Eight Female Founders Host First-Ever Venture Capital Road Show
A group of tenacious women take on Silicon Valley's legendary Sand Hill Road, calling on investors to support female-founded startups.
MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On Monday, October 15, 2018, a group of high-caliber female entrepreneurs will take to the streets of startup capital, Silicon Valley's iconic Sand Hill Road, with a single yet powerful call to action. The close-knit group of innovators are asking investors to take their support further than mere offers of mentorship and invest in deserving woman-owned startups. The Venture Capital Road Show promises to be the first of its kind, bringing to light a critical issue in the world of venture capital.
Fortune Magazine found that female founders only received 2% of venture capital funding in 2017. This, despite outperforming their male peers by 35%, as reported by Inc. Magazine. What is peculiar is that many venture capital firms claim to support women and diverse founders, while their portfolios show otherwise. "We don't need more panel discussions or op-ed articles about the perpetual cycle of homogeneity in the startup ecosystem," a shared sentiment that sparked the group to join forces. "When it comes to underrepresented founders, VCs most often offer support in the form of mentorship rather than actual financial backing." Instead, the women of the Venture Capital Road Show are calling on visionary investors to lead the charge and invest in the women-led startups they claim to support. Deal flow is not the issue and this group believes that a well-diversified portfolio requires more than 2% women.
"The reality is that the best and brightest and most deserving – even with the numbers, even with the traction, are being shut out," Arlan Hamilton, Founder of Backstage Capital, and a source of inspiration for the Road Show crew, told Fortune magazine. There is a broad range of talent and business acumen among these female founders and a goal of the Venture Capital Road Show is to connect with investors who believe in their startups as well as their mission to eliminate investor bias.
A first of its kind, the Venture Capital Road Show will take place for one day only on Monday, October 15, 2018. Each meeting will be 30 minutes in length, including a 3-minute pitch from each founder, followed by one-on-one meetings, by request. Meetings will take place at the offices of the interested investor firms. The event will culminate with an exclusive cocktail hour, at Dan Gordon's in Palo Alto from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. PST. The cocktail hour will be open to all media, venture capital firms, angel investors and strategic venture partners.
The following is a partial list of participating founders;
Natasha Che of Soundwise, the #1 mobile-focused solution for coaches, consultants and entrepreneurial experts to sell and deliver on demand audio programs.
Jo Lynn Clemens of I've Been Vetted (IBV), a risk mitigation smart device that uses machine learning and blockchain to give employers the tools used by insurance and legal professionals to reduce client liability. With IBV, employers can now incorporate risk reduction measures into their strategic planning that will reduce premiums, legal and reputation costs while affording real-time risk adjustment and premium payments when attached to Canopy- the Risk Management and Insurance Industry's First Blockchain Platform.
Nidhi Doshi of Paybee, an app that causes more donations from more donors more frequently by reducing the friction between inspiration and donation.
Saritta Hines of Trustabit, a decentralized application that uses smart contracts to streamline compensation processes within the travel and insurance industry, based on defined criteria. Powered by blockchain technology, the TAB protocol offers an automated and secure solution to disruptions such as flight delays and parametric insurance with improved efficiencies and minimal susceptibility to fraud.
Yukito Ito of Zest, a SaaS Based automated scheduling optimizer that reduces scheduling time in half for field service intensive industries like home health care.
Arielle Jordan of Curafied, a next gen digital media platform helping individuals build their own online communities and profits through AI aided content curation.
Lauren Riley of The Link App, a SaaS platform redefining communications between attorneys and clients. Clients are demanding a move away from email in favor of more secure and feature based technologies.
If you are an accredited investor and would like to participate or if your investment firm would like to host an Open House, please contact: Natasha Che at natasha(at)mysoundwise.com.
The founders of the Venture Capital Road Show are alumni of the Spring 2018 cohort of Women's Startup Lab at http://www.womenstartuplab.com, an exclusive accelerator whose goal is to advance the success of female founders through mentorship and access to resources.
Investor Relations:
Saritta Hines
949-205-3790
saritta(at)trustabit.io.
Media Relations:
Jo Lynn Clemens
480-406-9267
jolynn.clemens(at)ivebeenvetted.com
SOURCE Venture Capital Road Show
Share this article