Every founder knows raising capital is hard. And given that only 2% of venture capital is invested in female founded companies, what is already a moonshot for men is exponentially harder for women. You’re routinely and consistently underestimated, dismissed, ignored, ghosted, and judged by impossible standards – and that’s if you get in the door to begin with. Welcome to fundraising while female.
Last year, FFA member Laura Malcolm (Founder/CEO of Give InKind) posted an idea to our online forum: she suggested that we join forces and help each other pitch to investors. That’s why a few of us got together and organized our own version of a Demo Day. The result was last year’s Founders Showcase.
Fast forward a year. Today, FFA has 4x more members, a growing team, a much bigger and more influential network of investors, and the help of world class sponsors like Davis Wright Tremaine’s Project W.
So as we thought about reprising the event that put us on the map, we asked ourselves: what would a fundraising program look like if it was designed for female founders, by female founders? Our answer is called Ready. Set. Raise.™ We can’t wait to tell you all about it. For now, please save the date for Demo Day on September 27th.
And watch this space to find out the rest 😉
Leslie Feinzaig Founder/CEO Female Founders Alliance
Upcoming Events
Media coverage is critical to legitimizing a new startup, and an integral part of all product launches. And yet most early stage founders don’t know how to get great coverage, lack the network that can help, and can’t spare cash to hire PR. Access Media is FFA’s solution to provide female founders with connections and know-how to meaningfully ‘up’ their media game.
Date: Thursday, June 31st at 4 PM
Location: Thinkspace, 1700 Westlake Ave N
Attendees: Female startup founders and their male co-founders. This event is open to non-members.
Media panelists: Puget Sound Business Journal, Seattle Business Magazine, Geekwire, Seattle Times, Pitchbook, The Evergrey, KIRO TV, Bloomberg, and NPR.
Program:
– Pitch opportunity with media and receive feedback
– Panel discussion full of Seattle’s top journalists
– Cocktail hour to wrap the evening with networking
*Note: The pitch tickets are SOLD OUT, but there are tickets available for the panel discussion and networking portion of the event.
Purchase your tickets here.
Female Founder Feature: Helen Wang, 6Crickets
Helen Wang is the co-founder and CEO of 6Crickets, a platform that provides technical infrastructure for children’s enrichment activities. 6Crickets was launched in 2015 and has since expanded their platform nationally. Today they’re a 14 person team headquartered in Seattle, WA. Read all about them on our blog.
Our Members in the News
– Rsport was ranked the 4th best Plus size athletic apparel brand, via Self Magazine.
– CarpooltoSchool launched a safe and reliable school carpool solution, via Black Enterprise.
– Tipnpost is changing the industry standard for both sides, staff and management, to ensure better communication and transparency, via VoyageLA.
– ClassTag is a parent-teacher communication app that noticed teachers’ struggles and made bold changes to their business model, via Forbes.
