Podcasts about female founders fund

In this special episode, we celebrate the 10-year milestone of the Female Founders Fund with its visionary founder, Anu Duggal, in conversation with Nayeema Raza, a journalist who has worked at New York Times and New York Magazine. Join us as Anu reflects on ten insightful lessons learned over the past decade, reflecting on the evolution of female entrepreneurship and the dynamic landscape of venture capital. From the art of the cold email to the importance of staying agile, Anu's journey offers invaluable wisdom for both aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs. Tune in for an inspiring conversation filled with stories of resilience, innovation, and the future of female-led ventures. You can follow Nayeema's new venture, “Smart Girl Dumb Questions” on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your content.

In 2014, less than 2% of venture capital dollars went towards female-founded companies. So, Anu Duggal started Female Founders Fund–the first early-stage fund focused on investing exclusively in female founders–to help support the women who are building the companies of tomorrow. Over the last ten years, FFF has become the leading source of institutional capital for female founders with over $3B in enterprise value and Anu is now one of the few female solo GPs managing over $100 AUM in the venture capital industry. In this episode of Claim Your Confidence, we talk about Anu's entrepreneurial journey, why she launched Female Founders Fund, and diversifying venture capital. Don't miss this interview where discuss:Growing up in multiple countries, how travel builds confidence, and Anu's early career pathWhat Anu learned from her first entrepreneurial venture launching India's first wine tasting bar before going to business schoolThe ins and outs of venture capital funds, what entrepreneurs need to know, and what Anu is looking for when deciding to back a companyThe untapped potential of investing in female founded businesses, FFF's success stories, and the milestone of returning their first fundBeing open about the challenges of being a founder and sharing the lessons you've learned with those that are just beginning their journeys Find Anu:www.femalefoundersfund.comIG: @anuduggal; @femalefoundersfundLinkedIn: Anu DuggalFollow Lydia:www.lydiafenet.comIG: @lydiafenetLinkedIn: Lydia FenetQuestions or comments, we'd love to hear from you...send us a text!Record a question here so we can answer it on the next episode of Claim Your Confidence.To stay up to date with Claim Your Confidence and get all the behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram and on YouTube.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts.Recorded at The Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center.Thank you for listening.

Being a business owner means having to innovate constantly and navigate change. So Inc., in partnership with Capital One Business, wants to help you figure out Your Next Move. Join Anu Duggal, founding partner of Female Founders Fund, the first early-stage fund for female-founded companies. Duggal will share how she plays an instrumental role not only in investing in female founders, raising seed capital with more than $4 billion in enterprise value, but also shifting the VC industry as a whole to make more investments in female-founded companies. Hear her talk about her personal and professional achievements in this industry, and how to get funding for your early-stage business. Discover ways to think differently about how you lead and grow your business.

Will Packer is a film, television, and podcast producer who has worked in Hollywood for more than 20 years, making movies like ‘Ride Along,' ‘The Wedding Ringer,' and ‘Girls Trip.' He also has a book on the way next year, ‘Who Better Than You?: The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big,' about the stories and lessons he's learned in the entertainment industry. Will's latest show, ‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,' premieres September 5 on Peacock, and tells the story of Muhammad Ali's famous fight in Atlanta and the massive theft that followed. He chatted about his experiences as a producer, where he finds story inspiration, and one of his biggest accomplishments: convincing Beyoncé to change her mind. Also, Anu Duggal, founding partner of Female Founders Fund, talks about how things have changed, or not, for female entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem. After 10 years in seed-funding for companies, she sees optimism in climate tech, but AI? . . . Not so much.

Will Packer is a film, television, and podcast producer who has worked in Hollywood for more than 20 years, making movies like ‘Ride Along,' ‘The Wedding Ringer,' and ‘Girls Trip.' He also has a book on the way next year, ‘Who Better Than You?: The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big,' about the stories and lessons he's learned in the entertainment industry. Will's latest show, ‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,' premieres September 5 on Peacock, and tells the story of Muhammad Ali's famous fight in Atlanta and the massive theft that followed. He chatted about his experiences as a producer, where he finds story inspiration, and one of his biggest accomplishments: convincing Beyoncé to change her mind. Also, Anu Duggal, founding partner of Female Founders Fund, talks about how things have changed, or not, for female entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem. After 10 years in seed-funding for companies, she sees optimism in climate tech, but AI? . . . Not so much.

Earnings from Norfolk Southern, Boston Beer, Deckers, Dexcom and more. Melius's Ben Reitzes breaks down OpenAI's SearchGPT news and what it means for Google, plus how he is thinking about the software sector right now and what could be the next catalyst for AI stocks. Morgan Stanley Global Chief Economist on the macro environment and next week's Fed decision. Anu Duggal is the founding partner of Female Founders Fund; she walks us through what she is telling founders in the current market and why only 2% of VC dollars went to women founders in 2023. Plus, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu on the move higher in defense stocks. 

When Anu Duggal started her first business, a wine bar in Bombay, she was entering a sector that she had no experience in. But she didn't let that stop her, in fact, she leveraged that inexperience to generate new insights and innovation. In the years that followed, she grew into an entrepreneurial powerhouse, launching the Female Founders Fund in 2014, investing in early stage female founders. Since then, Anu has appeared on Fortune's “40 under 40” Crain's “Notable Women in Tech” list and been included in Business Insider's “Ultimate List of Female Startup Investors.” Explore more empowering resources

Anu Duggal, the founding partner of Female Founders Fund, is all about helping female-led companies get the funding they need and deserve, despite all the obstacles around raising money. Last month, she hosted the 2024 Female Founders Fund CEO Summit, a day of talks, panel discussions, and networking at the New York Stock Exchange that brought together more than 100 women, including the founders of Food52, Culinary Agents, and Mimi Cheng's. Anu joins host Kerry Diamond to discuss the origin story of Female Founders Fund, and the work she and her team have done over the past decade. They also talk about the current “funding freeze” businesses are experiencing in their search for capital, and why the wealth gap is as important as the wage gap. Earlier in her career, Anu was drawn to the food world, so she shares her journey from Tabla restaurant in New York to La Varenne culinary school in Burgundy to Bombay, where she opened India's very first wine bar. Thank you to Pernod Richard, OpenTable, and Walmart for supporting today's episode. Hosted by Kerry DiamondProduced by Catherine Baker and Elizabeth VogtEdited by Jenna SadhuEditorial Assistant Londyn CrenshawRecorded at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller CenterRadio Cherry Bombe is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. Subscribe to our newsletter and check out past episodes and transcripts here. More on Anu: Instagram, Female Founders FundMore on Kerry: Instagram

Mike Einziger, the lead guitarist of the '90s rock band Incubus, and his wife, science teacher-turned-rock violinist Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger, did not intend to start a beauty brand.  Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger organically came upon her hero ingredient, a yeast-derived compound called malassezin, after being diagnosed with a harmless skin condition. The diagnosis led her to question whether something that "most people would view as a negative" could be harnessed to address common skin concerns — namely, hyperpigmentation and the common desire people have to lighten darkened patches of skin.  That was over six years ago — that's how long it's taken the couple to build a team, complete extensive testing, develop a formula and bring it to testing. Plus, they fundraised to the tune of $6.2 million dollars, with key investors including The Female Founders Fund, Nyx founder Toni Ko and Paul Mitchell co-founder John Paul DeJoria.  On May 9, the brand finally launched, with one product — Molecular Hero Serum — offered for sale on its e-commerce site.

