3 Things Women-Led Startups Need To Thrive
What’s one sure way to find your next investment-worthy startup led by a woman? I recommend you go where she’ll go — in search of the three things women entrepreneurs need most:
1. Money. Dinero. Funding! (See ❤❤❤ below.)
2. Exposure in case the initial investors we meet don’t offer #1
3. Mentoring that may, in the long run, actually be worth more than gold.
On June 14, San Francisco will host a pitch competition for ten entrepreneurs that offers exactly this — funding, exposure and mentoring. The Women Startup Challenge, in partnership with Craig Newmark of craigslist and craigconnects, will award one winner $50,000. All ten competitors will receive hours of mentoring by industry insiders and investors. And all ten will have her turn in the spotlight, onstage and off — this competition traveled to NYC and DC and trended on Twitter.
If your company qualifies, you still have time to go for it: Applications are open until 11:59 pm on Thursday, March 31. And today we are excited to announce the three judges who will join me LIVE onstage June 14: Kathryn Finney, Founder and CEO of DigitalUndivided, Nisha Dua, Principal at BBG Ventures and Karan Mehandru, General Partner at Trinity Ventures.
Why I love it: I’ve began judging this competition when amazing founder Allyson Kapin launched in 2014 as part of her work leading Women Who Tech, a diverse network of more than 10,000 engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders. Since co-founding BlogHer in 2005, I’ve heard from thousands of women who have incredible ideas, want to start a company, and are looking for a trailhead. The Women Startup Challenge is one of the best guides available — how to apply for a competition, how to pitch under pressure, how to ask for and accept mentoring on your idea and how to network for the funding you believe your business deserves.
By “love” I mean sparkly, disco ❤❤❤ . The Women Startup Challenge has one goal: to disrupt a culture and economy that has made it exceedingly difficult for women entrepreneurs to access capital. Only 7% of all investor money goes to women-led startups. The Women Startup Challenge wants to crush this dismal stat. And it’s working — see Data below.
You don’t have to pitch to win from this competition: Do you really know how to pitch? If you’re not sure, come watch the ten game-changing startups our panel of experienced investors and industry leaders will select to put on stage. We get hundreds of applicants and many of them are excellent, but the ten who pitch are typically superb. As an introvert-turned-CEO, I went to school on pitches by other entrepreneurs — this competition is a terrific investment of your time. But we will sell out, so sign up for the Women Who Tech newsletter at the bottom of this page for a notice when tickets go on sale May 1.
You’ll get to watch and learn from VCs in action. The three people who will join me to judge this challenge LIVE are impressive and smart:
- Kathryn Finney is Founder and Managing Director of digitalundivided (DID), an organization that invests in the success of Black and Latina women tech founders by providing them with the network, coaching, and funding to build, scale, and exit their high growth companies — including the BIG accelerator, a 16-week program in Atlanta. She also is a General Partner in the Harriet Fund, the first pre-seed venture fund focused on investing the untapped potential of high potential Black and Latina women led startups.
- Karan Mehandru, General Partner, Trinity Ventures. A self-made entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, Karan is focuses on B2B companies that are capitalizing on secular trends like consumerization of the enterprise, Software as a Service, Big Data and mobile. As a seasoned exec with a decade of operating experience, he often acts as a board-level mentor for founders on product strategy, financing, marketing and sales.
- Nisha Dua, Partner at BBG Ventures and Founder of the #BUILTBYGIRLS movement which challenges young women to be part of the tech-enabled economy through a series of offline and online programs to teach girls the fundamentals of venture capital. BBG invests in visionary entrepreneurs building the next generation of market-defining consumer products and services. Every company in their portfolio has at least one female founder.
- …and me, Lisa Stone, entrepreneur and digital media strategist with 18 years of experience developing scale consumer communities via storytelling, quality conversation and analytics. Most recently, I was Co-founder and CEO of BlogHer Inc., sold to SheKnows Media to create the #1 women’s digital meia company in the lifestyle space. I also serve as a board director or advisor to a number of startups (such as Accompany and JoyBox). And I’ve learned an enormous amount as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Trinity Ventures this quarter.
Data talks. Check out the great track record generated by the Women Startup Challenge’s first two pitch competitions in D.C. and in NYC:
- $500,000 raised to support women-led startups through the Women Startup Challenge
- 500+ women-led startup applicants from across the US with a focus on reaching diverse communities
- 40% of Women Startup Challenge finalists have been women of color
- 700+ attendees comprised of founders, engineers, investors, tech press, etc.
- #WomenStartupChallenge has trended on Twitter during each pitch competition
- Alumni have closed seven-figure rounds
- Alumni have been accepted into the most competitive accelerators
- Extensive press coverage featuring winning startups ranging from BuzzFeed, INC, Upworthy, New York Observer, Huffington Post, etc.
There’s time to apply — you have six days left! That’s how you throw your hat into the ring for a group of investors and industry leaders to consider selecting your big idea to be one of ten game-changing startups among hundreds of applicants to pitch in San Francisco on June 14. Applications are open until 11:59 pm on Thursday, March 31. Or mark your calendar to buy a ticket and come watch. Again, you won’t regret it.
Questions? I invite you to reach out to me.