HearstLab

Always great to see our HearstLab Scouts and founders teaming up IRL! ??: Scouts Donna Baker-Miller and Cindy Hommer, MSW, LICSW with MD Ally Founder & CEO Shanel Fields during the 2025 WBL (Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation) Summit. --- Portfolio company MD Ally | 911 Network Navigation is a triage and telemedicine solution for a non-emergency 911 callers. Its mission is to broaden the scope of EMS care, improve patients’ clinical outcomes and first responders’ ability to save lives ??.

?? ICYMI: Catch this replay of Springboard Enterprises's Dolphin Tank in partnership with Amazon and The Female Quotient during #SXSW featuring HearstLab’s own Lisa Burton, PhD as a panelist. Watch below ??

Get the Sustainability Playbook ??: Join us next week for our Women in Climate event with Climate Tech Cities and Project W. What to expect? Learn tactical steps on how to identify & integrate sustainability into core business practices from leading enterprises?& startup business leaders including: Estefanía Palomino, LL.M (United Nations Global Compact), Sonam Velani (Streetlife Ventures), Malika Cantor (Amazon Web Services (AWS)) and Diana Rhoten (PVG), Stephanie Benedetto (Aloqia (formerly Queen of Raw)) + HearstLab portco founders Reham Fagiri (AptDeco), Kayalin Akens-Irby (Planet FWD), and Lizzy Kolar (Scope Zero). ???RSVP to secure your seat here: https://lu.ma/rx74ocdu

Last week, I attended Female Founders Day by the?The Female Founder Collective. The event was filled with honest conversations about early-stage entrepreneurship, empowerment, and community building. A few highlights: 1. Sara Blakely,?founder of Spanx, shared a reminder that intuition can be our strongest compass in business: "Your gut is your guide." 2. Babba (Canales) Rivera of?Ceremonia?underscored the reality of authentic community and brand building: "Behind any overnight success, there are years of building that we don't get to see." 3. Lydia Fenet?on personal branding: "Seek out opportunities to be one of one." (We loved having her as MC for our 2024 Female Force event! More: https://lnkd.in/eZ7se6hn) 4. HearstLab’s?Julia Collins?(Founder& CEO of?Planet FWD)?emphasized the importance of finding aligned investors and building strong relationships with them (a marathon, not a sprint!) and challenged the common myth that founders must be stoic... being your authentic self attracts the right opportunities! + Always a bonus to run into?HearstLab?founders “in the wild” including?Katie Hill,?founder of UNLISTED and 2024 winner of our $100K pitch competition in NYC! These events are a reminder that bringing together curated communities in-person are critical for relationship-building and knowledge-sharing to fuel growth. Speaking of, we are <1 month away from our 2025 HearstLab Showcase & CEO Summit. We’d love for you to join us in person or virtually:?https://lu.ma/gxaya5of #FFDTheExpress?#FemaleFounders #Entrepreneurship #WomenInBusiness #Leadership

For too long, parenthood—especially motherhood—was seen as a roadblock to professional success and a nonstarter for launching a thriving company. Fortunately, that narrative is changing. But there’s an even more powerful story that needs to be told: Far from being a barrier, motherhood can be the catalyst that propels female leaders to achieve their biggest ambitions ??. In our latest collab with Dreamers & Doers?, 47 founders share just how powerful moms in business can be, including HearstLab portco founders (and supermoms) April Johnson (Happied), Summer Delaney, MBA (CollabWORK), Basha Rubin (Priori), Katie Hill (UNLISTED), Tovah H. (Bodily), Jennifer Ryan (Croux), and Courtney Jeffries (VRTL). Check out their stories below ?? --- ?? OFFER ALERT: Now through May 31, 2025, maternal health company Bodily is offering an exclusive discount on its evidence-based products that help give women the knowledge and care they deserve. Use code "??????????????&??" at checkout for 20% off.