 Are you sick of spending money in menopause? According to a report from the Female Founders Fund women in North America spend an average of US$2,000 finding solutions. But it doesn't have to be that way. Today I share many of the tips and tricks I've learned to feel better now from the evidence, from experts I've interviewed and from my own experience. This audio from the session I held in January with Hotflash inc Substack subscribers. I hope you enjoy it. Highlights:Dealing with ANTSWhen to take a break from your phone and whySuggestions for the daily nervous system resets you needWhy you need to feel your feelingsLearning from Lucky Girl TikTokFinding good leadersAir qualityTips for combatting insulin resistance You need minerals!The missing fascia linkWhere to strength train and stretch for freeWhy you need even 2 minutes of morning lightMy special middle-of-the-night sleep rescue remedyWant to become a Substack subscriber and get access to 27+ years of journalism experience tackling this major life transition? Use this link to get 20 percent off to my paid membership. Or just get the free version.  Join the Hotflash Inc perimenoposse: Web: hotflashinc.comTikTok: @hotflashincInstagram: @hotflashincTwitter: @hotflashinc Episode website: Hotflashinc See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Anu is joined by Female Founders Fund portfolio founder and Parisian makeup artist Violette, of VIOLETTE_FR – a cosmetics line made ‘avec amour' for people and the planet, and designed with the purpose of helping people celebrate their natural beauty. Violette walks us through the behind-the-scenes of building her personal and company brand with a loyal digital following – from discovering her passion for beauty, to creating a brand bible, fundraising while 8 months pregnant, last-minute launch day ideas, product development, an increased commitment to sustainability and transparency, and more.

To kick off Season 4, Anu chats with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder and branding expert Georgina Gooley of Billie, the leading shave and body brand putting women first. Georgina shares her experience leading Billie through two acquisition processes, including Billie's recent sale to Edgewell for $310M, and how she is thinking about Billie's first foray into retail.

Adrianna Samaniego is principal of the Female Founders Fund, a preeminent early stage fund that invests in female founded technology companies. In this conversation, Adrianna shares her career path from working at google, to becoming an intrapreneur, and focusing on diversity and inclusion. She also talks about different funding options for female entrepreneurs, including the many opportunities beyond VC funding. Inspiring Progressive Female Entrepreneurs is a podcast miniseries produced by HSBC, in partnership with Allbright, that seeks to empower and support women who are on the journey of growing and scaling their business.To access more resources for female entrepreneurs, visit: https://www.business.hsbc.com/business-banking/female-entrepreneur Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julie and Casey chat with author, speaker, and angel investor Fran Hauser (author of Embrace the Work, Love Your Career and Audible's Best Business Book of 2018, The Myth of the Nice Girl) about building relationships, rejecting the idea that being nice makes you weak, how to stand up for yourself, the difference between "nice" and "people pleaser", and why founders need to take care of themselves.   Thank you to our Season 3 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to http://armoire.style/voiceis and use VOICEIS in the referral box!   TOP TAKEAWAYS: Being successful in business is all about relationships You don't have to choose between being nice and being strong. If you're a founder/entrepreneur, are you jumping ahead to business model, marketing, partnerships, etc. before making sure you have an awesome product that consumers are delighted by?  You're skipping the most important step. Taking a breath, taking the time and energy to care for yourself and others makes the WORK better.  Compassion for ourselves and for other people makes us more productive, not less, and we need to bring more of it into our professional lives. You don't need to be the smartest kid in fifth grade (i.e. have all the answers all by yourself).  Build out your community and your network. Nice is a superpower - its "evil twin" is people-pleasing. Know the difference, and know when to stand up for yourself. Mini-Lesson: How to embrace your "toos". Articles referenced: On the culture of over-work, and how it holds both women and men back - https://hbr.org/2020/03/whats-really-holding-women-back Gender bias in performance reviews - https://hbr.org/2017/04/how-gender-bias-corrupts-performance-reviews-and-what-to-do-about-it Vague vs specific feedback - https://hbr.org/2016/04/research-vague-feedback-is-holding-women-back   Fran Hauser is an author, keynote speaker and startup investor at the intersection of women's empowerment, career fulfillment, and collective wellbeing. As a long-time media executive, Fran has always championed the power of content in shaping culture, educating the public, and driving awareness of important issues.  She is the best-selling author of The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate which has been translated into six languages and was named “Best Business Book of the Year, 2018” by Audible. Fran's new book, Embrace the Work, Love Your Career, is quickly becoming the go-to for women seeking more joy and fulfillment in their career. Fran regularly speaks at conferences and organizations to help women build careers they love while staying true to themselves Fran has invested in over 30 female-founded companies across CPG, media & publishing, and wellness. She also serves as an LP in the Female Founders Fund. Her writing, speaking and investing is informed by 15 years spent in media, from startups where she played an integral role in the $525mm sale of Moviefone to AOL, to ultimately rising the ranks at Time Inc. to President of Digital where she led innovation, acquisitions and digital expansion for powerhouse media brands People, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Essence, and People en Espanol. Fran has been the recipient of the Fairy Godmother Award from Girl Be Heard, the W Award from the YWCA of the City of New York and has been included in lists from Business Insider's "30 Women In VC to Watch" to Refinery29's “Six Most Powerful Women in New York City's Tech Scene”. She has been featured on TODAY, CNBC, Fortune, TIME, Fast Company, Forbes, Vogue.com, Ad Age, Oprah.com and more.  In 2020 Fran channeled her lifelong love of books into an Instagram platform @FransBookshelf focused on the joy of reading -- both the escapism and the celebration of diverse ideas that can change the world.  Fran serves on the board of directors of the Foundation for Bedford Central Schools and is an advisor to Helpusadopt.org and LiveGirl. Fran is a summa cum laude graduate of Pace University. She resides just outside of NYC with her husband and two sons.

