The Refinery Launches 2nd Annual “Fueling the Growth” Competition
Westport, CT (PRWEB) September 20, 2017 -- Diversity focused business accelerator, The Refinery, announced today they are hosting their 2nd annual multi-city Fueling the Growth pitch competition to uncover the top technology-driven, women-led startups in Boston, MA, New Haven/Hamden, CT, and Newark, NJ. Fueling the Growth will be an integral part of each city’s entrepreneurial events going on that week – in Boston, it will be part of the City of Boston's Women Entrepreneurs Boston (WE BOS) Week. WE BOS week convenes Boston's entrepreneurial ecosystem for a full week of educational programming, mentoring opportunities, and networking events designed to support women entrepreneurs. In Newark, its Newark Tech Week, a weeklong city-wide celebration of technology and innovation. And, in Hamden, it is part of Connecticut Innovation Week.
The Refinery teams with angel and venture capital investors in each city, and provides grants, visibility and connections to the top participants.
Applications are open for female founders to apply for the opportunity to pitch their businesses one-on-one to an investor on October 18 in one of the three cities. The entrepreneurs will get immediate feedback from the investors and be eligible to participate in an awards event later in the evening in each city, where cash, and in-kind service prizes will be awarded to the top companies.
“Closing the funding gap for women is an imperative for economic and innovation growth. Last year, Fueling the Growth pitch competition uncovered many high growth and quality companies – visibility, advice connections and funding are critical for their success,” said Janis Collins, Co-Founder, The Refinery. “This competition is about more than prize money; it’s about giving the female founders valuable access to aligned investors as well as thoughtful input on their businesses.”
To be eligible, the companies must:
• Have at least one female founder (female founder must pitch).
• Demonstrate proven scalability with product market fit.
• Utilize technology in their business model.
• Be present in one of the participating cities on October 18.
Full guidelines are available on The Refinery’s website, http://therefineryct.com/. Entrepreneurs must apply online by October 6 to participate in the October 18 pitch competition.
More on The Refinery
The Refinery is an accelerator that fuels the growth of early stage ventures with diverse teams. In three years, The Refinery has achieved rapid and exciting results: 39 companies mentored by 90+ subject expert mentors, have raised $20 million+ in funds. More than 150 women-led tech companies have been uncovered through our pitch competitions. The Refinery has awarded $200,000+ in non-dilutive grants. Further information can be found on The Refinery’s website, http://therefineryct.com/ .
Janis Collins, The Refinery, http://therefineryct.com/, +1 917-861-5937, [email protected]
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