Foundess

I’m writing this on my flight back to Ann Arbor from Boston, reflecting on the incredible past few days spent with my Foundess cofounders for our first in-person event at Harvard. ?? In early October, Emmy Thamakaison, Irawadee T., Pear Chotbunwong, and I launched Foundess with a simple goal: to create a space where female founders could connect and collaborate. Just 1.5 months later, I found myself flying out to Boston to co-host our first in-person event with Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship. This week has been nothing short of extraordinary. ? Our Womxn Networking + Pitch Night event at Harvard brought together 170+ attendees from 15+ schools and organizations, featuring 70+ minutes of inspiring pitches. The energy in the room was electric, and hearing attendees share how empowered they felt after the event reminded me exactly why we started this journey. ?? Boston itself added to the magic of the week. From our evening at Harvard to a dessert gathering with Cory Levy at MIT right after, each moment brought thoughtful discussions, new connections, and great memories. Foundess began with the vision of empowering female founders and innovators in their journeys. Whether you’re exploring an idea, looking for mentorship, or seeking community, we’re here for you—this is just the beginning. ?? To everyone who joined us this week, thank you for being part of this milestone. A special shoutout to Emmy, Ira, Pear, Daniela Andrade, Sirin Thamakaison, and Sahar Maisha for organizing, and mallory contois, Bobbie Carlton, and Abigayle Peterson for speaking. I’m so excited to continue building this community and organizing future events already underway across the country! Connect below: ?? https://www.foundess.com/ https://lnkd.in/eQpkxddF

? 170+ Women. 15+ Schools. One Incredible Night. ? On behalf of Foundess and the Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship (WiE) team, a HUGE thank you to the 170+ womxn who joined us for the Womxn Networking + Pitch Night on Monday! ?? This event was truly impactful and inspiring! From the buzzing networking session to the thought-provoking panel discussions to the inspiring pitch for feedback sessions, the room was filled with talent, creativity, and unstoppable energy. ???? A massive shoutout to the Foundess team—Emmy Thamakaison, Riya Dev, Irawadee T., Sirin Thamakaison, and Pear Manyasiri Chotbunwong—for your incredible commitment and leadership. Your hard work and vision made this event possible, and we couldn’t have done it without you. ??? Thank you for traveling from Stanford, UMich, and Tufts to make this happen—you are all rockstars! ?? ?? A Few Highlights from the Evening: ?? 170+ attendees ?? 15+ schools and organizations represented ?? 70+ minutes of pitches and thoughtful Q&A A special thank you to our phenomenal speakers Abigayle Peterson, Bobbie Carlton, and mallory contois, who shared their wisdom, stories, and tips to inspire the next wave of female founders. ?? This event reaffirmed what we already know: women are building incredible solutions and deserve more spaces to connect, get feedback, and collaborate. ???? I’m incredibly proud of the spaces Harvard WiE has been creating over the past year and excited to see our community and partnerships continue to grow! Excited to announce that our commitment to fostering this community is stronger than ever with more in-person events planned for both the East and West Coasts! ?? Feel free to DM me if you’d like to join our email list for updates on future events and opportunities!

"Get pissed about something." That’s the advice Bobbie Carlton shared during our fireside chat, and it struck a chord. Passion drives every great organization, and empowering female founders fuels me. I’m so grateful to see our first Foundess event at Harvard met with such incredible energy and feedback. A heartfelt thank-you to the 170+ women from 15+ schools who joined us for Monday’s Networking + Pitch Night! Huge appreciation to our inspiring speakers, Abigayle Peterson, Bobbie Carlton, and mallory contois, for sharing their wisdom and sparking new ideas. And to the amazing Foundess + Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship team—Riya Dev, Irawadee T., Sirin Thamakaison, Pear Manyasiri Chotbunwong, Daniela Andrade, Sahar Maisha—your leadership made this event unforgettable. This night proved one thing: womxn deserve spaces to connect and thrive. More events are already in the works—stay tuned for updates on what’s next, from coast to coast! ?? ?? Want to join the movement? Check these out ?? https://www.foundess.com/ https://lnkd.in/g7b5kWXJ

We are so thrilled to announce our incredible speaker lineup for the Foundess x Khosla Ventures Cafe Night at Stanford! ???? Katie M. is an investor at Khosla Ventures, where she supports bold, early-stage ventures shaping the future. Before Khosla, Katie co-founded Kangaroo, a celebrity-focused AI gaming startup, where she raised $3.3M and led a 12-person team to develop interactive storytelling games. She also held roles as a senior product manager at Astrocade and as a software engineer at Meta. Krithi Reddy is a co-founder of Merazine, a platform turning online shopping into a game by helping users discover unique brands and engage with a fashion-forward community. Prior to Merazine, Krithi worked as an analyst at Blackstone and competed as a student-athlete on Stanford’s Division I Women’s Lightweight Rowing team. Molly Cantillon is the founder of NOX, an AI-powered personal assistant funded by OpenAI, designed to revolutionize how we manage daily tasks. A passionate builder and innovator, Molly has previously worked as an AI engineer at LangChain and co-founded GirlTechBoss, hosting the world’s largest all-female makeathon with 2,500+ participants. We are thrilled to welcome Katie, Krithi, and Molly to our Stanford Cafe Night Event! ? ?? Date: November 21st, 2024 ?? Location: Stanford University ?? RSVP: https://lnkd.in/e3ZPWmFH ???? Emmy Thamakaison, Irawadee T., Riya Dev, Pear Manyasiri Chotbunwong

