Published on: May 8, 2013 – 1:17 pm
The reason that so many top brands agreed to work with Mika, says Fenseko, is that most of the on-line retail world is about discounting and Mika is actually selling clothes at their full price photographed as if they appeared in Vogue or W.
By Rachel Lehmann-Haupt (Editor, Women 2.0)
You know what it’s like when you’re getting ready for a board meeting and you just don’t have the mojo to pull together a great outfit. Elena Fesenko, the founder of the new startup Mika just raised $1.7M to solve this dilemma for women, according to Tech Crunch. Read More »
Published on: May 6, 2013 – 6:00 am
A VC who is a veteran of hundreds of board meetings explains how to make sure yours aren’t a waste of time.
By Rachel Pike (Senior Associate, Draper Fisher Jurvetson)
A great VC is four things: a fundraiser, a manager, a deal-spotter, and a board member. At DFJ we learn by doing. As part of my training for role #4, I’ve been to almost two hundred board meetings. Some were productive and energetic, and some were a waste of time. What was the difference?
I’ve spent the last few months gathering data from meetings I’ve been to, fellow board members, CEOs, and my partners. Here are some suggestions from the best of the best. Read More »
Published on: April 29, 2013 – 7:00 am
Freelance writer Justine Lee talks to female angels and founders about how to get more women to invest in startups.
By Justine Lee (Contributing Writer, Women 2.0)
In a room full of 100 angel investors, 85 of them are men, and 15 are women.
While this proportion is already shifting, there is work to be done to get that number closer to 50. I spoke with three women entrepreneurs and three women angel investors about their ideas on how we can get there. Read More »
Published on: April 23, 2013 – 11:00 am
Two German entrepreneurs living in crisis-hit Portugal explain why they think now is the perfect time to start their business and why they’ve turned to crowdfunding to get it off the ground.
By Judith Asamoah (Co-founder, Boleiaponto.com)
It all started in 2010. Sitting at the Guincho beach, one of the marvelous places just around the corner in Lisbon, my co-founder Stephanie and I had planned to do a ‘business brainstorming-afternoon.’
Knowing and loving Portugal for a while already, one could ‘smell’ the first signs of the upcoming crisis, which has brought hard austerity measures to the country. Read More »
Published on: April 22, 2013 – 9:00 am
In a niche that doesn’t immediately resonate with most folks in the startup scene? The co-founders of a company that helps older adults make connections to others in their community have tips.
By Marcie Rogo and Monica Birdsong (Co-founders, ConnectAround.com)
“This sounds great but it’s not for us.”
“Hmm… interesting. [silence]”
“You’re monetizing with 300 users? That is too little for startups.”
Have you heard those or something similar before? Yep, so have we and that’s just from some (uninformed) investors. We’re not even “cool” enough to have a popular shared workspace in LA host an aging/tech networking event. Read More »
Published on: April 22, 2013 – 6:00 am
The more money you raise the greater the chance of your startup being successful, right? Nope, says VC Cindy Padnos, who warns that too much funding can actually be bad for your fledgling business.
By Cindy Padnos (Founder & Managing Partner, Illuminate Ventures)
Which do you think is a better predictor of your company’s future? To have such a great concept that investors throw $400 million at you to bring it to life? Or to face enough skepticism that you can squeeze out just $9 million over multiple rounds of funding?
Okay, you knew it was a trick question, but the facts are pretty surprising. History shows that capital efficiency — raising no more than you need — has been a better indicator of success than capital access. Read More »
Published on: April 18, 2013 – 11:00 am
LearnVest’s Alexa von Tobel offers advice on how not just to build a company, but to upend an entire industry.
By Jessica Stillman (Editor, Women 2.0)
Let’s say you dream big. Sure, you want to start a high growth company, but you also want to take an inefficient or backward industry and utterly disrupt it. How do you go about it?
Alexa von Tobel, founder and CEO of financial management website LearnVest.com, has some ideas. Read More »
Published on: April 18, 2013 – 6:00 am
RocksBox founder Meaghan Rose shares what she’s learned from the challenges and triumphs she experienced fundraising while being a woman.
By Meaghan Rose (Founder & CEO, RocksBox)
It’s not the same. It just isn’t. Fundraising for your startup is going to be harder for you than a male counterpart with the same business. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way that can help you succeed despite the challenges. Read More »
Published on: March 27, 2013 – 11:00 am
A banker turned crowdfunding executive explains why new financing models are leveling the playing field for female-owned businesses.
By Heather Schwarz-Lopes (Co-Founder & CEO, EarlyShares.com)
The crowdfunding space is emerging as a progressive place for women entrepreneurs and business managers alike. Once the SEC finalizes its rules, equity crowdfunding — a subset of crowdfunding that aims to raise funds and invest in businesses through social networks — will allow more people to invest in projects important to them, leveling the fundraising playing field for currently underrepresented entrepreneurs. Read More »
Published on: March 18, 2013 – 7:00 am
A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.
By Jessica Stillman (Editor, Women 2.0)
Well OK, despite the memorable words of Justin Timberlake’s character in The Social Network, a million dollars in pretty cool too. But a billion dollars is even cooler.
So as part of our mission to encourage female founders to aim as high as possible, here’s a little inspiration in infographic form Read More »