Fran Hauser is passionate about leveling the playing field for women. She does this through her investing, writing, and speaking. Fran has invested in over 30 female-founded companies across consumer tech, CPG, media & publishing, and wellness. She is the best-selling author of The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate which has been translated into six languages and was named “Best Business Book of the Year, 2018” by Audible. Fran's second title, Embrace the Work, Love Your Career will be released in March 2022.https://www.amazon.com/Embrace-Work-Love-Your-Career/dp/1951412494Embrace the Work, Love Your Career combines accessible advice, time-tested strategies, creative prompts, and thoughtful exercises into one holistic resource.Stemming from years of experience in senior leadership at Time Inc.'s People, InStyle and Entertainment Weekly as well as AOL and Coca-Cola Enterprises, Hauser centers her career guidance around six main actions:Fall in love with your careerDesign your career action planCreate time and spaceKnow your valueBuild your dream teamReflect and resetEach chapter starts with practical advice and includes prompts and exercises to help readers create their own personal career action plans. Palate-cleansing meditations and coloring breaks conclude each chapter, offering chances for calming reflection. Through simple, inspiring, and actionable tools, Embrace the Work, Love Your Career teaches women to be empowered to focus on the things that truly matter, set boundaries and, ultimately, realize their full potential.Fran Bio:Fran Hauser is an author, keynote speaker and startup investor at the intersection of women's empowerment, career fulfillment, and collective wellbeing. As a long-time media executive, Fran has always championed the power of content in shaping culture, educating the public, and driving awareness of important issues. She is the best-selling author of The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate which has been translated into six languages and was named “Best Business Book of the Year, 2018” by Audible. Fran's second title, Embrace the Work, Love Your Career will be released in March 2022. Fran regularly speaks at conferences and organizations to pioneer the notion that one does not have to choose between kindness and strength, and that the most effective leaders lead with both.Fran has invested in over 30 female-founded companies across CPG, media & publishing, and wellness. She also serves as an LP in the Female Founders Fund. Her writing, speaking and investing is informed by 15 years spent in media, from startups where she played an integral role in the $525mm sale of Moviefone to AOL, to ultimately rising the ranks at Time Inc. to President of Digital where she led innovation, acquisitions and digital expansion for powerhouse media brands People, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Essence, and People en Espanol.Fran has been the recipient of the Fairy Godmother Award from Girl Be Heard, the W Award from the YWCA of the City of New York and has been included in lists from Business Insider's "30 Women In VC to Watch" to Refinery29's “Six Most Powerful Women in New York City's Tech Scene”. She has been featured on TODAY, CNBC, Fortune, TIME, Fast Company, Forbes, Vogue.com, Ad Age, Oprah.com and more. In 2020 Fran channeled her lifelong love of books into an Instagram platform @FransBookshelf focused on the joy of reading -- both the escapism and the celebration of diverse ideas that can change the world.  

Today's guest is Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Ariela Safira of Real, the platform redesigning the mental health care experience. Ariela dives into her experience pivoting Real's long-term strategy and offerings throughout the pandemic, the trials and tribulations of leading a remote team, the nuances of building in consumer healthcare, and her thoughts on the future of mental wellness. She shares her advice for founders making their first key hires, purposefully choosing investors, and responding to user feedback. For 50% off an annual membership with Real, use the code FFFISREAL at www.join-real.com (offer eligible until 12/1).

This week meet the founder of Radswan, Freddie Harrel. Freddie's entrepreneurial journey began as a fashion and lifestyle influencer. A proud shapeshifter, hair is Freddie's freest and earliest form of self-expression. But she struggled to find great afro hair products, and the market was both biased and constrained. Seeking to solve this problem for herself, Freddie sought out a supplier in China who could help her to develop a better quality hair product. Not long afterwards, demand was high from Freddie's online community - her followers wanted it too. Freddie launched Big Hair No Care in 2017 and quickly experienced the downsides of high demand. Her supply chain couldn't fulfil orders, and the business needed more resources to deliver the high quality, innovative products that Freddie was determined to bring to the community. In 2019, Big Hair No Care rebranded to RadSwan and secured £1.5m of investment led by BBG Ventures with Female Founders Fund and Pritzker Private Capital, alongside high-profile industry angels. Recently relaunched, RadSawn is on a mission to disrupt and level up the $7bn black hair beauty market. This conversation was recorded on 14th May 2021. Want to share your view on something we discussed on the podcast? Email us podcast@raisethe.bar. Guest - Freddie Harrel Host - Frankie Cotton Sound Editor - Beth Davison Tweet us https://twitter.com/raisehq_ Join us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/raisehq_ Visit https://www.raisethe.bar Connect with Freddie Harrel and Radswan Website: https://radswan.co.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radswan/ Freddie Harrel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freddieharrel/ Connect with Frankie Cotton https://www.frankiecotton.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrankieCotton_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankiecotton_/

SimplyDelivery secured €10 million in a Series A funding round led by Cusp Capital (about USD 11.8 million). SimplyDelivery software reintroduces restaurateurs to direct contact with customers, and it identifies repeat clients. In the previous three years, SimplyDelivery's annual revenues have tripled while remaining profitable. Logical Clocks secured €5M (approx. USD 5.9M in a Series A round sponsored by Industrifonden. The money will go toward expanding the company's commercial activities and footprint, particularly in the United States. Hopsworks, the world's first enterprise and open-source Feature Store with a full machine learning platform, was established and is operated by Logical Works.Fortive Corporation, a technology provider for connected workflows, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ServiceChannel, a leading SaaS-based multi-site facilities maintenance service provider. The deal, approximately worth $1.2 billion, would primarily be funded with available cash, Fortive said in a press release.In a series of seed and Series A investment rounds, Endgame has raised a total of $17 million. Endgame is up against in-house developers who are splicing together various apps to create a solution that works for them. Endgame is currently in the early phases of development and is pre-revenue, but it already has a group of beta clients.In a Series D financing led by Warburg Pincus, Quantexa raised $153 million. Quantexa plans to use the cash to enhance its product line and expedite its regional market growth plans. Quantexa works with blue-chip banks, insurers, and government agencies worldwide, including seven of the top ten banks in the United Kingdom and Australia.Sourcegraph has raised $125M in Series D from a16z and others. The total funding raised by the company crosses $225M with this round and it aims to make its search engine easier to set up and add more features to help developers with the funding.Eka Ventures, a UK-based venture capital firm, has completed its $95 million (£68 million) fund. Eka's goal is to invest in consumer technology firms that promote sustainable consumption, consumer health, and the “inclusive economy.” Eka also has the backing of 24 entrepreneurs, 12 of whom were previously supported by Eka Ventures, either through a fund or directly.Pantheon, a SaaS platform for WebOps developers, marketers and designers, attains the unicorn tag, raising $100 million in Series E funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of over $1 billion. This round takes the company's total funding raised to over $200 million.Motorola Solutions has announced its entry into a definitive acquisition agreement to acquire Openpath Security solutions, a mobile and cloud-based access control system provider for businesses. The financial details of the deal were undisclosed but Motorola expects the deal to close by the end of July 2021.San Diego-based AttackIQ, a security optimization platform and a Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) system vendor, has raised $44 million in a Series C funding round led by Atlantic Bridge, taking its total funding raised to over $79 million.Impact, a global management platform, has raised $105 million in a $1.5 billion funding round led by Qatar Investment Authority. The additional funds will be used to increase partnership automation, strengthen channel relationships, and expand Impact's go-to-market operations. Leading companies such as Shopify, Uber, and Walmart use Impact's marketplace.Miami-based Marco Financial, a trade finance platform providing access to working capital for LATAM small and medium enterprises, has raised $82 million in a combination of seed and debt financing round, reports state.Discord, an online voice, video and text service platform, is set to acquire Sentropy, an AI-powered tool preventing digital communities from harassment for an undisclosed amount. It is reported that Discord would integrate Sentropy's products into its existing toolkit, also bringing the latter's leadership aboard its platform. Arctic Wolf, a cybersecurity operations firm, has raised $150 million in a Series F funding round, valuing the firm at $4.3 billion. The additional funds will be utilized to keep the company on track and improve its mergers and acquisitions strategy. Arctic Wolf's cloud security operations platform provides small and mid-sized enterprises with round-the-clock security monitoring.Remote has raised $150M in a Series B funding round led by Accel at a valuation of over $1 billion. Other participants include Sequoia, Index Ventures, Two Sigma, General Catalyst, and Day One Ventures. Employees and contractors can use Remote's worldwide payroll, benefits, and compliance services. With this round, Remote attains the unicorn status.Amperity, an intelligent customer data platform (CDP) for consumer brands, has turned a unicorn, raising $100 million in Series D funding at a valuation of over $1 billion in a round led by HighSage Ventures. Other investors – Tiger Global Management, Declaration Partners, Madrona Venture Group and Madera Technology Partners – participated in the round. Bookee, a SaaS platform for the fitness industry, has announced the raise of its pre-seed funding (amount undisclosed) from Antler India. Pallav Nadhani, founder of Charts.com and FusionCharts, and Abhishek Rungta, founder and CEO of Indus Net Technologies, participated in the round, reports state.ZoomInfo is set to acquire conversational intelligence provider Chorus.ai in a $575M all-cash deal. The move is aimed to allow customers to make excellent, data-driven decisions through their sales funnel by combining ZoomInfo's top-of-the-funnel strength with insights, driven from customer conversations that Chorus captures.The $57 million Fund III of the Female Founders Fund (FFF) has been completed. The new fund expands on FFF's current investing approach in women, women of color, and LGBTQ+owned businesses. Climate change and education are two topics that have recently gotten a lot of attention.

