HearstLab

Data shows that female founders often build solutions women need but don’t yet exist in the marketplace. When Sheri Atwood needed a tool to help her navigate co-parenting after divorce, she built it. Enter SupportPay. Sheri and her team at SupportPay are working to simplify and streamline the stressful, time-consuming, and conflict-ridden process of managing and sharing finances within modern families. To talk about her journey, Sheri sat down with Business Insider’s Kelly Burch. You can read the full feature below.

Last Friday,?Brydge Club?and?Ruffin Mitchener?spoke with?HearstLab?founder,?Reham Fagiri, of?AptDeco, a resale-as-a-service platform that has scaled to over $84M in furniture sold and just raised a $3.5M+ community round via?Wefunder! From the very beginning, community has been central to AptDeco’s mission. This made the choice to raise a community round deeply personal by allowing customers and advocates to participate directly in its growth. Here are some key takeaways from Reham about how to raise a successful community round and why capital + community?= startup success: ?? ?? ????????????????’?? ?????????????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????????????? ??????????. By solving real problems for customers, you create loyal advocates who will champion your growth, like participating in a community round. (AptDeco’s first hire? A customer success lead, ensuring they always prioritize the experience of the user.) ?? ???????? ?????? ?????????????????????????? ?????????????????? ?????? ?????????? ??????????????????. Reham praised HearstLab for not only providing capital to women -led businesses but also for fostering a community of 70+ female founders, Hearst business partners, Scouts, and mission -driven investors Interested in investing in AptDeco and the power of a circular and sustainable furniture industry? You can still participate in its?Wefunder?campaign here:?https://lnkd.in/eunuFYbe Are you a female founder looking for investment? Learn more about HearstLab’s investment criteria and apply for investment year round here:?https://lnkd.in/eD6bpg-f

Happy Friday????At HearstLab, we know investing in women is smart business and here’s why…Take a look at some recent wins from across our portfolio to kick-off the weekend! ???Willow Innovations, Inc. announces its partnership with portfolio company Ema - The AI for Women to bring the women’s health AI tool to the Willow App. More via Femtech Insider:?https://lnkd.in/eGHBtPBE?Congrats to?Amanda Ducach, MBA?and the entire Ema team on this exciting collaboration! ?? ???Wellthy, led by?Lindsay Jurist-Rosner,?was named to the 2024?Deloitte?Technology Fast 500 list:?https://lnkd.in/efcmS4iP ???“Success in influencer marketing isn’t about massive followings—it’s about authentic engagement.” Portfolio company Statusphere, led by?Kristen Wiley,?just released their?first?annual?The State of Micro-Influencer Marketing Report. You can learn more about it and get the full report here:?https://lnkd.in/eyiB66hm

This is what (collaboration) dreams are made of ?? Congratulations to HearstLab Scout Jacqueline Deval (VP, Publisher Hearst Books & Hearst Specials + HearstLab Scout Advisory Board Member) and portfolio company PartySlate, led by Julie Novack, on this first-of-its-kind book cover reveal ???. This past Monday,?PartySlate?and?Victoria Dubin Events?hosted more than 300 top event professionals at?Cathédrale Restaurant?from Tao Group Hospitality to celebrate the launch of?PartySlate?Weddings: A Keepsake Planner. Want your own copy? Pre-order it now on?Amazon, and starting December 10, buy it wherever books are sold. And stay tuned for more from the?PartySlate?team! https://lnkd.in/dyNKbM-p

Last week, HearstLab Japan Country Manager Sumiyo Tsuchikawa moderated a “Women in Venture” panel at the GCV Asia Congress 2024 with Yoko Fukata, Ayano Masui, and Victoria Shpakovskaya. More on the event here: https://lnkd.in/e3ACpvnv Some background ??: ?? Japan ranks 125th out of 146 countries in the?latest Global Gender Gap Report,?placing it the lowest among G7 countries. ?? Female venture capitalists make up only 15.6% of the industry, with just 7.4% in decision-making roles. While this marks an increase from 2020, it remains relatively low. ?? The percentage of female entrepreneurs is also low, with approximately 17% of entrepreneurs in Japan being women—a figure lower than in other developed countries. Thanks to Global Corporate Venturing for including us and helping us amplify women in venture capital around the globe ??

?? Happening this FRIDAY! Tune in to hear from?Reham Fagiri, co-founder & CEO of HearstLab portfolio company AptDeco, as she talks raising capital and scaling revenue ?? If you're a female founder, investor or aspiring entrepreneur, this one's for you! ??

We’re still buzzing after Pitch HearstLab Atlanta!?Thank you again to everyone who came out to support including Atlanta’s own Hypepotamus! Many thanks to Maija Ehlinger for covering the event. ICYMI, you can read more here: https://lnkd.in/esJzxnHw

Happy Women's Entrepreneurship Day! When women invest in other women, great things happen! Thanks to ELLE Magazine Spain and Paloma Leyra Fatou for including HearstLab’s own?Azahara García Espejo and shining a light on women entrepreneurs and investors everywhere??? #WomensEntreprenershipDay #FemaleFounders

Looking for your next role? We’re back with another round up of open roles from our network of women-led startups! Check out a few highlights below or explore all 90+ openings at HearstLab portfolio companies: https://lnkd.in/eYYVVHq5 ???Senior Software Engineer at Sandgarden led by Elizabeth Joy Zalman https://lnkd.in/gTmGPj5Z ???Senior UI/UX Designer at EZ Newswire led by Caitlin Kelly https://lnkd.in/eNxX3NRP ???VP of Engineering at Narratize led by Katie Trauth Taylor, PhD https://lnkd.in/eKG8HxhB ???Head of Sales at Beam Impact led by Viveka Hulyalkar and Alex Sadhu https://lnkd.in/eEViQqUQ Sound like a fit for you or someone you know? Apply, share or tag below! Discover more on Hearst Careers: https://lnkd.in/erEqqBzn #FemaleFounders #JobsinTech #Startups #Hiring

My goodness. This is a journey. High highs and low lows. Wins like this week remind us it’s all worth it. We are humbled and thrilled to be joining the HearstLab portfolio! We are just getting started, y’all.