Thank you to all who joined us on May 10-13th, 2021 or a week of inspiring keynotes, actionable sessions and fun networking opportunities. You made this event truly incredible.
This summit is focused on funding, with the theme”VC and beyond”. We’ll discuss everything from traditional venture capital, corporate venture capital, angel investing and friends and family rounds to good old-fashioned revenue, bank loans and SBA loans to grants, US/government grants, SPACs, SEALs, invoice factoring, cashflow and more. Women only receive a fraction of VC dollars and it’s time for us to find the money we need to grow our businesses in new and creative ways.
As the CEO & Founder of ThinkResults Marketing, Jennifer works with high-growth companies of all sizes including Microsoft, Intel, SAP, PeopleSoft, dozens of startups and Intel’s New Devices Group to build results-driven marketing strategies and programs.
Working with ThinkResults Marketing, clients see a significant return on their marketing investments: whether it is a 350% increase in web traffic, a 1400% increase in online leads, or a 400% increase in conversion rates, our focus on smarter marketing and more effective launch strategies have driven well over $1.5B in new revenue for clients.
Jenn is also the founder of the Changing Tides Movement which was developed out of the pressing need for a collaborative community focused on the unique experiences of women founders, entrepreneurs and investors.
As one of the earliest employees at PlentyOfFish(POF), Kim Kaplan possesses immense insight into the life cycle of a startup and what it takes to grow and emerge as a leader. Kim was initially the sole person responsible for product and revenue growth, leading POF’s Product, Marketing and Revenue initiatives focused on optimizing their core KPIs to drive growth across their Apps and Web projects. She launched product initiatives that grew Daily Active Users from 1 million to over 4 million and revenue from $10 million to over $100 million. Kim was an instrumental part of the executive team that grew the company culminating in the successful Match Group acquisition for US $575 million in 2015.
After leaving PlentyOfFish Kim spent two years investing and advising various companies including Spocket, Apollo Cover and Flytographer as well as mentoring companies through Creative Destruction Labs and Techstars Seattle.
Kim recently jumped back into building, launching a Tiktok style dating app called Snack.
The first live community platform for bartenders and servers. This platform was created to give people the opportunity to discover what really makes an establishment unique, it’s the personalities. It’s the talent. Without great people, a great business cannot exist. In a fast pace world where everything is moving towards automation with less and less human contact, I wanted to draw the focus back to what really matters: It’s people. As a user, you can see who is working where in real time and check out daily specials, and who is most popular in your area and keep track of your favorite Startender’s schedule. Bartenders and servers can also invite their customers to come in with special offers and keep notes to remember them next time. This is the app that unites bartenders and their customer in one place.
Hillary New SinclairChief Marketing and Growth OfficerOnthemuv
Hillary New Sinclair, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer for Onthemuv. Hillary is passionate about helping tech founders, especially women founders to accelerate their startup journey and is currently an Advisor to tech startups. Previously, she was the founder & CEO of Wheesearch and Executive Director of Founders Network. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Hillary developed B2C SaaS marketing solutions for F500 companies including Avon, Yahoo!, Lexus, eBay, Kraft Foods and Visa. She is also on the Steering Committee for Changing Tides, and was a 2018 Finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year with the Women in IT Awards.
Nancy Kazdan, Founder and CEO of Kazdan International has a proven reputation to inspire people in corporations, startups, technology, financial and professional service organizations to accelerate revenue and investment.
Nancy’s experience in industry leadership, cultural diversity, and alternative investment spans more than two decades on multiple continents including North America, Australia, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. Organizations benefiting from her strategies include Apple, Ernst & Young, IBM, Russell Investment Group, Deutsche Asset Management, amongst many others.
Her tested gold standard methods, expert skills in leadership, marketing and sales, along with intuitive insights have helped global business executives, Founders and teams to unlock their highest level of performance.
Maria Oliveira TamelliniCo-founder & COOGamerSafer Inc.
Maria Tamellini, is a co-founder of GamerSafer, a company designing technologies to help online games defeat fraud, crimes and toxicity. She was named a Headstream Innovator this year for creating positive, ethical and healthy technologies for teens and is a Child Safety co-chair at XR Safety Initiative. Before GamerSafer, she had a successful CSR consultancy B Corp certified company and advised eighty businesses across the world. Maria is a UC Berkeley SkyDeck alumna, a Board Member of Latinas in Tech, holds an international certification in social business. She is also a gamer, a mom of two passionate gamers and an Ambassador for Women in Games.
Douglas SinclairSerial CFO, Private investorPacific Arc Investments
An electrical engineer by background, I moved into finance back in the 80’s and took my first CFO position in 1990. Fifteen companies, including four IPOs and six trade sales, later, I’m now semi-retired but have a fairly broad portfolio of private investments and sit on a number of boards. Chances are that I’ve made more mistakes more often than most people.
Erik Mayo is an active investor and advisor to lending and early-stage companies in the US and Latin America with 20 years of investment management experience. Erik is currently, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Terra Incognita Capital, a global lender to specialty finance companies. Previously, Erik was a Founding Partner and Co-Portfolio Manager of Fintan Partners. While at Fintan Partners, Erik made investments in United States, Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa, in strategies including distressed debt, structured credit, growth capital financing, receivables factoring, and private equity. Before founding Fintan Partners, Erik has held various positions at Stanford Management Company, Lazard Asset Management and Bankers Trust. He earned a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania.
