Last night, women founders and inspiring entrepreneurs came together, networked, mixed-and-mingled, in celebration of the Top 10 WFN Fast Pitch Finalists.
Last night, women founders and inspiring entrepreneurs came together, networked, mixed-and-mingled, in celebration of the Top 10 WFN Fast Pitch Finalists: BoxFox, CityGrows, Coozie Gear, Edoughble, PantyProp, PRZM, Shipsi, The Labz, Thousand, and Zygo. Each finalist has now embarked on a journey, learning from a vast, supportive network of personal coaches, investors and mentors, counting down until the Final Fast Pitch Competition on October 16th.
Robyn Ward, Founder of FounderForward, shared some insightful tips and advice about leadership, partnerships, and fundraising strategies from the book, Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson. She stressed that you can save time and money by doing the homework and getting a copy today.
“Is it the jockey or the horse? Well, the horse is going to change because it’s going to pivot, so it’s about how you handle that change.” – Robyn
Entertaining emcee extraordinaire, Joanna Bloor, Founder and CEO of The Amplify Lab, kicked off the night by helping women founders in the audience tap into what makes them unique. Joanna shared that too often the answer to the question, “What do you do?” is a form of “product vomiting” – transactional, cliché, and boring – defined by companies and labels versus “our why”, what moves us, and “who we are.” After role-playing on stage with a fellow woman founder, Joanna challenged the audience to be more vulnerable on a personal level.
“We need to start sharing more about our human value and what makes us awesome.” – Joanna
Fittingly so, Joanna set the stage in a packed house of nearly 200 attendees. After listening to each finalist’s 2-minute pitch and learning about each of their journeys, Rachelle Snyder, Founder of Coozie Gear, premium outdoor rental gear company, won the Audience Vote at the end of the night. Rachelle convinced the audience that there is a preference for “spending money on experiences rather than the gear itself.” We are excited to see each finalist grow and sharpen their pitches over the course of the next few months.
Make sure to Save the Date for our next two upcoming networking events. The Fast Pitch Finalists will meet again at the Springboard Enterprises & WFN Dolphin Tank, a feedback-driven pitch session, at The Riveter in West LA on September 12th from 6:00pm-8:30pm.
Join us on September 15th from 9:00am-3:30pm for Day of Education for Female Founders hosted by Women Founders Foundation and CSNI at UCLA.
Tickets will be on sale soon and we look forward to seeing you there!