MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition

Meet our Organizing Team Member, Karen Tilli, COO of Little Lab. Karen has spent the last 15 years of her career building and scaling mission-driven, high-impact start-ups in healthcare, environmental sustainability, education, and agriculture. She has been a part of 3 early-stage teams that went on to make successful exits (two through acquisition and one through IPO). Karen built the first claims team at Oscar Health (IPO 2021), led product development and go-to-market launch for Ecological (acquired 2013) and most recently led product and go-to-market strategy for Springtide Child Developement?(acquired 2023). ? She is currently supporting Trehaus to lead the launch of their Edtech platform as a fractional CPO and is working as a founder on a stealth B2B Saas platform.?Karen is passionate about building teams and crafting products that will solve meaningful problems. She is a graduate of MIT Sloan School of Management Fellow MBA program as well as NYU Gallatin’s School of Individualized Study. MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition Team Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch

Meet our Organizing Team Member, Anoosheh Kalantari, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Crimson Founders, a platform connecting MIT and Harvard-affiliated startups with global investors and industry partners. She serves as the Chief Operating Officer and a board member at SIX STAR Bulk Bag, a leading packaging manufacturing company in the Middle East. She founded one of the largest Manufacturing Industry Associations in the region and is an investor and board member at Guofu Hydrogen Energy Equipment Technologies, driving clean energy solutions in the UAE. Anoosheh has played an integral role in various Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiatives, organizing and leading prominent events within the MIT community. She is one of the founders and organizers of The Annual MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition in New York City. Her efforts have also included organizing distinguished speaker events at MIT featuring influential figures such as General David Petraeus, Dr. Jordan Peterson, and Dr. Andrew Lo. Anoosheh holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto, and an Associate of Applied Science in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design - The New School. She pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design. Get Your Ticket Now: https://lnkd.in/gs3_bctE MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition Team Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch

Meet our Organizing Team Member, Maddie Linde, Senior Product Manager of LeagueApps. After Maddie earned her MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management in 2023, she joined LeagueApps as the Senior Product Manager of Data Products at LeagueApps, a growth-stage sports tech company. She has experience in both software engineering and product management, with a focus on building scalable, high-impact technology solutions. As a graduate of Columbia University with a degree in computer engineering, Maddie began her career in cybersecurity at Carbon Black. She played a key role in leading the Linux product line through the company’s IPO in 2019 and subsequent acquisition by VMware. She is passionate about the early-stage venture ecosystem — currently serving as a Venture Associate at Contour Venture Partners with additional experience at Pillar VC and IDEA Fund Partners. Get Your Ticket Now: https://lnkd.in/gs3_bctE MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition Team Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch

Meet Our Organizing Team Member and Chair of MIT Sloan Alumni Club of New York, Peter Dolch: After graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Peter founded a technology consulting company which he grew to over 120 employees. He was responsible for operations, finance, managing enterprise projects, winning marquis clients, and selling over $120M in services. During that time he managed numerous global, enterprise engagements as well as helping 50+ founders launch their startups. He incubated one startup to a successful exit and took another from an idea on a napkin all the way through to an IPO.? After exiting, he moved more deeply into the NY entrepreneurship ecosystem, managing a venture fund, and co-founding several startups, including Lausanne-based SaMD startup Biospectal. Peter is the Chairman of the MIT Sloan Alumni Club of New York and co-founder and chair of the MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition. He is an advisor to startups, helping with fundraising, product roadmap, customer acquisition, technology and operational strategies. Get Your Ticket Now: https://lnkd.in/gs3_bctE MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition Team Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch

Thrilled to welcome Daniela Plattner, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Palm Venture Studios, as a panelist for the 3rd Annual MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition! held on March 26th at the Deutsche Bank Center in New York City. Buy your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/gs3_bctE Daniela is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Palm Venture Studios, a venture studio and family office providing "second-chance” capital and strategic support to early-stage, impact-driven startups. Distinctive in the venture studio landscape, Palm takes a high-value approach to investing, providing critical funding and resources to startups that face challenges charting sustained growth. Before Palm, Daniela led a strategic facilitation firm, specializing in leadership, team performance, and innovation for venture-backed startups and Fortune 500-level companies, including Autodesk, IKEA, Meta, Splash, and more. She began her career in Capgemini’s Accelerated Solutions Environment, where she helped large corporations navigate crucial moments of complexity. Daniela holds a B.S. in Psychology with a focus on applied creativity from Bard College and a Master’s in multimodal problem-solving from the European Graduate School. MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition Team Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch

? ?????????????????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????????????? ??????????—?????????????????? ?????? ???????????? ???? ??????????????????! Congratulations to Samira Kiani, Co-founder & COO of HexemBio, for being selected as a finalist in ?????? ?????? ???????????? MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition! ?? Get your Ticket here: https://lnkd.in/gs3_bctE ?? www.hexemb.io ?? HexemBio: ?????????????? ?????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????? ???????? ?????????????????? HexemBio is pioneering cell and blood rejuvenation therapeutics to combat aging and disease. Their platform harnesses cutting-edge gene circuits and regenerative medicine to restore cellular function, extend healthspan, and unlock new frontiers in longevity science. With innovations published in Nature and deep expertise in synthetic biology, they develop fast, scalable solutions for reversing aging at the cellular level. Backed by top investors and scientific leaders, Hexem Bio is accelerating the future of regenerative therapeutics. ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????????? ?????????? ?????????????????????? ???????? Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch #HeXemBio #Longevity #RegenerativeMedicine #BiotechStartup #AgingReversal #SyntheticBiology #GeneTherapy #Innovation #Healthspan #FutureOfMedicine

