Double Up/Double Down: Launching “When Founder Met Funder” Year Two
When Julia Collins and I first explored the idea to host an event for Black women founders in 2018, it was based on our knowledge of two core things as members the founder and funder community:
Black founders are highly capable and deserve equal opportunities in the startup ecosystem. Unfortunately, Black founders, particularly women, are often shut out of venture capital due to the murky nature of the warm intro and unclear standards and expectations around raising money.
Venture capitalists actively play the long game and “want to create more diverse portfolios” but seem to be hitting a speed bump or simply dragging their feet when it comes to meeting, supporting and investing in Black founders.
We wanted to break down those walls. We thought, How do we bring together Black women founders, who are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the country, with the people who have the capital and expertise to support them? We scribbled some ideas down on paper (pronounced “Google Doc” ;-)) and reached out to my great friend and sister, Domonique Fines. We asked if she would put her special YC magic and unmatchable finesse on the event and Voila! In 2019, the inaugural “When Founder Met Funder” event hit Silicon Valley with the three of us at the helm. We garnered the support of All Raise (thanks, Pam Kostka!) and Y Combinator to fully host and support the event.
We tinkered and tailored on what type of format would work best, who should we invite to speak, could we make it interactive, how can we provide value? Not just to say we did something, but to give truly valuable time and resources that would allow the women to leave more equipped for this world than when they came. And perhaps, the most important question: Would enough VCs volunteer their time if we set expectations early that this was not a pitch event? This wasn’t a ready-made set of perfect founders for your review—there was work to be done here. And the answer was overwhelmingly “Yes!”
We set a goal of 40 attendees and 10 VCs. With no additional publicity outside of our Twitter feeds and the amazing word of mouth of our community, we hosted over 30 VCs and 100 Black women founders, many of whom flew from out of state to attend. After the event ended, we had request after request to keep the event going, to make it longer, to expand capacity. And we’re excited to do just that!
All Raise, with additional support and insights from YCombinator and Andreessen Horowitz, is excited to announce the second annual “When Founder Met Funder” event for Black women entrepreneurs. While we’re moving the event fully online, we’re confident we can touch even more Black women founders in a digital format. We are thrilled to have an incomparable Black female founder, Iman Abuzeid, CEO of Incredible Health, and her Series A lead investor, Andreessen Horowitz General Partner, Jeff Jordan, serve as our opening Founder/Funder Spotlight Session. They will discuss Iman’s journey to raising a $15M Series A, the relationship between her and Jeff and how to support taking these rising founders to the next level.
Founders who attend will also have the opportunity to have small-group sessions with VCs and other women in a similar space who are directly interested and invested in supporting them. Bring your questions, bring your fears, bring your full self. Our aim is to create a forum where founders can garner guidance about their startups, access opportunities for future capital, and gain a network of women with the same goal. Our investors have the opportunity to meet Black women entrepreneurs on the rise. Ultimately, we hope that when founders meet funders, you’ll build valuable and lasting relationships.
We can’t wait to see you there!
-Megan, Julia and Dom
Here are the details:
When: 9:30am - 12:00pm PT on Thursday, August 27
Agenda:
Part One: Founder/Funder Spotlight Session
Iman Abuzeid (Incredible Health) and Jeff Jordan (Andreessen Horowitz) will walk through Incredible’s successful fundraising pitch from each of their perspectives.
Part Two: Storytelling Workshops
We’ll break into small group storytelling sessions to practice pitching and get direct, personal feedback from VCs and fellow founders.
Lunch + Small Group Networking
How founders can apply: If you’re a Black woman who is building a tech or tech-enabled company, please apply HERE to be considered for this event. We have limited spots available so we ask that you fill out the application by August 6.
How funders/mentors can apply: Want to get involved with When Founder Met Funder as a VC mentor? Fill out THIS FORM to share your interest!
