Published on: February 21, 2012 – 6:10 pm
By Sonya Lee (User Experience Design Consultant, Mowie Media)
Being Asian, I have learned from my Chinese parents and family to aim for perfection. The viral Troll.me image of “You are the 99? Why not 100%?” strikes a deep cord in my soul because it is so true!
It is this sense of perfection has both helped push me to owning a design consulting business but also held me back in taking my next new venture, Wine and Food Travel, to the next level.
Sheila Lirio Marcelo of Care.com hit the nail on the spot when talking about raising capital for startups. She elaborates, “When are you ready to raise money and start a business, it isn’t Read More »
Published on: February 21, 2012 – 3:56 pm
By Alexis Finch (Pencil, GraphiteMind)
1000 women in one room, and every one of them ready to start something. PITCH was enough to leave you gasping, at the pure potential, at the achievements, at the wisdom you could pick up from eavesdropping alone.
How do you capture an experience like this so you can look back at it clearly? Grabbing business cards, scribbling notes in the margins of the program… With speakers as powerful as Caterina Fake and Robin Chase, that’s not enough. Read More »
Published on: February 21, 2012 – 5:00 am
By Connie Kwan (Writer, TriplePundit)
At the Women 2.0 PITCH Conference and Competition this past Valentine’s Day, I hung out with 300 talented and inspiring technology women to watch women-led startups compete for meetings with Silicon Valley venture capitalists.
Startup ideas range the gamut from financial management for solo-entrepreneurs (Prosperity) to coupons for doctor visits (DocPons).
The top 9 startups were chosen from a pool of over 200 applications to publicly pitch at the Valentine’s Day PITCH Read More »
Published on: February 20, 2012 – 7:00 am
By Thomas Korte (Founder & Managing Partner, AngelPad)
I was invited this week to judge the Women 2.0 PITCH Competition. I blocked out the day with one goal: give a lot of feedback and advice to entrepreneurs. And I am glad I did.
The conference was unlike any I have attended in recent years. 1000 women-tech entrepreneurs, many of them not from Silicon Valley, skipped Valentine’s Day to listen to the learnings, inspirational and success stories of fellow women entrepreneurs. 99% of the audience were women and Dave McClure, Naval Ravikant, Jeff Clavier and myself were the only men on stage. Read More »
Published on: February 17, 2012 – 5:22 pm
By Megan Conley (Founder & Principal, Social Tribe)
When I signed up for the Women 2.0 PITCH Conference a few months ago, I wasn’t entirely clear on what I was getting myself into.
I was pretty sure of two things: women + startups = I’m in.
In the Bay Area, startup buzz is omnipresent…pretty much like God (or coffee, whatever your religion). Everyone’s working on a small, stealth, no-name company that’s going to change the world… or how you take notes, which will eventually change the world. With so much noise, it can be hard to separate the talk from the walk. Read More »
Published on: February 17, 2012 – 4:45 pm
By Jenna Hannon (Writer, TechZulu)
Just like the sky scraping investment banks of Wall Street, the technology industry tends to be a sausage party. A Silicon Valley conference is a room full of suits, with the occasional skirt suite. So when I heard about Women 2.0 PITCH Conference & Competition at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA, I couldn’t help but feel like it might be a hall of crickets with a few passionate women warming the front row. I was mistaken.
A 50 car line stacked up the street from the conference entrance filled with women idling, applying mascara, brushing their hair, and finishing early morning conference calls. Read More »
Published on: February 17, 2012 – 2:11 pm
By Erica Kawamoto Hsu (Online Media Producer & Photographer, Kuishimbo)
The 2012 Women 2.0 PITCH Conference & Competition on Valentine’s Day was amazing – the agenda and speaker lineup made me realize it was something I had to be at.
I brought my camera to the PITCH Conference on Tuesday to shoot candids at the event. But I kept stopping – to speak to the amazing women entrepreneurs I was meeting.
Each person that I spoke to or I shot for the Sit With Me campaign had their own startup – and would show me what they were working on their smartphones. Read More »
Published on: February 17, 2012 – 12:08 pm
By Adrian Granzella Larssen (Writer, The Daily Muse)
When Shaherose Charania came to Silicon Valley from Canada a decade ago, she was shocked to find that the start-up scene was overwhelmingly male. So, she turned her awe into action, and co-founded Women 2.0, a network and media company for female entrepreneurs.