Our anchors start off the morning on the battle between fintech and financials in light of bank earnings this week. The Production Board CEO David Friedberg joins to share his take on digital banking and the future of fintech. Then, CNBC's Steve Liesman is here to interview San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly on inflation, Fed policy and much more. Later, Washington Post Tech Reporter Will Oremus joins live outside the courtroom where Elon Musk is defending Tesla's 2016 acquisition of SolarCity. Also, CNBC's Julia Boorstin is here with the story on the Female Founders Fund closing its third fund at $57 million. We also have CNBC's Eamon Javers with details on the Biden Administration's newest cybersecurity team members. Then, Arctic Wolf CEO Brian NeSmith joins to further discuss cyber threats and his cybersecurity company's latest $150 million funding round.

The key to mastering negotiations is mastering difficult conversations.   Yet what makes difficult conversations difficult? How can you have them skillfully instead of avoiding them?   As a founder, the most challenging aspects of your job probably boil down to maneuvering difficult conversations, whether they're in fundraising, with your co-founder, or in delivering or receiving feedback.   This interview with Amy gives you exactly the right tools and know-how to master any difficult conversation so that you can strengthen your relationships, and get what you want.   Amy's bio: Amy is a mindfulness-based leadership coach and speaker. Amy has coached mission-driven entrepreneurs backed by a16z, Female Founders Fund, First Round Capital, and executives at Google, Lyft, and Hinge. She utilizes the latest research in neuroscience and human behavior to empower her founders and has been trained by The Coaches Training Institute (CTI Co-Active). She is a pitching & public speaking expert and regularly speaks at tech & leadership conferences, accelerators, and universities. A negotiation nerd, she has been personally trained by Stuart Diamond, author of Getting More.   A former tech executive, Amy launched & scaled first-of-kind products across the US and Europe. At Google, she led business development, including the successful international launch of Google Pay across Europe. Prior to that, Amy was the youngest member of the OpenTable sales team, where she won every sales award and helped build the company's revenue towards its 2009 IPO. In 2010, Amy co-founded MEI New York, a fashion startup aimed at empowering women. Amy brings the lessons of burnout, of working at startups of all sizes, and as an operator and co-founder to her coaching practice.   Amy holds a B.A. in Psychology and Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a certified yoga teacher, a dedicated meditator, a tango and wine enthusiast, and has traveled to 46 countries. A passionate advocate for women, she is the co-host of Straighten Your Crown, a podcast for female founders. Her life's mission is to reduce human suffering, and her mantra is to lead with heart.

Adrianna Samaniego is an Investor at Female Founders Fund, an early-stage fund investing in female-founded technology companies across B2B, Consumer, Healthcare, and […]

Join us for this bonus Q&A episode to learn more about the host behind The Two Percent and Female Founders Fund Founding Partner, Anu Duggal! Anu sits down with FFF investor Adrianna Samaniego to answer listener questions across a range of topics from fundraising to networking, and much more. Anu shares stories and lessons learned from her formative years, her early-career as a consultant, her time in culinary school and as a founder of two successful food ventures, to eventually entering the VC world as a solo GP with Female Founders Fund in 2014.

Naturally, there are people better suited to come up with the big ideas that drive a business forward and another set of people that are suited for executing these ideas. That's why episode 1 of Female Founders Breaking Boundaries is about the difference between a visionary and a CEO! Have you ever felt like your customers and your team just don't get what it is you're trying to do with your business? Download your free Company Persona Template that we use with clients to get them started with bringing everyone on to the same page. It's designed to get you and your team thinking about your purpose, your focus and your values; and documenting them so that you can get everybody on the same page.In this episode of Female Founders Breaking Boundaries, I'm sharing the importance of understanding the difference between CEOs and visionaries and actionable steps you can take right now to shift your mindset into a more creative role. Some of the things I cover in this episode are:Celebrating the Female Founders Fund, founded by Anu Duggal, Adrianna Samaniego, Emily Powers, Emily St. Denis, and Caroline McKechnie. The core functions of both a CEO and a visionary and how each role is equally as important to the success of your business. How to know whether you identify as a visionary or a CEO and how to find your counterpart to balance you out. Getting past the mindset block of having to do it all to be able to successfully step into your role as the creator for your business. How the pandemic shifted how business owners serve their customers and what this might look like in the near future. There are amazing qualities about you whether you identify as a CEO or a visionary, but what is important is that you align yourself in the role that suits you best. Your business would not function without you and there is incredible value in that.  Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive tons of tools, advice, resources, support, and encouragement that resonates with the modern business woman and to hear even more about the points outlined above.If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to share and tag me!  And don't forget to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!CONNECT WITH CASEY GROMER:ASSESSMENT: Are you a visionary or a CEO?LinkedInCompany PersonaWork with Casey Gromer! LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The Female Founders Fund 

Today's guest is Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Shan-Lyn Ma of Zola, an online platform reinventing the wedding planning and registry experience. Anu and Shan discuss her experience learning from product experts during her time at Gilt Groupe and Yahoo!, how customer feedback has guided Zola's growth, and the future of events and weddings post-pandemic. Shan shares her best fundraising tips, how to expand beyond core product offerings, building a culture that encourages innovation, and much more!

Anu chats with Female Founders Fund scout investment founder, Beatriz Acevedo of SUMA Wealth, a revolutionary financial wellness brand with a mission to close the Latinx wealth gap in the US. They discuss the unprecedented power and growth of the US-born Latinx population, what marketers and brands are still getting wrong in connecting with this demographic, and why the future success of all American businesses is predicated on the financial inclusion of this group. Beatriz dives into the opportunity she saw to bring her expertise as a marketer and community builder into the world of fintech, and why building trust and community is critical for any financial brand looking to build lifelong brand loyalty.

