Portland Press Herald
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) This article features one of the finalists for a fellowship with the Tory Burch Foundation. The foundation was started by Burch, a fashion designer, to support women entrepreneurship. Winners receive mentoring and money for education plus a shot at a $100,000 investment in her company.
Maine
A Rockland woman is among 30 finalists for a fellowship from a foundation that supports female entrepreneurs.
Kate McAleer, the owner of Bixby & Co., a confectionery company in Rockland that makes healthy snacks and candy bars, is a finalist for a fellowship from the Tory Burch Foundation. The foundation was started by Burch, a fashion designer, to support women entrepreneurs.
The winner will be selected, in part, via an online vote at toryburchfoundation.org. In addition to the voting, the selection of the 10 fellows will also be based on a personal statement and resume, a business plan, social responsibility and the proposed use of an education grant.
All the finalists are featured on the Tory Burch Foundation site and are considered for admission to the Goldman Sachs “10,000 Small Businesses” education program. The fellows, selected in May, will receive a year of mentoring, a $10,000 grant for business education, a three-day workshop at Burch’s New York headquarters and participation in a pitch competition for a $100,000 grant investment in one woman’s company.
In her online profile at the Burch Foundation site, McAleer said she started her company after a futile quest for healthy snacks while she was a member of New York University’s women’s golf team.
Bixby & Co., she said, is “a family company dedicated to producing the highest quality products, made with a conscience.” She said a vote for her in the fellowship competition would support “American craft food, manufacturing and our delicious products.”