Fast forward to today: What started as a “connector network meeting over cheap Trader Joe’s wine” at her co-founder’s house has evolved into a massive international organization. Now, Charania has seen and helped over 300 early-stage Read More »
Published on: February 16, 2012 – 5:03 pm
By Chitra Rakesh (Writer, Mountain View Patch)
Some of the smartest women in Silicon Valley – and beyond – celebrated women entrepreneurs on Valentine’s Day at the in Mountain View.
Women 2.0, an organization committed to increase the number of female founders of tech startups, held its fifth annual PITCH Conference & Competition on Tuesday, February 14. The turnout far exceeded expectations and the event sold-out with 1000 participants.
The competition received 172 applications from 12 Read More »
Published on: February 16, 2012 – 5:00 am
By Shasta Nelson (Founder & CEO, GirlFriendCircles)
Yesterday, I was at a Women 2.0 PITCH Conference geared for female founders of tech startups. The irony isn’t lost on me that a conference where I should feel like I fit in perfectly can still stir up all my little inner critical voices. Fear really isn’t all that rational.
So in the spirit of transparency, I’ll admit I felt out-of-place. Yes, I was a woman. Yes, I have founded a startup company. Yes, it’s doing well and growing. Yes, it’s a business in the space of technology. Yes by all intents-and-purposes I belonged there.
I’ve blogged before about how difficult conferences Read More »
Published on: February 15, 2012 – 9:04 pm
By Tara Hunt (Co-Founder & CEO, Buyosphere)
Team Buyosphere had an amazing day at the Women 2.0 PITCH Conference yesterday. We were super honored to be picked out as one of the 9 finalists out of almost 200 applications!
We were even more honored when we saw who else was pitching! Our team had to follow the effervescent and brilliant LeAnne Ozaine-Smith (who has over 10 years coaching experience in her area and a deal with Mary Kay Cosmetics!) of Prosperity (I can’t lie… I loved her “solopreneur” pitch and thought for sure she would win!), which was no easy feat. Read More »
Published on: February 15, 2012 – 4:01 pm
By Patricia Araque (Co-Founder, Ellas 2.0)
The 2012 Women 2.0 PITCH Conference has proved to be so impressive that a thousand people, mostly women, gathered yesterday at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA to hear inspiring presentations by entrepreneurs.
Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake and ZipCar co-founder Robin Chase headlined a day full of talent, ideas, networking and world-changing aspirations to innovate with great products.
Here are the four winning teams from the 2012 PITCH Startup Competition: Read More »
Published on: February 15, 2012 – 11:55 am
By Emily Gonzales (CTO, Bookigee)
As I sat in the Women 2.0 PITCH Conference yesterday surrounded by close to a thousand female tech entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, investors and supporters, I couldn’t help but feel like we were making history.
As a tech entrepreneur flying in from Miami to learn as much as possible from the speakers and mentors, they exceeded every expectation I had for inspiration and practical advice. In short, I was blown away.
Here are some of the gems I’m taking home with me: Read More »
Published on: February 15, 2012 – 11:10 am
By Jacob Morgan (Principal, Chess Media Group)
I’ll admit that up until recently I didn’t know much about Women 2.0 and I have never been to one of their conferences. I wasn’t sure what to expect when my girlfriend Blake Landau asked me if I wanted to go to the event but I agreed to attend.
I was one of the few men in attendance surrounded by female entrepreneurs, innovators, executives, and venture capitalists. At first this was a bit strange and I felt out of place but that quickly changed as I started to engage with the attendees.
I’ve never been to a predominantly female conference before Read More »
Published on: February 15, 2012 – 4:00 am
By Blake Landau (Director of Marketing, Linqia)
The fact is there is nothing more romantic than spending Valentines Day at the Computer History Museum with over a thousand women at Women 2.0’s fifth annual PITCH conference.
There is a demand for mentoring, support and communities where women can support each other. We all know this considering that Women 2.0 events consistently sell out. PITCH was no different with people pouring out of the conference rooms.
For women to be successful in an industry where Read More »
Published on: February 14, 2012 – 5:17 pm
By Carolyn Gerin (Creator, Antibride Productions)
Live from Women 2.0 Pitch Conference in Mountain View, I’m happy to be at the Computer History Museum surrounded by some of the hottest female-founded tech startups in modern history.
