Women 2.0 » Investors

Newsflash: Grass Is Green, Sky Is Blue, VCs Are White Men

By Lisa Suennen (Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Psilos Group)

On November 21, the National Venture Capital Association and Dow Jones VentureSource released the results of the 2011 Venture Census, which reported statistics about ethnicity, gender and other characteristics of the venture capital industry garnered from a poll that included 600 VC industry participants.

Not surprisingly, the Census reaffirmed what most of us already knew: it’s good to be a white male. Of the total 600 respondents, 87% were Caucasian, 9% were Asian, 2% were African American or Latino, and 2% were of mixed race. This is pretty much exactly the same as when Read More »

Also posted in Blog, Business, Startup Life, Work/Life

Founder Showcase by TheFunded.com (1/14)

Thanks to the Women 2.0 community, we more than doubled the number of women entrepreneurs who applied to the The Founders Institute program (compared to the previous semester).

Women 2.0 members save 15% off ticket price by registering here.

The next event, The Founder Showcase on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 5:30pm will be held at Sun Microsystems in Santa Clara, CA by TheFunded.com — This is an open startup pitch and networking event that highlights the newest cutting-edge businesses and helps innovators gain traction among the Silicon Valley elite. Read More »

Also posted in Angel Investors, Business, Mixers, Savings Comments (1)

Pitch 2009 Finalists Announced, Pitching LIVE May 7!

Join Women 2.0 for Pitch Night on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 beginning 6pm at Microsoft in San Francisco. Watch Pitch 2009 finalists pitch live to a panel of investors and executives, vote for your favorite startup, and meet the entrepreneurial community at Women 2.0′s Pitch Night. Get your ticket to Pitch 2009 today!

Presenting Finalists:

CSRware Inc.
Carbon & Energy Business Intelligence SaaS software
measures, quantifies & models corporate costs & actions
to address growing market demand.
Presenting: Karen Alonardo (Founder & EVP of Business Development)

LumaMed LLC
Innovations in cancer imaging, early detection and treatment.
Presenting: Dr. Shabbir Bambot and Anju Mathew (Co-Founders)

Giddy Inc.
Think Cracker Jack meets Whole Foods.
83% of parents are dissatisfied with existing kids’ snacks.
We’re making healthy snacks fun with snacktivities!
Presenting: Sally Schoenfeld and Jill Friedman (Co-Founders)

GenGreen
GenGreen is the preeminent aggregator of environmental
content online. We house the largest directory of green
businesses and organizations in the United States.
Presenting: Charisse McAuliffe (Founder & CEO)

GiftAloft LLC
GiftAloft generates revenue for airlines and airports,
gifts for passengers, and trackable, tactile, advertising methods
for consumer advertisers.
Presenting: Celine Tessier North (CEO) and Daniel T. North (COO)

Live Judging Panel:

Christine Herron Principal, First Round Capital	Eric Eldon Writer, VentureBeat
Georges Harik Principal, Better Planet Investments	Mark Jacobsen Managing Director, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures
Rebecca Lynn Principal, Morgenthaler Ventures	Sheila Gulati General Manager, Microsoft

At Pitch Night, the audience participates as we will award a total of FOUR prizes:

(1) GRAND PRIZE:
Our live judges will select one team to win the prized investor meeting with Michael Moritz of Sequoia, along with office space, marketing services, legal support and more.

(2) PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD:
You will vote based on the five pitches you will see presented at the event — use your mobile phone to select the People’s Choice Award for Women 2.0 — powered by MOZES.

(3) VENTUREBEAT’S BEST MEDIA STORY AWARD:
This award will be selected by VentureBeat writer Eric Eldon.
(4) YOUNOODLE BEST IDEA AWARD:
YouNoodle is Women 2.0′s startup network. Join the Women 2.0 Group on YouNoodle to follow your favorite startup idea. The startup with the most followers wins. VOTE NOW!

SCHEDULE:

6:00pm – Networking & Drinks
7:00pm – Welcome to Pitch Night 2009!
7:20pm – Introduction of the Final Five Teams
7:30pm – Pitch 2009 Finalists Live Pitches
9:10pm – Awards (The People’s Choice, VentureBeat’s Best Media Story, YouNoodle Best Idea)
9:20pm – Grand Prize Winner of Pitch Night 2009 Announced
9:30pm – Celebrations!

» Get your ticket now for Pitch Night 2009 (LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE)

Pitch Night is an event open to both women and men — we invite anyone with a passion for entrepreneurship and innovation to join us for Pitch 2009.

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

Also posted in Angel Investors, Awards, Business, Events, Mixers Comments (1)

VC and Entrepreneur Roundtable on March 10

Looking for funding so you can take your venture to the next level?

