Hey there! 👋
Happy International Women’s Day (IWD)! 👑 I hope you're off to a great start this month. It's been quite a ride for me lately, from celebrating my brother’s wedding in South Africa to a whirlwind business trip to Milan. 🎢
Besides eating our weight in croissants 🥐 and pasta 🍝 in Milan #YOLO, my colleague Steph and I attended the kick off for our exciting new project. GENDEX. Supported by the European Commission, GENDEX aims to create a Gender and Diversity index for startups, investors, and policymakers in the innovation ecosystem to track progress transparently.
Why now? Well, recent stats on the Gender Gap are disheartening. Pitchbook’s latest report for IWD revealed that in 2023, women-led companies accounted for just 25.8% of European VC deals. 😩
Steph and I before the GENDEX kick off meeting in Milan on Tuesday.
Defining diversity is the first step in building a tool like GENDEX. In our kick-off meeting with partners IDC and BluSpecs, we tackled this challenge head-on, considering the diverse European landscape of language, culture, and identity. It's no small feat, especially when handling sensitive data in different cultural contexts.
Despite the intensity, the day was incredibly productive. With passionate minds united in a mission for positive change, we left feeling inspired but also aware of the magnitude of our ambition to deliver this pilot by year-end. If you're interested in contributing to this project, big or small, please reach out.
In other news, it's International Women’s Day! If you're looking for plans to celebrate, I've curated a special list of events. Let's dive in!
Sophie Webber, Communications Lead at Founderland
👑 In Celebration of International Women’s Day
🏆 Today through Sunday - Founderland giveaway: To celebrate international women’s day we’re launching a giveway where you can win €150 in Founderland merchandise. Entry conditions here.
👩💻 March 12 - OutGeekWomen invite all women in tech to join them in celebrating International Women’s Day in Berlin. Rub shoulders with CTOs, devs, and network with your favourite tech brands. Grab last tickets here.
🎤 March 15 - Compass Demo Day: Join our latest Compass cohort in pitching their innovative startups over drinks and nibbles. Investors only. RSVP here.
🖤 March 18 - BIPOC Women in Tech: Building allyship and support - Join this exciting discussion where I’ll be delivering a keynote speech alongside an inspiring panel of women leaders around the importance of allyship in tech. See you there.
🗣️ March 19 - Serial founder Deborah Choi is hosting a pitch night at The Social Hub. The theme for this edition is empowering and elevating women in business. Apply for a spot.
🍷 March 19 - Women in Marketing: Sip, Connect, Learn by Femme Palette. Meet women marketers to discuss industry trends and strategies over wine. Get your ticket.
Craving more events and exclusive opportunities? Join our vibrant community platform – it's free, user-friendly, and packed with resources!
🗞️ Top Stories and Featured Articles
👑 In line with the UN’s International Women’s Day theme ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’, EU-Startups has put together a list of the top 100 women in the European startup and VC landscape.
🔥 Raising capital is tough, especially in the challenging 2024 economic landscape. Here are 9 must-attend conferences for founders seeking investor connections this year.
👀 The EU’s flagship AI act is on track to become the law in the next couple of months. Here’s what you need to know as a founder to make sure you’re compliant.
🌪️ Last year deeptech startups secured 44% of all invested capital! According to VCs these are the 13 best deep tech communities to secure a slice of the pie. 🥧
💎 Meet 10 trailblazing women investors reshaping the VC landscape and breaking barriers in the industry. Discover how they're driving innovation and closing the Gender Gap one investment at a time.
👋 Have you heard about our newest “team member”? Meet PAM - our stealth Pitch AI Mentor. If you want to test PAM out for yourself, please join our waitlist.
That’s a wrap for today. Since it's International Women’s Day, I'm taking advantage of the public holiday in Germany to catch up with a close girlfriend and decompress after all the travel.
A special shout-out to the amazing women on the Founderland team who never cease to inspire me.
Stephanie von Behr, Britt Davis, Alina Bassi, Deborah Choi, Hana Ali, Verrome Rosbach, Motunrayo Onafowokan, Sara Hao.
Thank you,
Sophie 💝
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