?? ???????????????? ?? ?????????????????? ???????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????????? ??????????????! Congratulations to Katerina Boukin, Co-founder of ?????????? ????????????????, for being selected as a finalist in ?????? ?????? ???????????? MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition! ?? Get your Ticket Here:?https://lnkd.in/gs3_bctE ?? www.flood-dynamics.com ?? ?????????? ????????????????: ?????????????????????????????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????????????????? ?????????? ???????????????? is transforming urban flood resilience through advanced hydrodynamic modeling, machine learning-based risk assessment, and real-time data analytics. Unlike competitors, they uniquely model rain-driven flash flooding and its impact on pavement damage—critical blind spots in traditional flood forecasting. Their platform enables cities, insurers, and developers to predict accurately and proactively manage flood risks, minimizing damage and maximizing preparedness. They deliver high-impact insights that inform smarter infrastructure investments and long-term planning. Beyond forecasting, they offer integrated financial and policy solutions that help stakeholders adapt to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. By fusing cutting-edge technology with practical, data-driven strategies, Flood Dynamics is not only helping communities weather the storm—they’re building a resilient future. ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????????? ?????????? ?????????????????????? ???????? Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch #MachineLearning #UrbanResilience #SmartCities #DisasterPreparedness

? ?????????????????????????????? ?????????????? ???????????????????? ?????? ?????? ????????????! Congratulations to Haining Gao, Co-founder of ?????????????? ??????????, for being selected as a finalist in ?????? ?????? ???????????? MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition! ?? ?????? ???????? ???????????? ????????: https://lnkd.in/gs3_bctE ?? www.halogenpower.com ? ?????????????? ??????????: ???????????????? ?????? ????????????: ??????????????, ??????????????, ????????????-?????????????? ?????????????? ?????????????? HaloGen Power, Inc. Primary (non-rechargeable) batteries have energy density three times higher than Li-ion, thus are critical when recharging is impractical, such as in many implantable/wearable medical devices and IoT sensors. In these devices, high-energy batteries are the key to enabling long device life and advanced functions. Despite increasing demand for higher energy primary batteries, there have been few innovations in fundamental cell chemistries for 40 years. HaloGen’s patent-pending battery can boost the energy density of state-of-the-art by 50%, while also improving safety with little/no increase in cost. ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????????? ?????????? ?????????????????????? ???????? Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch #Battery #MedTech #IoT

?? ?????????? ????????. ?????????? ???????? ???????? ??????????????????! Congratulations to Erin Dawicki, Co-Co-Founder & CEO of LymeAlert, for being selected as a finalist in ?????? ?????? ???????????? MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition! ?? Get your Ticket Here: https://lnkd.in/eNcbKK2N ?? www.lymealert.info ?? LymeAlert: ???????????????? ???????? ?????????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ???????? LymeAlert is the first truly at-home tick testing kit for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Their all-in-one test kit allows you to test a tick anywhere, anytime and know in less than 20 minutes if your tick carries disease or not. It's simple. Find a tick, place it into their crushing device, and crush it! Insert the test strip that works just like a Covid test. Scan the results with their app and this will tell you if your tick carries the disease or not and what steps you should take next. Knowing you've been exposed to Lyme allows you to get rapid treatment that prevents disease. The results data will allow them to create hot spot maps, and their AI will predict where tick diseases are spreading next, allowing them to help with disease prevention. Ticks suck. Crush them with LymeAlert. ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????????? ?????????? ?????????????????????? ???????? Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch #lymealert #lymedisease #wecrushticks

?? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???? ?????????????? ????????????????????—????????????????! Congratulations to Corina Negron, Co-Founder & CEO of ????????????????, for being selected as a finalist in ?????? ?????? ???????????? MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition! ?? ?? www.medikana.io ?? ????????????????: ?????????????????? ???????????? ???????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????? is transforming international medtech commercialization by streamlining market entry for medical device companies. Founded and accelerated at MIT by two Latina biomedical engineers, their mission is to increase access to medical innovation by removing the barriers that prevent manufacturers from expanding globally—complex, slow, and costly distribution processes. The Medikana platform simplifies global expansion by connecting manufacturers with pre-vetted distributors, centralizing regulatory intelligence and registrations, streamlining training, and managing orders—all from one centralized platform. By leveraging data-driven insights and a tech-enabled approach, Medikana eliminates friction in global expansion and unlocks access to medical innovation worldwide. ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????????? ?????????? ?????????????????????? ???????? Anoosheh Kalantari, Karen Tilli, Maddie Linde, Peter Dolch #MITStartups #healthcare #healthtech #medtech #internationalsales #femalefounders