On behalf of?Foundess?and the Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship (WiE) team, we want to express our heartfelt thanks for joining us at the Womxn Networking + Pitch Night last evening! ? It was such a joy to meet so many talented womxn and witness the energy, creativity, and passion that filled the room. The atmosphere created last evening means the world to us! Some statistics from the evening: ?? 170+ attendees ?? 15+ schools and organizations represented across regions ?? 70+ minutes of incredible pitches and thoughtful Q&A We’re thrilled to share that this is just the beginning!?Foundess?is committed to growing this community with more in-person events on both the East and West Coasts. Thank you for making our very first event so special—we can’t wait to see you at future gatherings as we continue to celebrate and empower womxn founders everywhere! ?? ????: Emmy Thamakaison, Irawadee T., Riya Dev, Pear Manyasiri Chotbunwong, Sirin Thamakaison, Daniela Andrade, Sahar Maisha, Bobbie Carlton, mallory contois, Abigayle Peterson

Such a heartwarming message from our event yesterday ??

Calling female builders/artists/designers @ Stanford! ?? Are you working on a project or thinking of joining one? Ever wanted to know what other female founders are up to? ?? Join us for an exclusive cozy evening with Katie M. from Khosla Ventures at Foundess Cafe Night @ Stanford on 11/21: https://lu.ma/gql3nret ?? Come for our fireside chat with iconic female founders [to be revealed ??], make new friends, and work on creative projects in a relaxed, supportive space. It's like gathering in a living room, but surrounded by inspiring, like-minded women. You do NOT need to have a startup to join– you just need to be curious about this space! And of course, free food + drinks ?? www.foundess.com https://lnkd.in/g7b5kWXJ ??: Riya Dev Irawadee T. Pear Manyasiri Chotbunwong

Introducing our third fireside chat speaker of the Foundess x Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship Boston event! ???? Abigayle Peterson is currently a Product Manager at a unicorn startup. She built an audience of 16k+ on Linkedin of female leaders, students, and job seekers. Currently, she mentors her Linkedin audience at Raye, a private job seeker community that teaches you how to network to lifelong career success. Previously, she founded a mental health nonprofit called Magnify Wellness and scaled the org to 100+ chapters globally. We are thrilled to welcome Abigayle to our November 18th event at Harvard, which includes an evening filled with a fireside chat, networking, and demo night designed for ALL female entrepreneurs! ? ?? Date: November 18th, 2024 ?? Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA ?? RSVP: https://lu.ma/hzzq8okd

Introducing our second fireside chat speaker of the Foundess x Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship Boston event! ???? Bobbie Carlton is the founder of Innovation Women, where she helps women leverage public speaking for career growth and business success. A TEDx speaker, she’s spoken at the United Nations and major global conferences for technical and professional women. Formerly head of global PR for enterprise software companies, Carlton has been featured in CBS News, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. We are extremely excited to welcome Bobbie to our November 18th hybrid event at Harvard, which includes an evening filled with a fireside chat, networking, and demo night designed for ALL female entrepreneurs! ? ?? Date: November 18th, 2024 ?? Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (with a virtual option) ?? RSVP: https://lu.ma/hzzq8okd (In-person and virtual)

Introducing our first fireside chat speaker of the Foundess x Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship Boston event! ?? mallory contois is the current head of community-led growth at Mercury, and founder of The Old Girls Club, a community for women in male-dominated fields with over 1500 members. She is an experienced operator, investor, advisor, and community builder, with a background as COO at Metafy and roles in strategy, operation, and product at Cameo, Compass, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. ???? We are extremely excited to have Mallory as a fireside chat speaker at our November 18th hybrid event at Harvard University, which includes an evening filled with a fireside chat, networking, and demo night designed for ALL female entrepreneurs! ? For attendees in the Boston area, the in-person event will be at Harvard’s campus in Cambridge. We are also offering a virtual option, with the same offerings as the in-person event, to make this event accessible to fellow female entrepreneurs across the country! ????Sign up (in-person or virtual) to get matched with another female founder and foster connections right away! ?? Date: November 18th, 2024, 5:45 PM - 8:30 PM ET ?? Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (with a virtual option) ?? RSVP: https://lu.ma/hzzq8okd (In-person and virtual)