INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Women in tech are not only significantly under-funded by venture capitalists, but they also often lack access to the early-stage support
granted to their male counterparts.
To enroll in a startup accelerator like Y Combinator, for example, its expected founders relocate to the
Bay Area for three months
Women, who are more often caregivers, might not be able to do that, and even if they can, the program may not cater to their specific needs
Female Founders Alliance (FFA), a relatively new network of female startup founders, has built a free, non-dilutive 5-week accelerator for
Called ‘Ready, Set, Raise,& its goal is to help more female-founded startups raise VC through workshops, 1-on-1 coaching, legal clinics,
communications and speech coaching and more.The accelerator, sponsored by Trilogy Equity Partners, kicked off at the end of August and will
culminate with a private demo day with VCs in Seattle on September 27th.
&I don&t know many women who can uproot their families for three
months to go live in another city,& FFA founder Leslie Feinzaig told TechCrunch
&When I was working on my company, I wanted to apply to Y Combinator but I was a new mom, it was 100% a non-starter.&
Feinzaig knows the
trials and tribulations of raising VC as a female entrepreneur all too well
As the founder of an edtech startup called Venture Kits, she tried, unsuccessfully, to procure venture backing
That struggle is why she started FFA, which began as a Facebook group to connect female founders in the Seattle area but has expanded across
North America.
The accelerator is designed toallow founders to tune into the programming remotely
Participants are only required to be on-site in Seattle, where FFA is based, for one week, during which the organization is providing free
housing and childcare.
Q1 2018 global diversity investment report: Investing trends in female founders
FFA accelerator is among a new
class of efforts created for women in tech
All Raise Founders For Change initiative, for example, and new female-focused funds, like Sarah Kunst Cleo Capital, are all working to close
the gender funding gap.
&I know it seems to people like there a lot happening around female founders and diverse founders, but in the
context of the size and scale of that gender gap, we are barely getting started,& Feinzaig said
&We need all the accelerators
We need hundreds of funds
We are nowhere close to making a real dent in equal leadership.&
Today, FFA is announcing their inaugural class of startups, eight in total
Here a closer look at the group:
Chanlogic: Based in Seattle, the SaaS startup provides a product for e-commerce channel managers.
Esq.Me
Inc.: A Portland-based document marketplace for lawyers created by lawyers.
Future Sight AR: A Houston-based AR product for engineering,
procurement and construction companies.
geeRemit: Based in Raleigh, the startup leverages the blockchain to power remittances to
Africa.
Magic AI: A Seattle-based AI startup for livestock care.
MoxieReader: Based in New York, an edtech startup focused on improving
child literacy through tech.
Pandere Shoes: Based in Anchorage, the startup is creating expandable shoes.
Zeta Help: A San Francisco-based
financial support platform for millennial couples.