Anu sits down with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Kate Ryder of Maven Clinic, the first digital health clinic for women. Kate dives into the opportunity she saw to disrupt the healthcare system, her experience building women's healthcare as a new category, and how the landscape has evolved since founding Maven Clinic in 2014. They discuss the future of women's and family healthcare, explosive telemedicine growth amid the pandemic, and what all of this means for long-term adoption of digital health. Kate also shares her candid advice for female founders who are fundraising, and for leaders looking to build culture in a remote environment.

Anu chats with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Holly Whitaker of Tempest, a modern, digital approach to helping individuals change their relationship with alcohol. Holly shares her personal addiction story and what she saw missing from the existing sobriety landscape that inspired her to create her own holistic recovery plan. They dive deep into the challenges and advantages of building a product through personal experience, the unique societal pressures women face to drink alongside a growing sober-curious movement, the power of community and more.

Anu chats with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Lisa Skeete Tatum of Landit, a personalized career pathing platform on a mission to democratize career success. They discuss the secret sauce to accelerating your career, a paradigm shift in mentorship, building a product for scale, and world domination. Lisa shares key advice for individuals, brands, entrepreneurs, and investors looking to unlock human potential and maximize professional development.

Anu sits down with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Jen Batchelor of Kin Euphorics, the first innovation in a 10,000 year long social drinking tradition. They dive deep into the growing “sober-curious” movement, her experience setting industry standards in a new category, building a brand consumers are passionate about, marrying concepts from Western and Eastern traditions, what it means to be well within, and reclaiming the meaning of the world euphoria.

Anu chats with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder and Scorpio, Banu Guler of Co-Star, an astrology app with a cult-like following among celebrities, millennials and Gen Z. They discuss what modern consumers are looking for in the next generation of social apps, creating a distinct voice and brand presence, how we talk about love around the world, COVID's impact on the future of connection and more.

How do you connect the importance of brand to an early stage company?  For Emily St. Denis, Head of Platform at Female Founders Fund, this is a conversation worth having representing both a venture capital fund and startup founder. As part of the series on Product Brand, Christian and Anna dig into why brand is an important differentiator, and how it can provide a competitive advantage. You’ll learn the perspective she has when evaluating brands to join the portfolio while also hearing her own brand journey with the Female Founders Fund.  To engage more with the Better Product community, join our speaker series. It’s five weeks featuring five speakers with countless product insights starting October 28th. You can register by going to betterproduct.community/speaker-series.  Additional Resources Featured: - See the article from Emily that got our attention, check out the Female Founders Fund blog.  https://blog.femalefoundersfund.com/why-brand-matters-in-vc-7c7cf2f4f380?gi=8a3862ca052c - -If you’re looking for another podcast, check out The Two Percent by the Female Founders Fund to hear from powerful CEO’s, founders, investors and industry leaders who are changing the dynamic of VC funding, both as female founders and female funders.

Founding Partner, Anu Duggal introduces The 2% by Female Founders Fund. The series features deep dives with iconic female tech leaders like Whitney Wolfe Herd, Anne Wojcicki, Sima Sistani to get to the stories you won't hear anywhere else. The 2% debuts on 10/22.

Adrianna Samaniego is an Investor at Female Founders Fund, the pre-eminent early-stage fund investing in female-founded technology companies. Since its founding in 2014, Female Founders Fund has invested in over 50 of the fastest-growing female-led technology companies nationwide. These include category leaders like Zola, Billie, Co–Star, Tala, ELOQUII, Primary Kids, Bento Box, Kin Euphorics, Peanut, WinkyLux, Rent The Runway, and more. Prior to joining Female Founders Fund, she worked as a Summer Investment Associate at JetBlue Ventures, Harlem Capital Partners, & New Media Ventures. Adrianna spent eight years in tech, formerly as Co-founder & Co-CEO at Area 120 Google's Startup Incubator. In this role, she led a team to rapidly build and launch a B2B marketplace for Fortune 500 companies to procure from diverse-owned companies. Adrianna also formerly led and created Google's Global Supplier Diversity Program that created over $1B in opportunities for diverse-owned businesses. Adrianna is passionate about removing inequities and increasing diversity in VC and Tech ecosystems. Adrianna's excellence in the workplace and community has been recognized on many occasions, including University of Georgia 40 Under 40, Silicon Valley Latino Emerging Leader Award, Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility Corporate Achiever Award, Technology Industry Group Top Innovator Award, and Top Latinas at Tech Giants. Adrianna Samaniego is of Mexican descent and was born and raised in the small border town of Douglas, Arizona. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from the University of Georgia.

In this episode of The Pulse Podcast, Sandy interviews Kate Ryder, Founder & CEO at Maven Clinic, the largest telemedicine provider for family health and women, who control 80% of healthcare decisions in a $3.5 trillion healthcare industry. Besides the market dollar potential, Maven Clinic addresses critical gaps in maternity care. The U.S. maternal mortality rate has steadily increased since 2000, while declining in other countries, and its national C-section rate is 20% higher than what the WHO recommends. Today, more than a third of women and nearly half of women with children take a break from their careers, primarily because of the pull of family. Maven Clinic connects workers with OB-GYNs, nutritionists, lactation consultants, and other specialists via video chat or messaging to empower women to advocate for themselves in a broken system. With Maven Clinic, employers and health plans can see improved maternal outcomes, lower costs, and attract and retain more parents in the workforce. Maven Clinic has raised $90M as of its Series C closed February 2020, and its backers include Spring Mountain Capital, Sequoia Capital, Oak HC/FT, Female Founders Fund, Anne Wojcicki, Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman and Mindy Kaling. Maven Clinic was named among the world’s top 50 most innovative companies in 2020 by Fast Company, and has more than tripled the number of companies it serves in 2019 alone.

Lo Toney is the Founding Managing Partner @ Plexo Capital, a very unique firm making both direct investments and fund investments. They have invested in Precursor, Boldstart, Female Founders Fund and WorkBench on the fund side and then PlayVS, Replicated and StyleSeat on the direct side. Prior to Plexo, Lo was a Partner @ GV (Google Ventures) and before that was a Partner with Comcast Ventures where he led the Catalyst Fund. Before venture Lo was an operator enjoying exec roles at Zynga, Nike and eBay. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Lo made his way into the world of venture with GV and how that led to his innovating on the venture model investing in both funds and directly with Plexo today? What were Lo's biggest takeaways from his 5 years as a Partner @ GV? 2.) How will GPs raising today be impacted by COVID? How does this differ dependent on the stage they invest and the size of fund they are raising? How does Lo advise managers communicating with existing and new potential LPs today? 3.) What does Lo mean when he discusses your "minimum viable fund size"? How does Lo advise GPs when it comes to closing strategies? How much do they need for first close? How many closes should there be thereafter? Should they take the money when it is on the table? 4.) How does Lo feel about anchor LPs taking/investing in the GP? What are the benefits for the manager of doing so? Why does Lo believe there is such a binary view towards it? Why does Lo disagree with the benchmarks set of what a GP commit "should be"? 5.) Why does Lo believe we will see the hybridization of GP/LP over the coming years? What are the benefits of having your LP also direct invest? What are the core challenges to the model? How does Lo envisage the world of venture evolving over the next decade? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Lo’s Fave Book: Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?: How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Lo's Most Recent Investment: PlayVS As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.      

