After holding summer internships at the 85 Broads network, a global business community for women headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., five female University students helped found a company designed to create a similar network for college women.
The result — MarketClout — will hold a launch party tonight at Quadrangle Club from 8 to 10 p.m. to attract the interest of female Princetonians.
According to its founders, MarketClout teaches college women how to get involved in the global marketplace as professionals, investors, consumers and leaders.
"I think this is going to open doors for a lot of women," MarketClout founding partner Lindsay Tintenfass '06 said. "Because the program is created by college women for college women, it should help a lot of women begin to see themselves as active members of the marketplace."
The founders' interest was sparked by a visit to campus by Janet Hanson, managing director at Lehman Brothers and founder of Milestone Capital Management and the 85 Broads network.
Along with seven other female students from Harvard and Middlebury, Tintenfass, April Frieda '08, Meghan Muntean '06, Kailee Erickson '06 and Ann Lee '07 spent the summer interning for Hanson. Ashley Sennet '05 also works for MarketClout.
The interns worked to develop 85 Broads, which has roughly 10,000 members and offers programs at more than 50 undergraduate and 20 graduate campuses.
Tiffany Eng '06 and Tintenfass helped Hanson found Princeton's chapter in November 2004.
"None of us had much experience in the business world," Tintenfass said. "We had some knowledge about investment, but we all wanted to understand more and get other women involved."
After coming up with the idea for MarketClout over the summer, the students created a website with information about the company. College women can sign up online and receive applications to tell MarketClout about what products they buy and why they are interested in the marketplace.
"We want to see more of a female presence in the business world," Frieda said. "By starting with the products that they love, women can learn the importance of investing their money wisely. Investment should not be a novelty for women but the norm."
Any student with an American university email address can join MarketClout. Eventually, the company will also be available to students at universities abroad.
The site will soon include guides to investing and links to internship opportunities. Frieda said the group also plans to select female professionals to hold online forums about the different branches of MarketClout: investing, careers, entrepreneurship, leadership and networking.
"You don't have to be a business major to join," Frieda said. "Members are simply women interested in the business world, even nontraditional paths apart from i-banking and consulting. At MarketClout, we want to broaden people's understanding of business."
This fall, the interns will try to incorporate more colleges by holding conferences at the Wharton Business School and other universities.
They will begin by targeting schools with existing 85 Broads programs.
MarketClout currently offers an investment challenge, an opportunity for college-age women to form small teams to invest hypothetical money. The company also plans to hold a two-week internship tutorial in the summer of 2006.
"The company is still a work in progress," Frieda said. At the Connecticut headquarters, some of MarketClout's founders are working to expand the website, establish internships and increase revenue by gaining the support of major companies.
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