sunday’s Post

Interesting topic with a stacked panel of tenured female Healthcare executives and HBA members! Check this one out! #hbaimpact

Reflecting on 2024, we see immense progress in women's entrepreneurship, yet challenges remain. Our journey has evolved with better support networks, increased funding access, and a stronger presence in leadership roles. However, the need for more inclusive policies and support structures is clear. 🌟This year, let's focus on: 🔹 Securing more venture capital for women-led startups. 🔹 Expanding mentorship for women at all entrepreneurial stages. 🔹 Prioritizing work-life balance to acknowledge unique challenges. We aim for a future where women's leadership is the norm, not the exception. Here's to empowering each other and shaping a world where every woman entrepreneur thrives. #WomenInBusiness #Leadership #Innovation #ArhaNaturals

“Because when all-women leadership teams pitch products for women, the data tells us: they don’t get funded. And that’s our real canary in the proverbial coalmine. Half the population is just too niche.” - Leela Cosgrove on the disparity of funding for female founders. As a founder and customer-centric product visionary with human problems at the core of my inspiration, I’ve tried really hard not to get disillusioned by the statistics. I am hopeful, especially in Aotearoa, because the people I’ve met, get it. Half the population is not niche. And there’s something very special about female founders, and the world (who are our customers) is craving what we bring through our solutions. Full article here.

Sharing the Powrsuit ‘why’ on stage at Denver Startup Week 🙌 💰We want to tackle one of the biggest contributors to the wealth gap: our earning potential. 💨 Women are just as ambitious as men but we face stronger headwinds. 📈 Companies with more women in leadership positions outperform on virtually every business metric. 👩💻Diverse pipelines aren’t a nice to have they’re critical for productivity and innovation. Women don’t need fixing, we need a playbook. Go Nat! #womenfounders #womenleadership #diversityequityinclusion #womenentrepreneurs

🌐 This year's United Nations International Women's Day call to action, "Invest in Women: Accelerate progress," resonates deeply with our Orbit community.  Here's how the women on our team, the women leading our portfolio companies, and our dedicated women mentors are accelerating progress and driving entrepreneurship:   💠 Diverse Perspectives: Bringing different viewpoints to the table, which is not just valuable—it's essential. Diverse teams have been shown to adapt and innovate better in rapidly changing business environments and produce above average profitability.   💪 Courage is Contagious: The vision and leadership of our women founders inspire us daily with purpose. We're proud to support their ventures, knowing that their success ripples positive change throughout the world.   💡 Mentorship Matters: Mentorship is a powerful tool for every startup. Our women mentors generously share their wealth of experiences and wisdom. They question assumptions, encourage new ways of thinking, help our founders acquire new skills and role model leadership.   🌐💪 Let's stand together. The success stories we create today resonate far beyond our firm. Investing in women is investing in the ideas that will change the world. Sharmeen Looi Jessica Gleeson Dr Saira Siddique Scarlett Li Daisy Tang Harmeet Kaur Ching-Ping Lin MedIQ Smart Healthcare iMotorbike Zebra Labs Minjia Wu Jenne Wong Oscar Ramos William Bao Bean #investinwomen #internationalwomensday #iwd #entrepreneurship #mentorship #diversityinVC #womenfounders #womeninvc #mentoringmatters

