her idea a reality.
“I developed the crowdfunding website and social club as sister companies embracing the causes of girls and women,” Garley wrote in an email interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE.
“To gain users I created City Girls Big Dreams weekly online “Dream Session” events for girls, women, and their supporters to learn about GoFundHer.com while connecting with mentors to develop their goals then collect money online. The Dream Session events are coordinated by interns I mentor in the spring, summer, and fall semesters, as part of an internship program designed for GoFundHer.com to grow the number of women with experience working at technology companies.”
The platform has expanded to more than 150 countries since its launch in 2019. The company also offers direct deposit service for small businesses in over 39 countries including India, Australia, and countries across Europe, with users being allowed to withdraw their money in 24 currencies. The platform allows users to create unlimited fundraising pages with the ability to collect monthly and one-time donations.
“It was important that I provide these opportunities for women around the world because women are still far from achieving social, economic, and political equality. At the current rate of progress, women will have to wait nearly 100 years to close the overall gender gap with men. So I wanted to get started on this very big problem we have in our world,” she added.
“I’ve learned that it’s good to always be willing to help prevent other women from making the same mistakes I made during the early years of my business journey. I know what it feels like to have a dream, but not have the money to fund that dream. This is not a good feeling at all, especially being a girl or woman—some women sell their bodies just to put food on their table. GoFundHer.com is the premium crowdfunding platform that is empowering girls and women to fund their dreams without any obligations or contracts. Real women empowerment starts with enhancing her confidence and bank account.”