WWV Labs

Most food brands source from industrial farms—GoodSAM, PBC is doing the opposite. For years, big food companies have prioritized efficiency and cost over sustainability, leaving small farmers struggling to compete. But Heather K. Terry saw an opportunity to change that. In 2019, she founded GoodSAM, PBC, a B-Corp Certified food brand that partners directly with smallholder and Indigenous farmers across nine countries. By eliminating middlemen and investing in regenerative agriculture, GoodSAM ensures fair wages while producing high-quality, sustainable food. It wasn’t an easy road. But building a mission-driven food brand in an industry driven by cost-cutting and efficiency wasn’t easy. Regenerative farming requires patient capital, something traditional investors rarely offer. Rather than compromising her mission, Terry sought out investors who aligned with GoodSAM’s long-term vision. So she looked beyond conventional funding routes. Last week, GoodSAM raised a $9M Series A, led by ALIVE Ventures and Desert Bloom, with participation from LATAM Impact Fund, Promotora Social México (PSM), One Small Planet, and Connecticut Innovations. The funding will help GoodSAM, PBC scale operations, expand product lines, and strengthen partnerships with farmers in Latin America and Africa. Why does this matter? The global food system is still dominated by ultra-processed, industrially farmed products, while small farmers—who grow 80% of the world’s food—struggle to make a living. GoodSAM, PBC is proving that regenerative agriculture isn’t just sustainable—it’s scalable. As Terry puts it: "Raising capital in the last two years has been extremely challenging—and statistically, for women, it’s been nearly impossible. This funding gives us the resources to scale in a way that meaningfully changes lives, communities, and economic realities." She’s not just building a food brand. She’s redefining what ethical, sustainable food production can look like. Interested in learning about the female founders who make up the 2% who receive funding? Follow me for the latest updates!

Institutional investors want to tap into DeFi, but navigating multiple blockchains, liquidity pools, and protocols is a logistical nightmare. As a former head of institutional sales at FalconX, Aya Kantorovich spent years helping hedge funds and family offices navigate the complexities of crypto trading. But in 2023, she saw a major gap—DeFi was growing, yet institutional investors struggled with fragmented liquidity, multiple blockchains, and inefficient trading processes. So she decided to build the solution herself. In 2024, she co-founded August Digital, a crypto-focused prime brokerage firm that streamlines access to DeFi markets. August aggregates liquidity, lending, and derivatives across 70+ protocols and 13 blockchains, giving institutional investors a single, seamless platform. Last week, August raised a $10M Series A led by Dragonfly Ventures, with participation from SCB Limited, 6th Man Ventures, and Foresight Ventures to scale its platform and onboard more institutional clients. Why does this matter? The demand for institutional crypto access is surging, yet many firms are still blocked by technical barriers and fragmented infrastructure. August is solving this by abstracting away chains and protocols, letting investors trade, borrow, and lend seamlessly—all from one place. As Kantorovich puts it: "When you think about institutions, you want to get rid of this idea of or abstract away both chains and protocols. You just want to have one place." She’s building that place. Excited to see more women shaping the future of finance and Web3! Interested in learning about the female founders who make up the 2% who receive funding? Follow me for the latest updates!

For years, distributing aid has been a bureaucratic nightmare. Government agencies and nonprofits rely on outdated systems, leading to delays, inefficiencies, and funds not reaching those who need them most. So, Katrina Van Gasse co-founded AidKit, a cloud-based aid administration platform that streamlines how assistance is delivered—cutting through red tape, automating workflows, and ensuring aid reaches people faster, with greater transparency. Instead of slow, manual processes, AidKit empowers organizations to distribute funds efficiently and securely. With its platform, agencies and nonprofits can process applications, verify eligibility, and disburse aid seamlessly—reducing administrative burdens while maximizing impact. And now, investors are taking notice. Last week, AidKit raised $8.5M in Series A funding, led by Blueprint Equity, to scale its platform and expand its reach. Since its founding, AidKit has already: ?? Distributed $270 million in direct cash assistance ?? Partnered with 200+ government and nonprofit organizations ?? Processed 500,000+ applications, helping over 90,000 recipients Why does this matter? In times of crisis—whether it's disaster relief, emergency aid, or guaranteed income programs—people can’t afford to wait. AidKit is eliminating the inefficiencies that slow down support, ensuring those in need get help when they need it. With this latest funding, AidKit is set to redefine the future of aid administration—making it faster, more accessible, and more dignified. Because in a world where technology drives innovation, aid distribution shouldn’t be stuck in the past. Interested in learning about the female founders who make up the 2% who receive funding? Follow me for the latest updates!

She turned enterprise AI training into a business. As a former Google VP of Engineering and founder of Gradient Ventures, Anna Patterson spent years shaping the AI industry from both the startup and investor side. But after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2023, she took a step back, reevaluated her career, and made a bold decision—to build again. So in 2024, she co-founded Ceramic.ai, a platform that helps enterprises train large-scale AI models faster and more efficiently using fewer GPUs. Her breakthrough? Scaling AI training 100x, not just 10x. For years, AI model training has been bottlenecked by compute limitations and sky-high infrastructure costs, leaving only tech giants able to compete. Patterson saw the gap—and built a solution. After operating in stealth mode, last week Ceramic.ai just raised a $12M seed round from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), IBM, Samsung Next, and Earthshot Ventures to scale its infrastructure and onboard enterprise customers. Why does this matter? AI adoption is accelerating, but companies are still hindered by the cost and complexity of training their own models. Ceramic.ai is changing that—democratizing high-performance AI infrastructure so enterprises don’t need billions in compute resources to compete. “Too many companies are still blocked by the cost and complexity of AI training,” Patterson shared. “If AI adoption were a baseball game, we’d still be singing the national anthem.” Her work is proving that AI isn’t just about bigger models—it’s about smarter, more accessible infrastructure. Interested in learning about the female founders who make up the 2% who receive funding? Follow me for the latest updates!