Curious about how to make a meaningful difference for International Women's Day? Invest in a female founded business. Just that easy. Female founders have my deepest admiration, in addition to the usual challenges of creating and scaling a business, they also face the daily reality that just 2% of VC funding globally is going to female founded business. In the US, 82 trillion dollars are invested by VCs, with less than 2 trillion going to female founded business. There is great work being done at the angel and seed rounds of funding by grassroots groups. But, not having access to real liquidity as real businesses, with real products to scale is a REAL problem for female founders and for society. That 2% covers ALL levels of business growth. Oh! According to a recent speech by Don Peebles at the Grio Awards that 2% also includes people of color. He pointed out that 98% (80 of 82 trillion dollars) of liquidity is being invested in 31% of the population. In 2023! How best to invest in female founded businesses: Cash is King 💵 Write checks. Engage and inspire VCs and PE to write checks. Hold accountable the places to ensure they back FFBs. Connect female founders with people who write the big checks. Do it today. There is currently a historically high level of "dry capital" sitting on the sidelines. Purchase Orders can become Cash. 💰 Purchase products at scale. UPS has a fabulous supplier diversity program. Flex on Payment Terms. Consider accelerating your current payment terms. Sign long term contracts. Purchase orders can be used to create liquidity. Make connections between great products and people make purchases. Amplify, Amplify, Amplify Help build awareness for the work of FFB. It creates access to the resources above. Amplify LinkedIn posts, share their services. Share information on the gaps in funding. Ask the tough questions. Know your numbers. If women still get paid on average $0.73 to the dollar of men AND they have access to less than 2% of liquidity in the capital markets. Then any female founder you meet has essentially been tenaciously building her business based on a liquidity gap of 98.5%! So, when you meet them, celebrate them, then help them find money and contracts. If you can't contribute in the ways listed above, consider learning in and investing your talents. I would love to encourage everyone in our LinkedIn community who posted cheery slides on International Women's Day to make a commitment to helping to Grow the 2% in 2024. Proud to be part of this amazing group of Orbit Startups mentors who are investing their time and insights to help startups succeed globally. Each an amazing business leader in her own field. Each making the time to invest in others. Would love my call to action next year to be Growing the 5% club. What ideas did I miss? Who is doing great work in this space? Please share best practices so we can turn them into common practices at scale.

Ideas and insights worth sharing. Read the quotes for practical ways to support progress.

Last night's event at Greenhouse was a great opportunity for climate tech community to network and learn from leaders in sustainability and climate. The event focused on the journeys and stories of four leaders, Christine Amour-Levar shanya suppasiritad Dani Matthews Eleni A. who shared how being a women has shaped their ambitions and journey in the field. One of the key takeaways was the importance of increasing the proportion of female founded companies and startups in climate tech, today a mere 7%. The road is long as a founder. Longer and harder in climate tech particularly hardware tech. The additional barriers, struggles and bias that female founders sometimes face mean those that get there today are beyond superhuman. The data also supports the importance of diverse leadership teams and female-founded startups, as they tend to perform better and exit earlier than average. We are what we see. Female founders in Climate tech must be supported and celebrated. 👏🏻 #ClimateTech #WomenInSTEM #DiversityAndInclusion

I am beyond excited to share that I will be spending the next 5 weeks shadowing the incredible CA Tripti Shinghal Somani (तृप्ति ) (तृप्ति), the inspiring founder of Womennovator ( Global Incubator for Women) Womennovator. Imagine a world where women are not just breaking glass ceilings, they are building entire SHE-scapes! Womennovator ( Global Incubator for Women) is more than an incubator; it's a global catalyst. It empowers women entrepreneurs, leaders, and visionaries to become the architects of their own success stories. From building thriving businesses to crafting impactful policies, these women are shaping a bright future, one innovation at a time. Through mentorship, networking, and hands-on support, Womennovator is breaking barriers and creating opportunities for women to thrive in their respective fields. During my journey, I look forward to witnessing firsthand how Womennovator: ✨ Cultivates a community of strong, supportive women. ✨ Provides mentorship and training to foster leadership. ✨ Opens doors to global opportunities and recognition. ✨ Champions the cause of women in business, technology, and beyond. Womennovator offers a range of impactful programs, including: #WTalk: A platform for women to share their success stories and inspire others. #GlobalMentorshipProgram: Connecting women with industry experts for guidance and support. #VirtualIncubationProgram: Offering resources and training to help women-led startups grow and succeed. #PitchSessions: Providing opportunities for women entrepreneurs to present their ideas to investors and gain valuable feedback. Tripti's dedication to igniting a ripple effect of female empowerment is truly inspiring. Witnessing her work firsthand is an incredible opportunity, and I can't wait to share the journey with you all! Stay tuned for insights, stories, and the incredible women I meet along the way. Let's celebrate and support the women who are changing the world, one innovative step at a time! #WomenEmpowerment #Womennovator #Leadership #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #WomenInBusiness #Mentorship #GlobalImpact #Inspiration #Journey #Sheconomy #TriptiSomani #WomensLeadership #Startups #FemaleFounders #BusinessGrowth Some incredible organizations and people who support women's empowerment: UNWomen Wwk UN Women Women Talk Money SheEO™ ForbesWomen ForbesWomen_Es WOMEN IN TECH ® Global WomenIN WomenEntrepreneurs Global Start-ups GlobalWoman® Women4Change Indiana Women@BCG YourStory Media HerStory FICCI