What do business (especially investing in startups) and poker have in common? They’re risky. Here are some top takeaways from our Poker Power event at this year’s #SXSW: ?? Fold more. Don’t waste time where you know you don’t have an advantage. ?? Maximize your winning hand. When the odds are in your favor, bet big. (And, even the best odds can still lose.) Evaluate and manage your risks. ?? Play your opponent. There’s more to the game than just what’s in your hand. Build confidence and improve ability to read behavior and adapt your strategy on the fly. Thanks again to our partners at Goldenrod Ventures, Project W, ESPN and Carta for another fantastic evening of Poker Power at SXSW. Always great to re-connect with new & familiar faces including Lynn Loacker, Martina Welkhoff, Emily Fallon Baum, Capitalize VC, Kristen Wiley, and many many more! Special shout out to TOST Beverages, Vinat, & Summer Water Rosé for sponsoring the reception.

Happy Friday! Here’s some news, happenings and big wins from the HearstLab portfolio this week: ???Four portfolio company founders were named to Inc. Magazine’s 2025 Female Founders 500. Congrats to Shanel Fields (MD Ally | 911 Network Navigation), Sheri Atwood (SupportPay), April Johnson and Sharon Cao (Happied) Get the full list of honorees here: https://lnkd.in/gEb9rQb9 ???Spotted in ELLE Magazine: Ayane Nawa, CEO of Tokyo-based portfolio company zooba, Inc., sat down with ELLE this International Women's Day to discuss entrepreneurship, how to close the gender gap in STEM and more: https://lnkd.in/enKkTBP4 ??? Calling all #pharma and #CRO vendor managers: Portfolio company Strategikon, led by Anca Copaescu, is hosting a webinar just for you ???March 27 on transforming vendor category management. Details here: https://lnkd.in/eu5k_Yy2

This week, women’s groups from across?Hearst?hosted?a?2025 International Women’s Day celebration. The guest speaker? HearstLab's very own?Eve Burton. Highlights: ???The history of International Women’s Day ???The connection between Tennessee, the 19th amendment, and the?Helen Gurley Brown Foundation ??The importance of creating meaningful connection?and cultivating personal & professional networks ???An invite to HearstLab’s 2025 showcase, a unique behind-the-scenes opportunity to see collaboration in action (More: https://lu.ma/gxaya5of) Special shout out to Scouts & friends who supported planning among?5+ ERGs across?Hearst Magazines, Hearst Newspapers, Hearst Television,?and?Fitch Ratings?including?Elizabeth Baisley,?Liz Bickley,?Angela Casolaro, Sara Slicklen Cherami, Catherine Clark Kravitz, Anna Gress, Julia Goodheart, Lainie Klein, PMP, CSM, Amnah Munir,?Alexandria Redmon,?Giovanna Messina Reno,?Sonal Singh, CFA,?Lia Tavarez, Leila Wasserman.

Please join us in congratulating the incredible founders from the HearstLab portfolio named to Inc. Magazine’s 2025 #FemaleFounders500 as some of the most dynamic women in business today ?? ?? Shanel Fields of MD Ally | 911 Network Navigation: https://lnkd.in/eP_xet9A ?? Sheri Atwood of SupportPay: https://lnkd.in/eP5Rv966 ?? April Johnson and Sharon Cao of Happied: https://lnkd.in/ehunv5Ai https://lnkd.in/exTwTzzf — We’re incredibly proud to back these amazing women as they solve big problems, disrupt major industries and break down barriers in entrepreneurship ??

Last week, HearstLab kicked off Women’s History Month with a morning of innovation, collaboration, and empowerment alongside Boss Beauties , WiT - Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment, and Girls Who Code ???? The morning started with a panel featuring Lisa Mayer (Boss Beauties CEO), Katie Bailey (HearstLab Senior Director), Angelina C. (WIT Executive Director), and Tarika Barrett, Ph.D. (Girls Who Code CEO). Top Takeaways: ?? "You can’t be what you can’t see" — representation fuels industry growth ?? Future technologists need more than coding skills! Understanding the "why" behind the code is key to solving real-world problems ?? Think big — enterprise-level big. Go beyond individual customers to serve businesses at large ?? Find the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for … and advice to live by: "Be brave, not perfect." (Thank you, Tarika!) Shoutout to the incredible computer science students who participated in a mini-hackathon ?? Five teams blew us away with their ideas and prototypes on how to turn passive app screen time into active creativity for tweens by integrating AI models from Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic…all built in <90 minutes! As always, it's great to connect with current & future industry leaders, ignite important discussion around women in tech, and experience real-time product development. (And a special thank you to Hearst Magazines friends Angela Kim & Michelle Luis for stopping by!)