Innovate Carolina’s Post

Over 100 founders and top-tier investors are already signed up for the Startup Product-Market Fit & Workshop Panel next Wednesday in SF (Link in Comment)! If you're a women founder and interested in pitching your startup during the event, apply below.

The Lifted Ventures team, ready for launch! 🚀🗣 Our Co-founders, Jordan Dargue and Helen Oldham, and Director of Investor Relations, Judith Parry CDir FIoD, are all set up and ready to welcome the attendees of #NoMoreTalking - the exclusive Lifted Ventures launch event. Today, the team are joined by an incredible lineup of speakers and panelists, to share the proven business benefits and greater economic returns which result from supporting female-founded businesses. We’re also excited to be launching our first intersectionality blueprint, this one focussing on ADHD founders. It’s called ‘ADHD’hers’ a blueprint developed jointly by Thrive Law and Lifted Ventures. For those who can't make it, we'll be sharing the key talking points and actions from the day so you can still get involved in the conversation, and be part of a community that's driving change. And for those who can - we'll see you soon! 🙌 #angelinvestors #angelinvestment #femalefounders #femalefounded #adhdfounders

Do you feel seen? 👀 Vese Aghoghovbia, founder of Philly & Friends, never wanted representation to be a question when it came to her own children. So, she rewrote the narrative.    Inspired by her daughter Philly, Vese created the award-winning purpose-led children's brand, on a mission to add a drop of colour and diversity to the playroom. Vese knew that empowering children at a young age would build confidence to last a lifetime, making books, toys and games the vessel of change.📚 With social impact at the heart of the business, for every product sold, Philly and Friends sponsor a book into the hands of an underprivileged child. But feeling recognised and identified goes beyond childhood, and we know that the startup space still has work to do. Empower100 is a new programme of support from Virgin StartUp designed to level the playing field for founders raising investment and growing the businesses they're passionate about. 😅 👏 We want to see you, hear you and support you.👏 Designed to help Black, Asian and minority ethnic founders, women founders and founders with a disability, based in Greater London, we want to help unlock the potential for growth and investment in their startups. This is a completely free accelerator for founders on the move, who're ready to take on the next stage of growth, raise investment and boost their skill sets. Apply before 20th September for the chance to be in our October cohort: https:/virg.in/Empower100 ⏰

MEN SECURE 98% OF #VC FUNDING so it's no wonder that there are so few female CEOs of startups. But that doesn't mean they don't exist. So let's get educated. Would love to issue a challenge to my LinkedIn community. Can you tell me names of 5 female CEOs? Would love for us to share, support, and repost and tag 3 people! I'll start: Amrita Saigal - Founder/CEO of Kudos, best plastic-free diapers on the market. Kristi Zuhlke - Founder of Knowledge Hound, leading it to a successful exit and now onto her new adventure. Cindy Gallop - Founder of Make Love Not Porn. Legend in the marketing industry. And one of the best compliments I received was when someone told me I reminded them of Cindy. Melanie Wicander and Brooke Gibbs - Co-Founders of ARTYFACT, using their consumer insights knowledge to work with Fortune 50 clients Silvia Wang - Haven't met her yet but love what she's doing in the mental health space in Italy and kudos for raising 7-figures in funding! Tagging you Stefania Quaini Dino Torrisi Adah Parris (she/her) to get the chain going!

Dear SAAS NORTH community, We're reaching out to you with an invitation that's as exciting as it is empowering. We know the SaaS landscape can sometimes feel like a challenging maze to navigate, especially as a woman founder. We're also acutely aware of the stark statistics that have been defining the tech world for far too long. In Canada, only a mere 4 to 7% of venture capital finds its way to women majority-owned or women-led tech startups. Let's change that narrative together. Let's shift the dial, disrupt the norm, and create a future that's more equitable, and more inspiring than ever before. It's not just an empty promise, here's how we're committed to empowering women-led SaaS founders: Picture this: mentorship that's tailored to your needs, $100K in funding opportunities that can help your SaaS dreams take flight, and your chance to meet active women angel investors from across Canada. It's all part of our The Firehood Angel Camp, designed to give your startup the boost it deserves. We're also offering exclusive access to significantly discounted passes for women-led early-stage startups. We want to make sure that nothing stands between you and the knowledge, connections, and opportunities that SAAS NORTH has to offer. #saasnorth #saas #equalityanddiversity