Great newsletter #startups. Check out the newsletter post on R&D Credits - DO NOT OVERPAY for an R&D Study. Accountalent clients received $30M of cold, hard cash from the IRS in R&D Credit refunds for their 2023 taxes. The Accountalent Study is the Gold Standard and less expensive by a factor of least 2 over the other Studies. Also, check out the post on WWV Labs and its founder Daniela Andrade - if you are looking for female talent for ad-hoc projects, internships, and full-time roles, WWV Labs is a GREAT choice.

Amid a 13.1% plunge in VC transactions, female founders are losing critical early-stage funding at an alarming rate, according to Forbes. From Geri Stengel's article, "Female Founders And Women VCs: An Unrealized Opportunity": ? Despite the funding challenges, female founders secured more exits and took a larger share of total exit counts. ? Women remain underrepresented in VC both as founders and as investors. ? Pay gaps narrow at junior levels, but persist at higher ranks, highlighting systemic barriers. We stand at a powerful turning point. By championing female-run funds, elevating women into limited partner roles, and amplifying the mentorship networks available to early-stage founders, we can disrupt the status quo and unleash a tidal wave of innovative growth. This is what Foundess stands for. How are you helping turn the tide? Full Article: https://lnkd.in/gggYi5qS #WomenInVC #FemaleFounders #VentureCapital

So grateful to be on the Inc. Magazine #FemaleFounders500 cover. Thank you Inc. Magazine for sharing my story and helping bring awareness to the invisible labor of household duties. Imagine if we declutter our brains, how much freedom we will have to think about big ideas. That’s where Ohai.ai comes in. Let us help you declutter your brain, relieve some of day to day stress and lighten your mental load. Thank you Stephanie Mehta, Kimberly Weisul, and Skai Blue Media - love Rakia Reynolds Christanna Ciabattoni for this featured coverage of Ohai! https://lnkd.in/eMQcWM2F

A huge thank you to my amazing cousin Carolina Andrade - Conigliaro and Snacks.com for being a proud sponsor of Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship’s 2025 Female Founder Circle! We are so grateful for your support in providing free snacks, Pepsi soda, and Lipton iced tea for our 35 incredible female student founders who are pushing boundaries in entrepreneurship! Now in its second year, the Female Founder Circle, proudly sponsored by Brex and Gunderson Dettmer, is an exclusive gathering of the top 35 female student founders in the country. This event provides them with high-quality workshops, panels, and networking opportunities designed to help them scale their ventures and navigate the challenges of being a female founder. As part of showing appreciation to these inspiring founders, we’re inviting additional brands to support this event by sponsoring our attendee gift bags or providing snacks and soda. If your brand is interested in contributing 50 sample products/snacks (for our 30 attendees and 20 speakers), please DM me! Gift bag sponsors will receive: ?? Logo placement on event materials ?? Brand mentions in our communications with attendees, speakers, and partners ?? Recognition on the day of the event Your contribution will directly support these ambitious female student founders and help make this event a success!

For years, splitting the bill has been a hassle. Apps like Venmo and Splitwise work after the fact, forcing one person to cover the full amount and then request money from others. So, Elena Churilova and Lina Saleh built a better way. In 2023, they co-founded Cino, a real-time shared payment app that lets groups split and pay instantly—no IOUs, no awkward Venmo requests. Instead of waiting to be reimbursed, Cino users connect their bank or digital wallet, set up a shared payment group, and pay only their share at checkout. It’s transparent, automatic, and seamless. Gen Z is already embracing it. As joint bank accounts fade out, Cino is offering an alternative that makes group spending effortless. Now, investors are taking notice. Last week, Cino raised $3.7 million in seed funding, led by Balderton Capital, to fuel expansion into the U.K. Why does this matter? From roommates splitting rent to friends covering dinner, frictionless payments are becoming a necessity—not a luxury. And with its next update, Cino will work with Apple Pay and Google Pay, meaning no app download required to join a group. With seamless, real-time transactions, Cino is redefining how groups manage shared expenses. No more awkward reminders. No more waiting to get paid back. Because splitting the bill should be simple, not stressful. Interested in learning about the female founders who make up the 2% who receive funding? Follow me for the latest updates!

?? ??????-???????????? ??????????, ??????+ ????????????????, ?? ???????? ?????? ???? We at Foundess flew our top 8 teams to SF for a retreat/demo day for our first ever #HatchW25 accelerator and I could not be more proud of my team and the top founders. Incredibly grateful for Shirley Wang, Pear Chotbunwong, Vivian Zhou, Irawadee T., as well as Sahana, Daniel Yim, and Ellen Kim for making this possible. HUGE thanks as well to our judges Josh Constine, Chonghao Huang, Xiaoyin Qu, and Nina Lu– you guys are the best! Major props to our incredible founders who lit up every pitch (Swarna Shiv– huge congrats on winning first!), and to our sponsors (Silicon Valley Bank, Practus, LLP, Notion, Z Fellows, Fidelity Investments, Anthropic, etc.) for fueling the dream. ???? Already, 4 of our teams have been backed by Antler out of the program, and raised over $3M collectively. As our first ever accelerator, this went better than I could've ever imagined. Stay tuned—Foundess is cooking up our next big thing! (Tagging more people in the comments who I can't thank enough for the success of the program ??) #tech #founder #women