TestParty’s Post

🚨Calling all Female Tech Founders! Are you building something that you think will change the world? Then, you’re in the right place.⁠ ⁠ We’re looking for all of you inventors, innovators, vanguards and fire-starters to join our newest 10th House cohort for Female Founders in Tech so that you can harness *our* network and *your* collective knowledge to reach the heights you know you’re capable of.⁠ ⁠ Did you know that despite private tech companies led by women achieving a 35% higher ROI, just2% of VC funding was awarded to female-founded startups in 2022? We’re on a mission to change things.⁠ ⁠ Our 10th House membership will support you with the biggest questions and hurdles you face in scaling your business such as figuring out product-market fit, discovering the funds out there investing in your category, sourcing the best engineers, or figuring out the best structure to scale your business. ⁠ Apply here: https://hubs.li/Q02t_2Zq0  

*BIG NEWS* We have all seen the numbers.... - 0.48% of VC funding in 2023 went to Black founders. - Female founders, despite making up 31% of startups, received only 2% of VC funding. Women of color? Less than 1% combined. Even in Boston’s thriving tech ecosystem, these inequalities persist. The real question is: Are we doing enough? Are our events, spaces, and opportunities inclusive of Boston’s diverse community? Are we creating room for more founders, funders, and ecosystem partners of underrepresented backgrounds to connect and gain access to capital? This is why my colleagues Stanley Rameau, Marisa Nieves, Marvin Lemuel Lim, and I are launching A2C Boston. A2C Boston (Access to Capital | Community | Connections) is Boston’s newest founders and funders community. We are on a mission to equitably amplify the next generation of tech-enabled ventures across Greater Boston. Our community is dedicated to spreading awareness to grow the number of underrepresented leaders (whatever that means to you) in tech-enabled ventures. We aim to: - Curate intentional communities and events - Connect innovative founders with more equitable access to resources and capital - Create a vibrant and inclusive Boston tech ecosystem ⚡️If you want to join or learn more, please fill out this 5-minute form here https://lnkd.in/egcxcA92 ❗️Please spread the word, share, comment and repost to amplify our mission and reach. If you are an investor or ecosystem partner, please reach out to us if you’d like to partner and also fill out the Typeform. Follow us on our Linkedin Page here and our Instagram (@A2CBoston)! Special thank you to Jadyn Bryden who has been pivotal in making all of this happen from start to finish! Thank you for your efforts in getting this community up and running. :) #Boston #Community #Startups #Tech #Venture #Capital #Connections #Community #VentureCapital

Two weeks ago, I attended the Zeal Capital Partners Dinner! There, I got to share what we’re building at Astronaut. At Astronaut, we’re building the customer experience platform of the future. One thing that inspired me is Zeal Capital’s mission to level the playing field for all founders. Data shows that only 0.48% of Venture Capital funding goes to Black startup founders; for reference, the U.S. population is 14% Black. While I don’t enjoy talking about race, the reality is that slavery did happen. Many Black founders in the U.S. are descendants of slaves, making it harder to build a tight-knit network of millionaires and billionaires to fund their ideas. This lack of funding for great ideas costs the economy trillions of dollars. Zeal Capital Partners is making a huge impact by addressing these funding disparities, growing the U.S. economy, and delivering outstanding returns to their limited partners. It’s a win-win-win for everyone. Thank you Richard, Stefanie, Bianca and the entire team for hosting and reminding us that together, we can make a difference. #Juneteenth

It’s NY Tech week and my new favorite thing is teaching underrepresented founders how to talk back to investors. So many of them ask me for help fundraising, and I get it. I may not always think of myself as an expert, since I’m lucky enough to surround myself with people who are much more experienced at it than I am. But we did do it successfully once, raising more than $3M along the way with little more than a deck, a dream, and an incredible founding team. Of course, we’re all aware that this success puts us in the teeny tiny cohort of startups who raise without a traditional-looking founding team. So what’s the common theme in my advice to non-traditional founders at the early stage? Push back. It’s easy to get intimidated by investors. They’re smart, aggressive, and ask really hard questions. It can be hard to remember that YOU are the expert on your market. They are generalists. Even if they have strong opinions on your market, it’s OK to tell them when you think they’re wrong. In fact, if you have the conviction and confidence (plus evidence to back it up), disagreeing with your prospective investors can even be seen as an advantage. When a VC asks you a question at the pre-seed stage about your path to $100M in ARR, it’s OK to say “dude, we’re a pre-seed company. I know what our path is to get to a million, and we will have a lot to figure out after that.” Now, this only works if you have a track record that can support your confidence. Or if you don’t know the answer, but you DO know HOW you’re going to figure it out, talk about the path from experimentation to scalability. It’s better than making up a bunch of stuff that you’ll probably throw out eventually, and VCs will respect your focus and defense of your precious little time. Plus, they can usually tell if your confidence is lacking in your answer, anyway. This investor market is a tricky one, but never forget that they (investors) need you (founders) just as much as you need them. And hey, if you’re an up and coming female or underrepresented founder, and you need some help (or just a pep talk) I’d love to help. Happy Tech Week everyone!!