📢 Heads up, founders: early bird ticket sales for Pathway to Silicon Valley end on October 16! We've added some incredible new events to this fall's agenda to help women founders take their startups to new heights. Swipe through for answers to FAQs and see if the program is a fit for you. Tune into our next info session on October 6 to ask questions and learn about the program, speaker lineup, travel funding, and more. ➡️ Link in comments to register! Pathway to Silicon Valley is a 3-day immersive program in San Francisco on Nov. 28-30 designed to help early-stage women founders build 100 investor and industry connections so that they can grow their business globally. #WomenFounders #FemaleFounders #FounderEvents #EntrepreneurEvents #StartupGrowth #StartupCommunity

'The right question is half of the solution.' Just one response when I asked for takeaways from this morning's session with a group of female founded start-ups. Couldn't have put it better myself. #designthinking #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #flourishunlimited #femalefounders #innovation #startupecosystem

👩💼 Are you a female founder with big ambitions? JR Ventures is here to empower YOU! The first cohort is designed to tackle the unique challenges faced by women in the #startup world, from funding hurdles to networking gaps. Here's what's in store: 👉 Access to funding opportunities 👉Mentorship from industry leaders 👉Networking like never before Don't miss out on this game-changing opportunity. Apply NOW! ⬇️ #FemaleFounders #JRVCohort1 #JRVentures #StartupEmpowerment #DiversityInTech

Next Thursday is our next S-EIS Eligible Event Series presented by Hyper. In honour of International Women's Day, we will have two of our exciting female-led ventures pitching to investors, industry experts, potential partners, and their peers! Pitching Ventures: WingWomen: Introducing, a wingwoman in your pocket! WW, an innovative app that empowers single men with real-time, actionable dating advice from women. WingWomen offers an engaging and supportive environment where men can gain invaluable perspectives, enhancing their dating experiences and fostering more fulfilling relationships. Founders: Imogen Roy and Cyntia Miyashita DeadBrilliant: Don’t leave a mess, leave a legacy! Death Tech App DB provides a comprehensive platform for managing end-of-life wishes, including wills, messages, digital assets, and inheritance planning. It aims to reduce financial and legal burdens on the bereaved. Set to disrupt an antiquated market and help individuals celebrate life. Founders: Frances Trussell and Elizabeth Brereton This is a limited event, RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/dqifhmC9

I have ‘fearless’ inked on me as a reminder of the tenacity it takes to be me—a black woman owned founder & creative; disrupting multiple industries across the board. I’m super grateful for my mentors that put me on EARLY in YR1 during business about venture capital and Angel investing. • • When it comes to black women & founders of color—venture capital and grant funding is gatekept: Women of color receive 0.39% of venture capital. I have the utmost gratitude for the Fearless Fund for continuing this fight despite white capitalism. ( Fearless Fund ) • • “Being fearless does not mean you are not scared, it means that you fear LESS & do that very scary thing anyway.” — Shennice Cleckley, Executive Director of the Fearless Fund ( @iamshennicec ) Let me tell y’all— the team over at the Fearless Fund really curated a SAFE state of the art experience for black women founders: a summit where venture, meets culture. • • I laughed. I cried. I cheered on other women of color founders—connecting with some really dynamic women. There’s ALOT of shifting we are doing business wise, but note it’s to provide a better experience for those we serve via Meik Meals, @thelotusprogamexperience & @rootedeastknox . This was certainly a God move —being placed in position to FINALLY attend the #FearlessFundSummit • • Never in a million years I thought I’d be an entrepreneur—but being able to trailblaze lanes for humanitarian concepts is my specialty. Sign the petition below if you support women of color but most importantly— community.) https://lnkd.in/gtTihMgK So thankful for my soul sisters & entrepreneur gals of Empowered Doula Services & Bintuitive Massage🩷 • • Bet on black women, period. See you in 2025 Fearless Babes 🩷✨ #FearlessFundSummit #FF23 #entreprenuership #blackwomen #womenofcolor #venturecapital #angelinvesting #blackequity #blackowned #blackcreatives