Due to the recent protests against racial violence and police brutality in the United States, we (alongside other podcasts) will be participating in the Podcast Blackout and will not be releasing our regularly scheduled episode for today. We have chosen to use this platform to help spread awareness about the issues our country is facing, and encourage you to do the same! Whatever platform you have to make your voice heard, we ask that you take the time to speak out. Instead of listening to us ramble for the next 60-90 minutes, check out some of the podcasts and radio shows we've listed below to help educate yourself and others on race in America.   We encourage you to do what you can to fight against racial injustice. Support, protest, donate, and educate yourselves — we will be doing the same. To our black listeners, although we can never truly understand what you're going through (and have gone through in the past), we will stand with you and fight to end racism. Your lives matter....they always have and they always will.   Anti-Racist Podcasts & Radio Shows: Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, features movement voices, stories, and strategies for racial justice. Seeing White Series from Scene On Radio, a 14-part documentary series exploring whiteness in America. Uncivil, a podcast from Gimlet Media that presents a history of the Civil War not often found in school textbooks. Code Switch, a podcast that presents contemporary news viewed through the lens of race and identity. 1619 (New York Times), audio series on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling. About Race, National conversation about Race and politics Code Switch (NPR), a podcast that presents contemporary news viewed through the lens of race and identity. Intersectionality Matters!, a podcast hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory. Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights), a podcast created for those of you wanting to effect change, who understand the importance of restoring our democracy. Identity Politics, a podcast on race, gender, and Muslims in America.   For a list of even more anti-racist resources, including books, movies, coursework, & social media accounts, check out this great article from Medium & the Female Founders Fund.   Looking for a 1-stop link for petitions, donations, and other resources? We gotchu! https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/   #BlackLivesMatter #BLM

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Holly Whitaker of Tempest (www.jointempest.com) an online sobriety and alcohol rehabilitation platform. In this episode, Holly talks about her motivation for starting a sobriety platform, what it takes to be a "good networker," collecting feedback from VCs when they say no, when and why to raise a bridge round, why she moved the company from SF to New York, the hardest part about raising capital, and more. The Company most recently raised a $10.25 million Series A venture round led by Maveron. Slow Ventures, Female Founders Fund, Refactor Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, AlleyCorp, Green D Ventures and Able Partners also participated in the round. This series is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $2 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com. NOTE: check out Holly's new book "Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol" available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Quit-Like-Woman-Radical-Obsessed/dp/1984825054/ref=nodl_

Around 90% of all startup investment currently goes to male-led companies. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women who specialise in funding and supporting female startups, about why they believe investing in women is the smart choice. Marta Krupinksa is the Head of Google for Startups UK, and aims to encourage more women and under-represented founders to take the plunge into business. Marta herself co-founded the global financial technology company Azimo which raised over $70 million in venture capital. Having been the only woman in many meetings, she relishes her role now in connecting female entrepreneurs with potential investors, as well as providing mentoring and training. Anu Duggal was also an entrepreneur before deciding to create a capital fund that only invests in women-led startups - the Female Founders Fund. There is evidence that female entrepreneurs experience greater successes - and fewer failures - than their male counterparts, but traditional venture capital does not reflect this. Anu says that's why she chooses to put her money into talented businesswomen with disruptive and innovative ideas. (Image: Marta Krupinska (L) Credit Google for Startups UK. Anu Duggal (R) Credit Female Founders Fund)

Founders: Anu Duggal, Female Founders Fund, Banu Guler, Co-Star cofounder, Susan Lyne, BBG Ventures president, KJ Miller, Mented Cosmetics See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sutian Dong, Partner at early-stage venture capital fund Female Founders Fund, breaks down what it takes to make it in venture capital. She sheds light on the power of relationships and how to build them from the ground up, as well as the importance of being invested in the entrepreneurial community beyond your wallet. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Two very important (and very different) topics coming at you hard this week: pelvic-floor strength and the power of putting women in charge of venture capital. Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong are the brilliant minds behind Female Founders Fund, an early-stage investment firm created to identify women-led companies that old-school (cough, male) venture capitalists often overlook. Clearly, you need to know more, right? P.S. This Binu Binu Seshin Korean Scrub Mitt will get you polished and smooth without leaving weird grit in the bottom of your shower. It’s also 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S. Do you know about Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses? Because you should!

Patrick McGinnis, creator of the term FOMO, engages business leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians and more about the paths they’ve taken in life – and what they’ve let go of. In this episode, he speaks with Zola CEO Shan-Lyn Ma and Female Founders Fund founder Anu Duggal about how women are driving diversity in the start-up world. "FOMO Sapiens with Patrick J. McGinnis" is part of HBR Presents, a new network of business podcasts curated by HBR editors. For our full lineup of shows, search “HBR” on your favorite podcast app or visit hbr.org/podcasts.

Shan-Lyn Ma, CEO of the wedding e-commerce company Zola, and Anu Duggal, founder of Female Founders Fund, talk fundraising, venture capital, and how women are driving diversity in the world of start-ups.

In this panel Katia Beauchamp (Birchbox), Jennifer Fleiss (Rent The Runway & Jetblack) and Sutian Dong (Female Founders Fund) show us how breaking the rules in business can work to your advantage. From pop-up shops to unconventional ways to market your brands, these rule breakers share their keys to funding success. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/superwomen/support

In this episode of the Business Builders Show, we talk with Jessica Peltz-Zatulove and Sutian Dong, creators of the Women In Venture Directory, the largest global directory for women in venture capital to connect and collaborate. Both of these women are venture capitalists (yes, the directory is their passion project on the side). Jessica is a Partner at MDC Ventures, where she focuses on sourcing and managing investments in early stage startups that address the needs of the Modern CMO. She's sourced and lead investments in emerging companies including Msg.ai, Gradient.io, Veritonic, Catch & Release and Mezzobit (acquired by OpenX). Sutian Dong is a Partner at Female Founders Fund, an early-stage fund investing in the exponential power of exceptional female talent. Now into Fund II, select Female Founders Fund investments include: ELOQUII, Tala, Maven, Zola, Rockets of Awesome, WayUp, and Thrive Global. Jessica and Sutian both are passionate about their roles in venture and both of them have unconventional paths in to venture. We also dive into the need for the women in venture directory initiative and what the data shows as to where and what women in venture are investing in (no, it is not what you think). Find the women in venture directory at: https://www.women-vc.com/Follow Jessica on Twitter: @jessicapeltzFollow Sutian on Twitter: @sutiandong Learn more about the Business Builders Show hosts, J. Kelly Hoey at jkellyhoey.co. And Marty Wolff at martywolffbusinesssolutions.com. Call or text me at 570 815 1626 with your comments or questions. You can subscribe to the Business Builders Show on iTunes, Spotify. Stitcher or your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Meet Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong, the power duo behind Female Founders Fund and women disrupting venture capitalism. You’ve probably read the headlines about how much funding women-founded companies receive from investors and those low, low numbers are no lie. That’s where Anu and Sutian come in. They are reshaping traditional venture capital by creating their own early-stage fund that invests in the power of female talent. Their portfolio includes Shine, Zola, Billie, Rent The Runway, Maven, and more well-known brands, however, while that sounds glamorous now, Female Founders Fund started because of a  personal drive to build something that would fill a gap in the industry just like many other female entrepreneurs. On this episode, you'll  learn: All about venture capital 101 What female entrepreneurs should know about pitching VCs Why astrology was top of mind throughout our conversation How Anu and Sutian define success in their own lives   Show Notes: 28-Day Career Kickstart Career Contessa InstagramFemale Founders Fund

In this episode, we hosted a panel on the future of investing from a LP. perspective. The panel was hosted by the amazing Female Founders Fund at an event in san Francisco on Monday, March 11th. You’re going to get to hear from three experts in the LP world today on their thoughts of what’s to come to 2019, diversity in the LP world and what makes a successful LP.