Great to attend the #ReversePitch event in Leeds last night as part of UK Tech Week, where three investors from YFM Equity Partners, Par Equity and Lifted Ventures pitched to a room of fundraising tech founders. A few discussion points that stood out: 1) Human Dynamics: The importance of aligning angel investors/VCs with founders, balancing personal interactions with both the trend towards 'platformification', and the need to respect the time of founders. 2) Female Founders: The need to boost investment in female-led startups, who often exit faster and undervalue their expertise, affecting funding opportunities. 3) Regional Disparities: The challenges faced by Northern England founders in securing equity funding from angels and VCs compared to their London counterparts. Thanks to KPMG for hosting and to all of the speakers. 

In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, it is crucial to support startup tech founders from low socioeconomic status (SES) and traditionally underserved communities, particularly people of color. This need is not just a matter of equity but a strategic imperative that aligns with the teachings and visions of great civil rights leaders like Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., who emphasized the importance of economic empowerment and social justice. The global economy is increasingly driven by innovation and technology. However, the benefits of this growth are unevenly distributed. According to the National Venture Capital Association, only about 1% of venture-backed startup founders are Black, and Latinx founders make up a similarly small percentage. These disparities highlight a significant opportunity gap that, if addressed, can lead to substantial economic and social benefits not just domestically but world-wide.

Super fun way to start the morning at the Everywhere Ventures #NYTechWeek pre-seed founder breakfast bringing together some of the best early stage builders in the ecosystem. Always a joy to team up with Tai Hutchinson, Richard Kerby and Scott Hartley - who are long time supporters of NYC tech. A few themes we heard from the founders: ✔ Fundraising benchmarks are a moving target and that makes runway and planning tough. ✔ Stacking Safes and cap table mess keeps on getting messier with VCs less inclined to actually price rounds. ✔ Hiring is getting slightly easier as early employees have reset expectations on comp and equity. ✔ NYC is still super expensive and the city / institutions can be doing more! #LongNYCTech

New Post: Black Tech Nation Ventures’ diversity thesis undeterred by growing DEI backlash - https://lnkd.in/ggryjUYE - Black Tech Nation Ventures launched in 2021 to address the funding gap for Black founders amid a wave of venture diversity initiatives after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Three years later, amongst growing backlash against DEI and diversity-focused investments, the firm’s mission may be more important now than when it started. The Pittsburgh-based © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp

👀 Delving into Team Insights from our Alumni! Last week, we shared the fantastic news of our startups raising a staggering total of 54 million euros post-competition! Now, it's time to dive deeper into our team statistics, providing our supporters a glimpse into the status of our companies when they stepped onto the stage in Berlin. ✨ 45% Female Founders: We're proud to have a strong representation of female entrepreneurs within our teams, driving innovation and diversity in the startup ecosystem. 💰 €40 Million in Federal Funding: Even before the competition, our startups have been making waves, securing significant federal funding to fuel their growth and development. 🌱 >90% Seeking Pre-Seed and Seed Funding: The hunger for growth is real! The majority of our teams were actively seeking pre-seed and seed funding during or immediately after the competition. Stay tuned as we unveil more insights about our remarkable teams in the coming days! 📈 And keep your eyes peeled for any exciting updates about this year's competition. It's going to be epic! 💥

Imagine you had just a few extra hours every day. What would you do with that time? Would you read? Garden? ...Sleep? It's exhausting trying to squeeze all of our tasks into each day, especially as entrepreneurs. Today, as an act of self care, our Google for Startups Women Founders community discussed how to reclaim our calendars. Jennifer Iannolo, founder of Imperia Global, joined us to talk about our unique scenarios and internal dialogue keeping us from taking back control of our time, drawing hard lines and making difficult decisions. Huge thank you to Jennifer for leading such a thoughtful discussion!