HearstLab

Congratulations to Madison Long & the Clutch/Plaiced teams on this exciting news! 🎊 And thank you to Dominic-Madori Davis at TechCrunch for yet another fantastic #FemaleFounder feature!

Shout out to Sheri Atwood & SupportPay for the important work they are doing to make complicated family finances a little simpler 💳 ✨ More from Google Play: "It’s an app that brings transparency to the costs of parenting. People can upload receipts, payment schedules and even split bills. It’s now expanded beyond ex-couples to anyone sharing life expenses, and Sheri hopes to build AI tools to make splitting costs and settling disputes even easier." ↘ Download today: https://lnkd.in/eWHVqD6p Check out the full feature on #WeArePlay: https://lnkd.in/gejwnjBY

Last week we had the privilege of hosting a live discussion with Laura (Bordewieck) Rippy, 3-time CEO, Board Member, and executive with experience at Microsoft and founding startup teams. Our top takeaways👇 For those interested in becoming an investor ⚙ Operating experience is invaluable. Start by working at a startup or high growth tech company in a leadership position. (And don’t miss opportunities like this part-time venture fellow program: https://lnkd.in/dPeqtr3c)  👂The best investors listen to their founders, see around corners and are constantly growing their network. This is especially important when it’s time to raise a new fund, identify a potential new enterprise customer for a portfolio company, make a strategic new hire, etc. For those interested in becoming a founder 💸 If you’re starting a company from scratch, get as far as you can while keeping your full-time job (and consistent, reliable cash flow). Once you transition to working on your startup full-time, non-dilutive investments are your friend!  🔎 Do your homework and target funds and investors that know and already invest in the industry your startup is solving a problem for. Don’t waste investors’ time or your own! Hear more directly from Laura on the Alumni Ventures model, the impetus for creating the Women's Fund (An Alumni Ventures Fund), and their vision to activate more women investors & allies to help close the VC funding gap 👇 We are motivated and encouraged every day by mission-aligned partners like Laura. Thanks again for all you do for our #FemaleFounder & investor ecosystem! #WomeninVC

Go Courtney Jeffries & VRTL! 🥇 If you're following the #Olympics2024, don't miss the opportunity to connect with Olympians during both the Paris Games and Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest on a fully branded and integrated virtual venue: https://lnkd.in/dxreBMic More from our friends at Project W 👇

This week our team attended a Lowenstein Sandler LLP webinar on “Navigating Math in the StartUp Journey” and the importance of understanding ownership under various investment scenarios. Top Takeaways👇 ➕ The definition of “fully diluted” should be clear when negotiating with investors, advisor shares, etc. Don’t want someone to have a larger claim than intended! ➕ 50/50 founder equity split often results in unresolvable arguments–better to have 60%/40% split.  ➕ The market has shifted from from pre-money to post-money valuations. This allows investors to know the exact amount of ownership at time of investment, without risk of dilution or a price change. ➕ Bridge rounds (riskier rounds) are typically on convertible notes. ➕ Time priced rounds strategically - be wary of how your ownership may change switching from convertibles to your first priced round & know that M&A buyers typically like to purchase a company following a priced round (no outstanding conversions). Thank you to this fabulous lineup and Kriti Krishna for sharing your insights with our community on this important topic! Be sure to follow #WomeninVC for more learning opportunities. More: https://lnkd.in/emPepzFc

We love seeing portfolio companies in the wild! 😍 Learn more how Beam Impact led by CEO Viveka Hulyalkar is supporting brands like OLIPOP PBC drive top-line subscription revenue while enabling customers to make a percentage of their purchase (at no extra cost) go to vetted nonprofit initiatives. Yes, you can do well & do good🥤✨ #FemaleFounders

If it feels like we’re talking about “Pitch HearstLab” a lot lately…it’s because we are! So far this year, we’ve hosted events in NYC & virtually and we’ll be heading to London & ATL this Fall. Full list of past & upcoming events here: https://lnkd.in/egh52cjZ While $100k pitch events are not the only way we meet & invest in early-stage, women-led companies…they have become an integral part of how we collaborate with mission-aligned ecosystem partners and uncover new talent around the world 🤩 We’ll see you on July 30 for a live Pitch HearstLab “AMA” including a chance to hear directly from previous winners. Thank you Brittani Hunter & Mogul Millennial, Inc. for hosting! Grab your spot: https://lnkd.in/eEYSZdBu

It will take a village to change the 2% funding stat for women in VC…we love nothing more than sharing and supporting other mission-aligned communities! ✨ Shout out to Brydge Club, a new media brand & community led by Ruffin Mitchener built specifically for female founders and women in venture with the goal of "bridging" the gap between founders and investors. A few of our favorite perks: ➡ 2X Monthly Virtual Sessions for Pitch Practice, VC Expert Led Discussions, Legal Discussions, GTM Strategy, etc. ➡ Access to the Brydge Club Slack channel for resources like investor intros, hiring help, fundraising advice, pitch feedback. ➡ Exposure & access to spreading the word on milestones, hiring needs, etc. on Ruffin's socials (100K Followers). Don't miss TikTok: https://lnkd.in/eDiFjVqG And more! Interested? Apply here and list HearstLab as your reference: https://lnkd.in/eRt-AkDP

Clear communication is key 🔑 🔑 🔑 We are proud to support HearstLab portfolio company Narratize led by Katie Trauth Taylor, PhD and their vision for empowering scientific, medical, and technical teams to simplify and create impactful communications. Congratulations on their recent feature in Forbes for their partnership with the United Nations World Food Forum “enabling researchers around the world to get attention and funds for their innovative solutions to end hunger.” More below. 💡 Interested in exploring how their GenAI co-author (that prompts YOU vs. the other way around!) may be able to help you or your team? Try for free today: https://lnkd.in/gK5mKvcw

🚨ICYMI! Yesterday, we hosted our second annual Pitch HearstLab U competition for female founders in the university ecosystem and the judges selected Kira Erickson, Co-Founder & CEO of Materri, as the event winner! Kira is now an automatic finalist in our next $100K pitch competition which will be held in Atlanta on November 12. 🗞️ Read more about Kira, Materri and our Pitch HearstLab competitions in our latest press release: https://lnkd.in/ecXMqSpP 🇬🇧 While we have you, don’t miss your chance to apply for Pitch HearstLab London if you’re an international founder. Applications close THIS Monday, July 12! 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/df8zQ6D8 🍑 And applications opened for Pitch HearstLab Atlanta this week! They close August 7. 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/emsMe7MN Female founders across the world, we can’t wait to meet you. ✨