HearstLab

Pitch HearstLab "U" is a little over a week away! 🎓 Today, we’re announcing the three judges of our second annual pitch competition for female founders in the university ecosystem. A special shoutout to Iynna Halilou, General Partner of The MBA Fund, a VC that helps founders from the top startup-producing universities bring their companies to life. 💥 We're thrilled to have her judging alongside HearstLab Vice President, Lisa Burton O'Toole, PhD, and HearstLab Scout and Hearst Newspapers VP of Marketing, Christina Dalton. 📲 Register to attend the virtual July 18 event here: https://lnkd.in/ecMHvWAZ

We hope everyone had a restful holiday weekend! We're excited to share that HearstLab portfolio company, TalkMeUp, has been named one of the 2024 Top AI in Training Companies by Training Industry, Inc. The recognition celebrates the company's commitment to advancing AI-powered communication training and communication effectiveness in the workplace. 👀 Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/e8fNwQgU 🗣 And learn more about TalkMeUp at: https://www.talkmeup.co/ Congratulations JJ Xu! ✨

THANK YOU to Forum Ventures (and most importantly, our FOUNDERS!) for this “Founder First” investor recognition. Special shout out to Lisa Burton O'Toole, PhD (previous founder & CTO turned VP of HearstLab) for her leadership of our female founder ecosystem 💁♀️🚀 "Lisa is a great investment partner that takes charge and helps drive to outcomes. She’s reliable, intelligent, and strategic. I’ve been able to count on her in the toughest of times when she was willing to roll up her sleeves to help us reach our goals. While this is often stated by investors, it’s rarely done." More: https://lnkd.in/eU5TszbV We are so proud to see our friends Shashi Srikantan from Level Up Ventures, Rachel ten Brink from Red Bike Capital, Iynna Halilou from The MBA Fund, and others also on this list. Congratulations to all! 👏

We're less than 1️⃣ month away from our next Pitch HearstLab "U" event on July 18! Grab your virtual seat 👇 🗓️ Thursday, July 18 ⏰ 12 PM ET 📋 Register to attend: https://lnkd.in/ecMHvWAZ Finalists, judges, and panelist reveal coming soon 👀 More on all upcoming events: https://lnkd.in/egh52cjZ

We are proud to announce HearstLab’s Chairwoman Eve Burton has been named to Global Corporate Venturing’s “Powerlist 2024” – a list of inspiring leaders compiled through community nominations and selected for their community engagement, deal activity, and innovative approaches to #CVC. “At HearstLab, we believe that women who have access to and control of capital will lead to good things happening at a global scale” and “everything we do is tied to Hearst's strong mission.” 💰🌎🚀 More: https://lnkd.in/ewh8gVXn Congratulations to Eve and the entire HearstLab community!

We've got our 👀 on ATL! If your startup is… • Tech-enabled • Located in the Southeast (as far west as Texas and as far north as D.C.) • Looking to raise within the next 18 months • In any startup stage from seed to growth …don't miss the opportunity to pitch at this year's Venture Atlanta Conference event (~1 month before our $100K pitch event - more info coming soon!) We are so excited to collaborate with local leaders like Allyson Eman to support and amplify amazing female founders in the Southeast ecosystem and beyond 🤩

This week we joined FORCE Family Office for a discussion on the “Power of Female Founders and Investors” featuring HearstLab portfolio company Barn2Door, Inc.✨ Beyond being mission-driven, Barn2Door is a robust vertically integrated SaaS solution that helps farmers build and grow economically viable businesses. HearstLab invested in 2023 recognizing the large problem they are tackling, the strong leadership team, the keen focus on business metrics and performance, the differentiated software, and the impressive growth trajectory 🚀 ➡ The bottom line? Investment decisions should be based on strong business fundamentals. ➡ The bonus? Data shows women are especially financially responsible and make strong leaders and operators. Shout out to this powerhouse panel moderated by Lisa Morris including Beth Devin, Janelle Maiocco, and Kathy Chill! 💪

Part of HearstLab’s special sauce is getting a front row seat to women executives from across the Hearst ecosystem, ranging from Hearst Health to Hearst Magazines. Don’t miss Scout Carissa Tozzi (Delish Executive Content Editor) on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars this summer 👩🍳🍴 Read more behind the scenes from Robert Seixas: https://lnkd.in/e9Grkmcb 

We love seeing our pitch winners win more pitches 🎤✨ Shout out Lizzy Kolar of Scope Zero for winning TriNet's most recent PeopleForceX Pitch Competition in San Francisco. More on finalists, judges, and partners from Kate Kozak, Director of Strategic Partnerships: https://lnkd.in/eyWeu7Ny  Lizzy was one of our first Pitch HearstLab “U” winners last summer and went on to win $100K at Pitch HearstLab TX last fall. We’ve since continued to invest in her company that is changing the future of sustainability benefits 🌱💰♻ Pitch competitions are a great way to get your company in front of strategic investors and refine your message (and, in some cases, win major cash!) Keep an eye on upcoming events here: https://lnkd.in/egh52cjZ 

Last night at Tribeca Film Festival we got a behind-the-scenes look at “In the Arena: Serena Williams” from our friends at ESPN 🎥 A few of our favorite soundbites from THE Serena Williams herself: 🥇“(S)he who prepares, wins” 💁🏽♀️“Look good, feel good” 🧠“Never stop learning” 🎾“Tennis is a short game, business is a long game” While Serena's 27-year tennis career is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time, we are even more inspired by the work she is doing off the court with Serena Ventures, WYN BEAUTY by Serena Williams, and more. Congratulations again to HearstLab Scout Kati Fernandez & team for inspiring so many through compelling storytelling with ESPN Originals, Films, and 30 for 30.  We can’t wait to watch the full series this July!