Women 2.0 will host a VC & Entrepreneur Roundtable starting 6:30pm on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at the First Round Capital office in San Francisco with Christine Herron (Principal, First Round Capital) and David Hornik (Partner, August Capital).

How to Apply:

Email yelena@women2.org with the answers to the following questions:

1.) Why do you want to attend this event?
2.) Is there at least one woman on your founding team?
3.) What stage is your company at? If you have a website, send us a link. If you don’t have a website, give us your 30 second elevator pitch.

Deadline to apply is Sunday, March 8th, 2009.

This intimate Women 2.0 event brings investors and entrepreneurs together to help you learn everything you ever wanted to know about getting funding, launching a high-growth venture, and best practice for businesses in this recession. Space is limited. Cost of the event for selected attendees is $50 a person. Apply now for your spot at this exclusive event! Read More »

Also posted in Angel Investors Comments Off

The Finance Crisis and Your Startup – Oct 7th

Busy running your startup but wondering how the financial crisis will impact your business? How does the future for startups seeking funding? Is this a good time to launch your dream venture? We will discuss the current financial crisis and its impact on the startup world at the Institute for the Future (IFTF) in Palo Alto on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. IFTF will demo the Massively Multiplayer Forecasting Game: Superstruct before the panel event.

Panelists:
» Shai Goldman (Director for Venture Exchange, SVB Capital)
» Rebecca Lynn (Principal, Morgenthaler Ventures)
» Prasanna Krishnan (Associate, Draper Fisher Jurvetson)
» Betty Kayton (CFO, high tech startups & early stage firms)
» Greg Schmid (Director, Managing Uncertainty Group)

Moderator:
» Jill E. Fishbein (Partner, Carr & Ferrell LLP)

Event sponsored by SVB Capital:

From left: Jill Fishbein (Partner, Carr & Ferrell), Prasanna Krishnan (Associate, Draper Fisher Jurvetson), Shai Goldman (Director for Venture Exchange, SVB Capital), Rebecca Lynn (Principal, Morgenthaler Ventures), and Betty Kayton (CFO, high tech startups & early stage firms).

The event was blogged at Wall Street Journal as “VCs Ask Start-Ups: What’s Your Worst-Case Scenario?”. Blogger Gwen Bell turned her live Tweets from the event into a blog post titled “Economy Got You Poppin’ Pills?: VC Advice for Your Startup (+ 5 Strategies for Thriving!)”.Gwen Bell also live-Tweeted the event.

Also posted in Awards, Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, Business, Community Service, Debriefing, Events, Media, Media Training, Mixers, Savings Comments (2)

“Speak with Angels” – Women 2.0 September event

Looking for funding so you can take your venture to the next level?

Join an intimate conversation with angel investors on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at the Angels’ Forum office in Palo Alto. Patricia Roller (co-founder of frog design and member of the Angels’ Forum), Georges Harik (angel investor and former Director of Googlettes, a start-up incubator that operated inside Google), and Carol Sands (founder and managing member of the Halo Fund) will answer questions and help you learn everything you ever wanted to know about early stage funding.

If you’re interested in attending, please email us your answers to the following questions:

Why do you want to attend this event? Why should you be selected to attend this event?
Do you currently own/run your own business, or have an idea for a business? What stage is it in?
Please describe your business.
How do you plan on making money?
Do you plan on participating in Pitch 2009?
If you had the chance to ask only one question to a VC, what would it be?

Deadline to apply for a spot at this exclusive event is September 12, 2008. To apply, send us an email to women2.0@gmail.com with your responses to the above questions. Selected participants will be notified by September 19, 2008. Cost of the event for selected attendees is $50 a person.

* * * * *

UPDATE: Debriefing and Notes from the September 30th, 2008 “Speak with Angels” Event

Angel investing is risky business compared to venture capital, but as Patricia Roller said — it’s about giving back AND making money. Both Patricia Roller and Georges Harik stressed the importance of following up on the introductions or referrals an angel investor gives you bcause even if the angel investor does not invest initially, the interest/investment of their peer(s) may lead them to invest at a later time. Georges Harik stressed the importance of finding a good angel with a strong network to be your first investor, because other angels will be more inclined to follow. Patricia Roller provided a helpful hint that even if an angel investor does not invest, consider asking them to become an advisor and do take their advice, and maybe later, their financial investment will follow their personal/professional investment. Both angel investors spoke to the entrepreneurs about keeping your angel investors and advisors updated — keep your regular reports concise and focused on what’s important. Afterall, your angel investors and advisors are there to help.

A handpicked group of entrepreneurs met with Patricia Roller and Georges Harik to talk about angel investing.
Carol Sands meets the entrepreneurs.	Networking is of the essence.