Women Founders Network Announces Five Finalists Who Will Compete for $40,000 in Cash and $100,000 in Services at Ninth Annual Fast Pitch Competition
Finalists Addressing Caregiver Activity Tracking, Street Safety Device for Children & Drivers, IoT Cybersecurity Technology, Airbnb Services for Guests, and AI Casino Management Analytics
LOS ANGELES, July 19, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Women Founders Network ("WFN") today announced the five finalists who will compete in its Ninth Annual Fast Pitch Competition on October 26, 2021. The competition awards early-stage women-led startups a total of $40,000 cash and $100,000 in professional services.
Cash prizes totaling a minimum of $35,000 will be awarded by WFN judges and an additional $5,000 cash prize will be awarded to a Fast Pitch company selected by our Junior Judges. The Junior Judge Program empowers girls in grades 6-12 to participate in the process and be inspired by women entrepreneurs. All five finalists will receive professional services totaling $100,000 in addition to individual pitch coaching, financial coaching, mentorship and 1:1 virtual meeting to pitch to a potential investor. The group will also gain visibility and exposure to leading early-stage venture capitalists, angel investors and business executives who are judging the event and attending the virtual pre-pitch Springboard Enterprises Dolphin Tank® with Women Founders Network on July 27th.
The Five Finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
- Cubtale, Selin Tamer, Co-Founder and CEO, Marina Del Rey, CA - System of WiFi devices that allow users to log care activities with a simple push of a button to help exhausted parents and caregivers log care events such as feeds, sleep and diaper changes.
- Incredilab, Jenn Epstein, Co-Founder, Jupiter, FL - Incredilab is building "Scout", a portable smart street safety device that uses AI/ML to detect cars, assess risk, and alert children AND drivers of each other's presence.
- Infiltron Software Suite, Chasity Wright, Founder, Warner Robins, GA - Deep IoT cybersecurity technology and globally recognized company that developed a transformational cybersecurity technology by using the most advanced techniques in blockchain, cybersecurity and quantum to ensure that development, device, user, and data security becomes foundational and end-to-end IoT security becomes standard practice.
- The Host Co., Annie Sloan, CEO & Co-Founder, Oakland, CA - We add the amenities of great hotels (mini-bar, gift shop, concierge) to your Airbnb. Guests can now buy anything in a short-term rental from the snacks in the fridge to the art on the walls – and order on-demand services like grocery delivery, rental car drop off and curated local gifts.
- Zillions.ai, Mridula Saini, CEO, Henderson, NV - Zillions.ai converts real-world visual information into electronic form for the multi-billion-dollar gaming industry. It is the world's first and only system to produce house advantage in real-time. The all-in-one fully automated AI system identifies chips, cards, banknotes, and players simultaneously for gaming operations to increase earnings and reduce losses.
We congratulate these five amazing female founder companies! "We are so pleased to announce our top five finalists selected from among over 100 applicants," said Darya Allen-Attar, Co-Founder and CEO of Women Founders Network. "In the face of challenges posed by the pandemic and a recovering economy, these women are solving large and meaningful problems, making their businesses very attractive and poised for growth. We are excited to see them pitch in October at our annual Fast Pitch event, which would not be possible without the support of our sponsors, such as our presenting sponsor Union Bank and our Junior Judges sponsor, 33 Capital."
We congratulate all of our applicants for engaging with Women Founders Network in 2021, and welcome them all to the WFN Alumni Network. We pledge our continued support to the WFN network of female founder companies, 1,000 strong, and will work to provide them with the support they need to build scalable businesses.
About the Women Founders Network Fast Pitch Competition
We support women entrepreneurs building high-growth early-stage businesses. To apply, the company must have a woman co-founder, president or CEO, or be majority-owned by women, among other criteria.
The Fast Pitch Competition will take place on October 26th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. This event is open to the public and tickets will be available through our website.
Women Founders Network Competition Sponsors
We would like to thank our sponsors for their amazing support! The Fast Pitch is presented by Union Bank this year and we appreciate their generous support as our Presenting Sponsor.
We would also like to thank our Corporate Sponsors: UCLA Anderson, Bryant Stibel, Fenwick and West, KPMG, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, Greenberg Glusker and CBIZ MHM, LLC.
In addition, we'd like to thank those who have committed to supporting the Women Founders Network with in-kind services sponsorships: Evolution, Supporting Strategies, Elevate my Brand, Troutman Pepper, Robyn Young & Co., SBDC California, KindPerks Digital, ARC Consulting, Dunster.io, Early Growth, Olmstead Williams Communications, and Cooley.
If you are interested in joining our roster of sponsors, please contact Kim Christensen, Director, Women Founders Network, at [email protected] and Patti Buhler, administration, Women Founders Network, at [email protected].
About Women Founders Network (WFN)
Women Founders Network connects women building scalable businesses with the tools and resources they need to achieve success. WFN and its members have awarded and directly invested over $1.5 million in women-founded companies since 2013, and alumni have gone on to raise over $100 million in funding. Visit us at http://www.womenfoundersnetwork.com.
About Women Founders Foundation (WFF)
The mission of Women Founders Foundation is to educate women and girls about entrepreneurship and teach the upcoming generation what it means to be an investor and to support other women this way, with the most impact. We hope to inspire the next generation of women founders and investors. We would like to thank our Women Founders Foundation donors: The Louis & Harold Price Foundation, Silicon Valley Bank, 33 Capital, Jennifer Walske, Temple Two Investments, and Jill Ondos. Women Founders Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
WFF Fellows Program
Women Founders Foundation is excited to be launching a new initiative this year, the WFF Fellows Program, to engage university women and give them an opportunity to gain real-world, resume-building experience. Five teams of two fellows will each be assigned to one of the WFN finalist companies to prepare a due diligence report under the supervision of a mentor. All mentors will be women angel investors and venture capitalists. Reports will be presented to the WFN Fast Pitch judges and the Junior Judges. We are accepting applications through the end of July and more details are available here.
Junior Judge Program
Since 2014, the Junior Judge Program has educated more than 100 girls in grades 6-12 about entrepreneurship and investing through virtual workshops teaching the fundamentals of business, virtual "Meet the CEO" events with women leaders, and their participation in the annual WFN Fast Pitch Event as "venture capitalists for a day" to vote for their favorite company and present a sponsored cash award to their winner. The Junior Judges walk away from the experience feeling confident, inspired, and motivated, knowing there is a strong community of women available to support them in achieving their goals.
Media Contact
Kim Christensen, Women Founders Network, +1 (224) 565-4129, [email protected]
SOURCE Women Founders Network
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