Xandra LaskowskiFounder and CEOOSEA Angel Investors
OSEA Angel Investors is a membership-based private angel investment group focused on and driven by executives and entrepreneurs with very diverse and successful backgrounds. We provide a forum for the introduction of emerging companies to potential angel investors and offer access to meaningful education regarding the vetting and investment process. Educated entree to investment opportunities will allow our members possibilities to diversify their investment portfolios. OSEA Angel Investors is based at the UCI Cove, University of California, Irvine.
I have earned the trust and respect of my clients, peers and colleagues during my 28 years in the financial services and banking industry. My wealth of knowledge in all areas of lending–financial analysis/underwriting, credit management, sales/marketing–allows me to provide the superb personal service and keen financial perspectives that my clients have relied upon. I have been recognized consistently for strong client relationship, unrivaled financial insight and high loan production ($600 million funded SBA loans in 21 years, top-10 producer in the nation for 21 consecutive years and a 5-time national sales champion).
Kate AndersonCo-founder and VP, OperationsIFundWomen
Kate Anderson is a leader in generating change and gender equality within the private fundraising space. As Co-founder and VP, Operations of IFundWomen, she has driven millions of dollars into the hands of women founders. IFundWomen is the go-to funding marketplace for women-owned businesses and the people who want to support them with access to capital, coaching, and connections.
Lee SessionsExecutive in ResidenceGlobal Corporate Venturing
Lee is a Fellow at the Bell Mason Group Fellow, where he advises corporations on best practices to optimize corporate venture capital programs for impact and resilience. He’s also an Executive in Residence at Global Corporate Venturing, focusing on industry advancement. Previously, he led Portfolio Development at Intel Capital and served in global HR leadership roles. Lee is an intrepid adventurer with a lifelong passion for paddling, research, and discovery. He’s paddled the length of the Mississippi River and led dozens of expeditions in the Canadian Arctic.
Amy Belt Raimundo joined Kaiser Permanente Ventures as Managing Director. Amy brings over 20 years of experience in healthcare investing, start-up and corporate operations and hospital system consulting. Immediately prior to joining Kaiser, Amy was the Chief Business Officer of digital health start-up Evidation Health founded by GE Ventures and Stanford Healthcare where she led all commercial and business development activities. Previously, Amy spent close to a decade in venture capital focused on healthcare technology as a Vice President at Covidien Ventures and Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV). She led investments in Medina Medial (acquired by Medtronic) and Nevro Corporation (NYSE: NVRO) among others. Earlier in her career, Amy held operating roles at Guidant Corporation (acquired by Abbott Vascular) including leading the international launch of the Xience drug eluting stent and managing product lines across the US, Europe and Asia. She began her career as a management consultant for APM/CSC Healthcare, optimizing operations and clinical guidelines for major hospital systems. Amy is a Kauffman Venture Fellow as well as founder and president of MedtechWomen. She holds a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.
Deborah KilpatrickCo-CEO & Board ChairEvidation Health
Deborah Kilpatrick, PhD is the co-CEO and Executive Chair of Evidation Health, a privately held digital health company in San Mateo, CA. The Evidation platform enables global partners the technology to measure health and product impact in real life via direct connections to people and their permissioned data—at any scale. Earlier in her career, Deborah held leadership roles at CardioDx and Guidant Corporation, where she was Research Fellow, Director of R&D, and Director of New Ventures in its Vascular Intervention Division prior to its acquisition by Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX). Deborah is currently on the board of directors of Sleep Number (NASDAQ: SNBR) as well as privately held startups in femtech, and she is also a director at The Task Force for Global Health—an independent NGO focused on solving large-scale health problems in vulnerable populations around the world. She sits on the advisory board for Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering (former chair), the largest producer of engineering degrees in the US, as well as the advisory board for the College of Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University. Deborah is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and is a co-founder of the MedtechVision Conference now held annually in Silicon Valley. She’s been named to FierceBiotech’s Top Women in Biotech, FierceMedicalDevice’s Top Women in Medtech, San Francisco Business Times’ 100 Most Influential Women in Business, and Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 100 Women of Influence. She holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in engineering, with a doctorate minor in applied mathematics and statistics, from Georgia Tech.
Sheena is a Principal at Comcast Ventures focusing on consumer investing, with particular interest in proptech, healthcare and fintech. Prior to joining the team at CV, Sheena led Strategy and Operations for apparel at an e-commerce and fulfillment platform, Symphony Commerce. Prior to Symphony, Sheena was in the Corporate Strategy Group at Hudson’s Bay Company/Saks Fifth Avenue, driving the future of omni-channel commerce. She started her career at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) advising clients in the financial services, retail and insurance sector. While in business school, Sheena worked at Bessemer and spent her summer at Google focused on strategy for emerging products. She graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Economics and M.B.A from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Here’s what an attendee said about our most recent event, The Wave:
The Wave Tour exceeded all my expectations. The speakers and panels were exceptional, the content fresh with new perspectives. This conference was well run and provided insight for all levels of women entrepreneurs. Major kudos to Jenn LeBlanc and the team that pulled this together. Thank you for a day full of valuable nuggets and takeaways.