We are experiencing a Femme Tech Boom and today is ground zero for innovation, creation and atta girl “can-do” attitude. If you think it’s all about the cult of the Zuck, think again, these ladies who launch got moxie, money and energy to burn.
The idea is to get the mic in your hand and show ‘em Read More »
Published on: February 14, 2012 – 5:14 pm
By Connie Guglielmo (Writer, Forbes)
Didn’t have time to read Facebook’s 150-page prospectus?
Katie Mitic, director of platform and mobile marketing, summed up Facebook’s mission, product philosophy and where the company thinks it stands in the market in a 30-minute presentation about lessons learned by the social-networking giant.
Mitic, who joined Facebook in 2010, was speaking to women entrepreneurs gathered today for the Women 2.0 Pitch Conference & Competition at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, just down the road from Google.
Here are a few excerpts. Read More »
Published on: January 19, 2012 – 9:00 am
Watch as the Top Finalists of the 2012 Women 2.0 PITCH Startup Competition present LIVE –
Ten teams with at least one female co-founder will take the stage on February 14 at the Women 2.0 PITCH Conference and present their best pitch in front of a panel of investors for prizes. Read More »
Published on: January 12, 2012 – 5:00 am
By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0)
The run-up to Women 2.0 PITCH Conference on February 14, 2012 is defined by Women 2.0′s fifth annual Startup Competition for early-stage tech startups.
Watch the finalists of the 2012 Women 2.0 Startup Competition pitch live on February 14. Hear first-hand feedback from panels of real investors on what makes a successful pitch for investment.
Here are the 10 finalists of the 2012 Women 2.0 PITCH Startup Competition: Read More »
Published on: December 15, 2011 – 6:00 am
By E.B. Boyd (Silicon Valley Reporter, Fast Company)
Some of tech’s leading designers gather at 500 Startups to inspire the next generation. Step one: Learn how to code.
On Friday, a dozen of Silicon Valley’s top women designers gathered at 500 Startups for a sold-out mini-symposium on everything from design best practices to how best to chart careers. The event titled “Women in Design” was put on by The Designer Fund. The idea behind the gathering, Designer Fund co-founder Enrique Allen tells Fast Company, is to “inspire the next generation of designers through storytelling.” Read More »
Published on: December 7, 2011 – 4:56 pm
By Betsy Aoki (Senior Program/Product Manager, Bing)
As a woman in a startup, you are likely familiar with the rollercoaster ups and downs of funding, ongoing tug-a-war with the competition and the stress of pushing out the next release. There, the only defense against your own caffeine-amped angst is your sense of humor and the just-as-crazy team (you got to be, right?) working diligently alongside you.
Having been part of a startup in Seattle, I’m no stranger to that ride — which is also how I know that sometimes all you need is a little boost to get over that next hill. Read More »
Published on: December 7, 2011 – 6:45 am
The 5th Annual PITCH: Women 2.0 Startup Competition is open to early-stage ventures around the world, from high growth business ventures in mobile to web, from double bottom line businesses to connected devices.
Applying companies must have a female in the founding team, be in beta stage, and have received less than a million in funding.
Application deadline: December 7, 2011 @ MIDNIGHT (PST).
Thanks for applying — now hang tight! Finalists will be notified by January 2 — thank you for your patience!
Read More »
Published on: November 30, 2011 – 1:00 pm
By Steph Palmeri (Senior Associate, SoftTech VC)
Last Sunday, I spend the afternoon meeting and mentoring several of the Women 2.0 Startup Weekend teams.
As an early stage investor at SoftTech VC, I see hundreds of ideas a month so it seemed fitting that I would be spending time with the teams just as many were diving in to construct and perfect their final Startup Weekend pitches for the judges. Their FIVE MINUTE pitches.
Damn. Five minutes goes pretty quick. And after you’ve spent the last 48 hours laser-focused on an idea, five minutes goes faster then a talented VP of Engineering looking for a new gig. Read More »
Published on: November 23, 2011 – 7:00 am
By Blake Landau (Blogger, What’s Your Story)
Editor’s note: Apply to the Women 2.0 PITCH Startup Competition for early-stage startups with at least 1 female on the founding team. Deadline to apply is November 30, 2011.
When I was a kid, I was your average millennial — by which I mean I was on a tight schedule of brownies, soccer practices, Hebrew school, mall outings and birthday parties.
