Women's business incubator hatches new name

BYLINE: Sarah Duxbury

Women's Technology Cluster has outgrown its name.

The San Francisco-based incubator of women-led businesses is no longer a cluster in the physical sense of shared office space; it supports more than pure technology startups as it looks at developments in biotechnology and clean tech; and both men and women are involved as mentors. To top off the misconceptions, it has an unfortunate acronym it shares with the World Trade Center. For these reasons, next week Women's Technology Cluster will formally become Astia.

Though the name's changing, Astia's mission is not. Less than 5 percent of companies that receive venture capital have a female CEO. "The world benefits from diversity and the entrepreneurial technology world is not getting enough diversity," said Jennifer McFarlane, Astia's CEO.

The decision to rebrand itself comes from a five-year plan it adopted two years ago, and is an early step in the nonprofit becoming a national player rather than a regional one.

Already, Astia has expanded its geographic reach through its five-year-old venture conference program: Almost 40 percent of last year's companies were based outside the Bay Area.

McFarlane believes a tagline -- "Where women innovators succeed" -- will convey a women-focused mission without alienating the male talent on which it relies.

The nonprofit incubates companies in two ways. About 20 are portfolio companies, meaning they get six months or more of counseling as they strive to secure venture capital. Astia works with an additional 30 to 35 companies through its venture conference program, an intense two months for more established companies seeking at least $2 million in funding.

Over 70 percent of companies at the 2005 conference received funding, and 2006 participants are tracking close to 60 percent for funding.

Since 2003, Women's Technology Cluster has helped more than 100 women-led companies raise $228 million.