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was a lot of fun. Connie Lozios took the captain's chair in San Francisco while I manned the sails, and we had Female Founders Fund's founder Anu Duggal in the studio to round out our crew. It was a week of conclusions. Our prior notes on YC and Uber and a few other things came home to roost. But, you're busy so let's sink our teeth into the good stuff: Uber's IPO lands in April: Right before we hit record, news broke that Uber's IPO will land in April. This isn't an unexpected result, but it is one that is long-expected. With Lyft's S-1 live, and in the wild, it's time for Uber to, ahem, shift and catch up? Regardless, the company's possible $1 billion raise to fund its research arm is another indicator that Uber is serious about going public. You know, that, and the fact that it's filed privately.Q1 IPO pace was slack: Aside from Lyft's public S-1, there's been an annoying dearth of public progress on the IPO front from tech's biggest players. Sure, some companies filed to go public privately, but that's more annoying than helpful. My point here was undercut by the Uber news, but if Lyft doesn't debut in March then it's going to be a complete first-quarter miss. Stash raises $65 million: Another of the neo-banks raised capital this month, with Stash stacking a fresh $65 million dollars. The firm was coy about the round's participants (odd), and silent on its new valuation (more normal, but still annoying). What matters is that Stash now has more dosh on hand to compete with Chime and Acorns, each of which recently raised big new rounds this year. Changes at YC: As expected, and presaged on this very show, Sam Altman is graduating himself to the chairman's seat at Y Combinator. That and the firm is finding office space in San Francisco. That's more evidence that the center of gravity has truly shifted here in Northen California. Sand Hill Road is more Route 66 than it is a hyperloop. And with that failed attempt at a joke, I give up. We're back in seven days! Equity drops every Friday at 6:00 am PT, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Downcast, and all the casts.

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was a lot of fun. Connie Lozios took the captain's chair in San Francisco while I manned the sails, and we had Female Founders Fund's founder Anu Duggal in the studio to round out our crew. It was a week of conclusions. Our prior notes on YC and Uber and a few other things came home to roost. But, you're busy so let's sink our teeth into the good stuff: Uber's IPO lands in April: Right before we hit record, news broke that Uber's IPO will land in April. This isn't an unexpected result, but it is one that is long-expected. With Lyft's S-1 live, and in the wild, it's time for Uber to, ahem, shift and catch up? Regardless, the company's possible $1 billion raise to fund its research arm is another indicator that Uber is serious about going public. You know, that, and the fact that it's filed privately.Q1 IPO pace was slack: Aside from Lyft's public S-1, there's been an annoying dearth of public progress on the IPO front from tech's biggest players. Sure, some companies filed to go public privately, but that's more annoying than helpful. My point here was undercut by the Uber news, but if Lyft doesn't debut in March then it's going to be a complete first-quarter miss. Stash raises $65 million: Another of the neo-banks raised capital this month, with Stash stacking a fresh $65 million dollars. The firm was coy about the round's participants (odd), and silent on its new valuation (more normal, but still annoying). What matters is that Stash now has more dosh on hand to compete with Chime and Acorns, each of which recently raised big new rounds this year. Changes at YC: As expected, and presaged on this very show, Sam Altman is graduating himself to the chairman's seat at Y Combinator. That and the firm is finding office space in San Francisco. That's more evidence that the center of gravity has truly shifted here in Northen California. Sand Hill Road is more Route 66 than it is a hyperloop. And with that failed attempt at a joke, I give up. We're back in seven days! Equity drops every Friday at 6:00 am PT, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Downcast, and all the casts.

Are you confused by venture capital? Do you wonder if it's right for your business? (Spoiler: It's not for everyone.) In this episode Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong break down the complex world (and acronyms!) of venture capital, and explain how the Female Founders Fund is different from other VC's. They also talk about how it's OK to lose money in the beginning (in fact, your probably will) and how they had over 700 meetings to raise capital for their first round of funding. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/superwomen/support

There’s little question that technology – software – is shaping the future of our work, our play, and even how we form opinions. But who is shaping that technology?  It’s been quite an economic run. The stock market’s been climbing for a decade, and in that time, tech companies like Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook have gone from underdogs to overlords. Even as that’s happened, employees and observers have settled on a nagging question: Is there room for more women and minorities on the campuses and in the startups where this future is crafted?   With me in New York this week, Anu Duggal, founding partner at Female Founders Fund. Joining me from Atlanta, Kathryn Finney, founder and managing director at Digital Undivided, which encourages entrepreneurship among black and Latina women. And from San Francisco, Ruben Harris is CEO of Career Karma, host of the Breaking Into Startups podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Executives from the Female Founders Fund and MM.LaFleur weigh in on how they're closing the gender gap and what others can do too.

Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong are the partners of Female Founders Fund, where they invest in tech companies started by women. Anu began her career as an entrepreneur -- including starting India’s first wine bar, and an e-commerce company. Sutian came from the investing side of things. In 2014, Anu decided to launch Female Founders Fund. A couple years later, she brought Sutian on as a partner. Together, they’ve invested in companies like Thrive Global and Rent the Runway. On the Couch, they talk to us about what makes a great cold email, the companies in their shadow portfolios, and why they’re so focused on building communities for female founders.

Anu Duggal is the Founding Partner @ Female Founders Fund, a leading early-stage fund investing in female-founded technology companies. Within their incredible portfolio is the likes of Zola, Rent The Runway, Maven Clinic, Tala and previous guest, Rockets of Awesome. They also have the most incredible mentor network including the founders of Stitchfix, Care.com, Zola and Tala. Prior to founding Female Founders Fund Anu was CEO @ Doonya, a dance fitness and media company inspired by Bollywood and fun fitness. Before that, Anu was Founder @ Exclusively.In where she headed up New Business Development. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Anu made her way into the world of VC with her founding of Female Founders Fund? 2.) What does Anu mean when she says she likes to focus on "non-obvious opportunities"? What are some clear examples of this? These non-obvious opportunities often appear to have smaller markets, how does Anu think about market size and evolution when investing? Can one blame male VCs for sometimes not identifying with the problem set being solved? What can be done to solve this problem? 3.) What 3 elements do Anu most look for when investing in consumer today? How does Anu respond to the statement that consumer may produce healthy revenue but at the end of the day they will never really produce venture return and be sold for 1.6x EBITDA? How does Anu assess the state of the M&A market today in the world of CPGs? 4.) How was the first fundraising for Female Founders Fund? What did the process look like in terms of amount of meetings, total committed LPs and duration spent raising? What were the common pushbacks from LPs in the fundraise? What did Anu do well that she would do again? How did the raise of the 2nd fund compare to the raise of Fund I? 5.) What does Anu mean when she states, "the power of the female network"? How has Anu seen this work in the real world? How does this allow Anu to see the best deals? How does Anu think about scaling check size and ownership with fund II? How does Anu think about reserve allocation when re-investing? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Anu’s Fave Book: Educated: The international bestselling memoir Anu’s Most Recent Investment: Co-Star, Hyper-Personalized, Real Time Horoscopes As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Anu on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.