In the context of AYSO soccer games, I was scary for someone only three and half feet tall. Read More »
Published on: November 15, 2010 – 2:33 am
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. (November 4, 2010) — Women 2.0 PITCH Night brought the finalists of the Women 2.0 Startup Competition onstage to compete for top prize at the high-energy event attended by 300 entrepreneurs, investors and startup enthusiasts.
We at Women 2.0 never cease to be amazed by the range of startup pitches at PITCH Night. They’re not like Facebook (in a good way) – these ideas are different, the teams are different, the reach is different. By the end of PITCH Night, winners had been announced: Apply in the Sky to manage your b-school applications, mobile infrastructure of “top ups” to transfer money between consumers at Prepay Nation, and last but not least, BioLumber plastic that is as strong as steel but as light as lumber, saving the world from the plastic vortex!
Each year PITCH reminds us a few things:
- Innovation is everywhere — Submissions for this year’s 4th annual Women 2.0 Startup Competition came in from 78 cities in 12 countries — Not just in the Internet cafes of Silicon Valley!
- Female founders are innovating — We get more submissions for PITCH each year!
- Women 2.0 PITCH Director Aihui Ong, who is also the Founder & CEO of Love With Food has overseen four years of PITCH Competitions remarks, “All it takes is passion to solve a small problem — to germinate and bloom into an innovative business.”
Women 2.0 CEO Shaherose Charania talks about the winners of PITCH Night on TechCrunch here.
Diane Greene (right) was the Founding CEO at Silicon Valley tech company VMware. She shares her story with Arielle Scott (Founder, GenJuice) and the audience at Women 2.0 PITCH Night – “VMware initially took 6 hours to boot Windows on Linux. Don’t give up on your big ideas.” Diane Greene’s advice to female entrepreneurs: you too could start a VMware (via @Xconomy). |
Finalists for the web portion of Women 2.0 PITCH Night 2010, Chiara Piccinotti and Emily Chiu of Apply in the Sky deliver the winning pitch and win the judge’s vote. |
Cleantech finalist BioLumber CEO Kristin Kaune delivers the winning pitch at Women 2.0 PITCH Night 2010 to win a prized investor meeting with Esther Dyson! |
Judges for the cleantech panel from left: Cindi Choi (Corporate Development, SunPower), Cynthia Ringo (Managing Director, DBL Investors), and Rachel Pike (Analyst, Draper Fisher Jurvetson) listen to pitches from Aesir Metals, BioLumber, and Chouette at Women 2.0 PITCH Night 2010. |
Obopay founder and CEO Carol Realini (pictured right) tells the audience she has raised $200M to date in venture funding. Carol Realini advises not to be a “lone ranger” and shared her 10-5-3-1 recipe to venture success. Get 10 great meetings with investors, and 5 of them go through due dilligence. Get 3 good term sheets, because you need to have choices. In the end, it’s 1 bank transfer! |
Lesa Mitchell from the Kauffman Foundation announces the winner of the 2010 Women 2.0 PITCH Night for the mobile category as Jessica Bishop of Prepay Nation. |
From left, Kelley Boyd (Managing Director for New York, Women 2.0), Alexis Ringwald (Co-Founder, Valence Energy – acquired by Serious Materials), Lynn Jurich (Co-Founder & President, SunRun), and Shaherose Charania (Co-Founder & CEO, Women 2.0) at PITCH Night 2010. Quotable quotes from Lynn: “I talk about solar construction with SunRun, and my husband talks about beauty products.” Another crowd favorite: “We decided to approach our marriage like a portfolio: one of us works the steady job and one starts a company.” |
Special thanks to Twilio for donating their office space for Women 2.0 PITCH Night 2010 — and providing free WiFi for all! The Twilio Lounge (pictured) was also appreciated by the Women 2.0 community. |
The Women 2.0 community is a multi-tasking bunch, well-versed in cloud computing as well as various OS and iOS devices – three different ones pictured here. |
Pictured from left, Baat Enosh and Aihui Ong of Women 2.0 at the 4th Annual PITCH Night in San Francisco. |
Catered dinner thanks to Back-A-Yard Caribbean American Grill in Menlo Park — the curried goat
was a surprise hit! |
The advancement of women in entrepreneurship and business will not be achieved without everyone’s support. Thanks David Weekly! |
Special thanks to Pokin Yeung and Julie Blaustein for photographing Women 2.0 PITCH Night 2010.
