Rooting for Mallory in the InnovateHER competition

(Mallory Dyer)

Fact: Women make up only 24% of the STEM workforce in the United States – a number GraphLock CEO Mallory Dyer aims to change with her ground-breaking calculator app. And now, thanks to her big win at the Phoenix, Arizona InnovateHER competition, she’s one step closer.

For the third year in a row, female entrepreneurs from across the country have answered the U.S. Small Business Administration’s call for products and services that empower women and families. Through a series of local competitions, a select few – like Mallory – get the chance to compete for grant funding on the national stage.

In Phoenix, Mallory was among seven finalists chosen from a field of 19 to present their business ventures to a panel of judges at Arizona State University.

“Our mission is to provide young women from diverse backgrounds this main tool they need to level the playing field in STEM education,” Mallory told the judges, after sharing the heart-breaking struggles she witnessed as a college math professor.

“I had a mother tell me that she had to choose between buying a graphing calculator for her daughter, which costs over $100, or get groceries for her family for the month,” Mallory said. “And even though her daughter needed it for school, she had to tell her kid, ‘Sorry, we just don’t have [the money].’”

At $4.99 per year, the GraphLock app takes expensive calculators out of the equation.

Mallory Dyer

Mallory and her competitors were judged on three criteria:

As the Phoenix, Arizona InnovateHER winner, Mallory moves on to the national semifinals, where as many as 10 businesswomen will be chosen to compete in Washington, D.C., for $70,000 in grant funding.

According to the SBA, winners will be announced July 31.

Way to go, Mallory! We’re square-rooting for you!