The leading woman

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When Linda Wellbrock found herself out of work in 2009 with 2-year-old twins, she took a hard look at the facts:

She had an extensive marketing background in the financial industry, having worked for UBS and Merrill Lynch.

She had publishing, writing and event planning experience after serving as vice president of business development and associate publisher for Garden State Woman.

And she had an MBA in entrepreneurial studies from the Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies at Fairleigh Dickenson University.

Bingo.

Her résumé — combined with the fact that less than 3 percent of women business owners ever gain access to funding — led Wellbrock to become a woman entrepreneur herself when she co-founded Own It Ventures in 2009.

“Women don’t tend to start businesses with big-picture financing in mind,” Wellbrock said. “They tend to finance their businesses personally, whereas men are more likely to go out and say, ‘I have an idea for a business and I’m going to raise $5 million to start it.’”

So Wellbrock created the promotional event planning company to not only allow women the opportunity to pitch new business to investors and media, but also bring additional resources to those that currently owned businesses.

Still — it wasn’t enough.

So in 2011, Wellbrock created Leading Women Entrepreneurs, a business resource and quasi-public relations agency for women business owners.

“We try to harness the power of the media to showcase women,” Wellbrock said.