Founding General Partner Nihal Mehta sits down with Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong, Partners at Female Founders Fund, to discuss the inception of the world’s first female-focused Venture Capital fund, how they were set up on a “blind date” by Ed Zimmerman of Lowenstein Sandler and have been able to use their unique backgrounds and points of views to make strong investments. In this episode, Anu speaks to risk tolerance and the challenges they’ve faced while fundraising and Sutian addresses the huge shift in the industry as female founders are securing more capital than ever. They also discuss building strong brand awareness and how collaboration across the VC community has been important to raising awareness for their fund and reaching the female founder community. Sutian shares that Female Founders Fund has always led with the mission to be the first place that FF think of going to when raising capital, but also want to be instrumental in supporting female entrepreneurs even before they think about starting a company. Lastly, see what #WWND means and why it hangs in their office, how they try to establish work/life balance and why they are excited about the rise of alternative communities. Send comments to seedtoscale@eniac.vc and tweet us @seedtoscale.

Anu Duggal is an entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. Anu began her tech career as a co-founder of Exclusively.in, a private sale e-commerce company and later moved onto become the CEO of Doonya, which is a dance fitness and media company. These days, Anu is the Founding Partner of Female Founders Fund, an early-stage fund, investing in technology companies started by women. Female Founders Fund has invested in some of the fastest growing female-led start-ups nationwide including: Eloquii, WayUp, Zola, Primary, Thrive Global, and more. In 2018, Anu was included in Fortune's “40 Under 40” list. She has been praised for her impact in diversifying venture capital. Additional distinctions include Business Insider's, “Ultimate List of Female Startup Investors,” and getting named to the “Top 4 Venture Firms Investing in Women”. Today she is here to share how to pitch to VC's and the secret to getting in touch with investors.

Anu Duggal is an entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. Anu began her tech career as a co-founder of Exclusively.in, a private sale e-commerce company and later moved onto become the CEO of Doonya, which is a dance fitness and media company. These days, Anu is the Founding Partner of Female Founders Fund, an early-stage fund, investing in technology companies started by women. Female Founders Fund has invested in some of the fastest growing female-led start-ups nationwide including: Eloquii, WayUp, Zola, Primary, Thrive Global, and more. In 2018, Anu was included in Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list. She has been praised for her impact in diversifying venture capital. Additional distinctions include Business Insider’s, “Ultimate List of Female Startup Investors,” and getting named to the “Top 4 Venture Firms Investing in Women”. Today she is here to share how to pitch to VC’s and the secret to getting in touch with investors.

Rachel Blumenthal is the Founder & CEO @ Rockets of Awesome, the startup that is reinventing the way parents shop for their kids clothes. To date, Rachel has raised over $19m in VC funding from the likes of Kirsten Green @ Forerunner, August Capital, General Catalyst, Gwyneth Paltrow and Female Founders Fund to name a few. Prior to Rockets of Awesome, Rachel founded fashion jewelry brand, Rachel Leigh. Rachel scaled the business to being available in over 300 stores worldwide and being named one of Oprah's "Favourite Things". Before that Rachel began her career in the publicity department at Yves Saint Lauren. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Rachel went from founding a company that created one of Oprah's "favourite things" to reinventing the way parents shop for their children today? 2.) Why does Rachel believe that "fundraising is like dating"? What does Rachel mean when she says "you have to play the game"? What does this literally look like in practice? What works in generating investor interest? What does not? Where does Rachel see many make mistakes in the fundraising process? 3.) How does Rachel think about capital efficiency with the evolution of her business? What tips and suggestions does Rachel give to increasing burn flexibility when future growth is ambiguous? Why does Rachel disagree with the thesis of raise money when you don't need it? What length of time does Rachel believe is the right time to raise for? 4.) Rachel has said before that, "the best investors are operators". What makes Rachel believe this? What are the drawbacks to operator VCs? What are the benefits to non-operator investors? What makes the truly special investor? How can a founder stress test this prior to their investment? What advice would Rachel give to a non-operator VC to improve their empathy and experience with founders? 5.) Rachel previous sly said to me that "being a woman in this male-dominated environment is everything the stereotype suggests", what moment or story particularly resonates for Rachel when saying this? How did she respond? How can less confident first time minority founders respond in these situations? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Rachel’s Fave Book: Fast Company, Inc As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Rachel on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC. Whether you’re starting your own small business or getting serious about making your small business more efficient, you need to invite FreshBooks to the table. FreshBooks makes cloud accounting software that’s so ridiculously easy to use and you’ll quickly understand why over 10 million people use it to radically streamline how they deal with their admin and paperwork. Plus, FreshBooks can handle a lot more than accounting related tasks. Using FreshBooks is kind of like having your own admin assistant who’s got your back, 24/7. To claim your 30-day unrestricted free trial, click here enter Twenty Minute VC in the “how did you hear about us section”. Highfive makes meetings better for thousands of organizations with insanely simple video conferencing designed for meeting rooms. It’s the easiest-to-use solution, with all-in-one hardware and intuitive cloud software. Plus, it’s a high-quality experience with industry-leading audio powered by Dolby Voice. It’s so easy to use, that there’s no pin codes or app downloads. Just click a link in your browser, and you’re in the meeting. With customers in over 100 countries, Highfive is already trusted by the likes of Warby Parker, Evernote, Expensify, and Betterment and you can learn more by simply heading over to highfive.com.

The Female Founders Fund is a venture capital firm that invests seed money in companies founded by women. But the firm's motive isn't to promote women's rights -- it's to make money. Partner Sutian Dong explains why the venture capital community undervalues companies founded by women and discusses some of her fund's most interesting and potentially lucrative investments. Plus, Google buying insurance giant American International Group? It sounds crazy. Maybe it is, Bloomberg reporter Sonali Basak tells Alex Sherman, but that's not stopping Citigroup analysts from proposing what would be a $100 billion deal.

Why Immigration Reform is Key to Solve the Talent Gap with Brian Frumberg-Guest speaker: Brian Frumberg, CEO & founder of VentureOut.-Female Founders Fund, is an early-stage fund investing in the exponential power of female talent.-The NYC Innovation Collective, is a non-profit alliance of over 100 of NYC's top accelerators, corporates and universities working to support innovation.-NYC.AI, is a startup ecosystem, which features several companies who've become standouts in the field of AI / ML.-Urban X, is a startup accelerator with world-class design and engineering resources.-Kaufman institute, offers grants and facilitates operations in the fields of education and entrepreneurship.-Brian sits at the innovation council of FWD.US, with Mark Zuckerberg, that advocates for immigration reforms to harness diverse talent.Tara Chklovski, is the CEO & founder of Technovation. You can support the HumAIn podcast and receive subscriber-only content at http://www.humainpodcast.com/subscribe.