#StartupRadar - #10

Attention startups and their supporters! Check out the opportunities below which might be of interest to you. Please feel free to add links to other opportunities for potential inclusion in a future update and/or tag contacts who might find the information helpful in the comments below. Enjoy! #startup #entrepreneur #startups #entrepreneurs #femalefounders #diversity #founders #angels #investors

1. Apply to Mastercard Start Path!

Mastercard Start Path enables later-stage tech startups to scale through access to Mastercard’s technology, solutions expertise and partners around the world. It's a 6 month virtual program. They take no equity, but they do take an option to participate in the startup’s next round if and when a strategic fit is identified. Participants get access to the annual Start Path Summit. They are looking for startups who have raised money (Seed, Series A or later) with at least 6-12 months runway. Learn more here and apply here.

2. Check out Visa's Fast Track program!

Visa's Fast Track program is offering fintech startups partners that will provide compliance services and infrastructure to help them launch more quickly. They are looking to promote their network, VisaNet, and its services ranging from payroll to business to business payments and online banking, online lending and digital wallets. Startups receive mentorship and access to the company’s experts in payments and fintech. Read more about it in the Techcrunch article here and visit the Visa Fast Track website here.

3. Attention early-stage science and tech startups! Apply to Endless Frontier Labs!

Endless Frontier Labs is a program for science and technology-based startups to receive access to leading mentors, venture capital, and business development over the course of the nine-month program (September - May). The program does not take equity or fees from participating startups. The program admits founders from around the world seeking connections to U.S. markets and resources. No NYU affiliation or relocation to New York required. Apply here by August 23.

4. Sign up for NVP Labs "5 Minutes on the 5th" and apply to their fall cohort!

NVP Principal Joanne Lin and NVP Labs Director Allison Williams have opened up time on their schedules on the 5th of September to hear pitches and give feedback to founders. Any founder who would like some VC insight on their business or idea can sign up for a 5 minute slot. No applications, no screening process - just sign up here to chat with Allison or Joanne. NVP Labs is also accepting applications for its fall cohort for its accelerator for early stage B2B tech companies. They are looking for startups with $10k - $50k MRR in the Future of Work, HRTech, HealthTech, FinTech, Marketplaces, or Voice space. The deadline is apply is September 15. Learn more here and apply here.

5. Apply to VentureCrushFG!

VentureCrushFG is a NY-based accelerator which provides startups access to VCs, angels, and executives in Lowenstein Sandler's network to learn about various startup topics as well as attend curated events. Participants must be 1) wiling to commit to attending 5 half day sessions in NY during an 8 month period, 2) working on their startup full time, and 3) preferably have more than one founder and someone with technical experience. The program is based in NYC, although startups can apply from anywhere. They don't take equity, charge an application fee, require you to do business with anyone, or have a demo day. They also don't require you to raise capital to participate. They encourage diversity and inclusion. Learn more here and apply here.

6. Apply to the Women of Impact Pitch Competition!

Created by Berlin Cameron, Luminary, and Marie Claire, the Women of Impact pitch competition will celebrate women-founded brands that use their products or services to uplift underserved groups and communities. Five finalists will give live pitches to a panel of female judges. The grand prize includes the following: 150 hours of creative services from Girl Brands Do It Better, 2-year Collective Luminary Membership, 1-year Ellevate Membership, 6 hours of legal services through LVLUP Legal, meet and greet with editors of Marie Claire, an interview on The Reset Podcast by Laura Mignott, programmatic digital media from Centro, and 50 hours of PR consulting hours with Lori Lefevre Communications. The runner up prize includes 1 consultation meeting with Girl Brands Do It Better and Lori Lefevre Communications for Creative and PR Services, 1 Side Hustle Membership at Luminary, and 2 hours of legal services through LVLUP Legal. Deadline to apply is August 23. Learn more and apply here.

Looking for extra inspiration? Check out the recent news below...

Founders making waves...

Denise Woodard, CEO of Partake Foods is featured in Forbes. She received an investment from Jay-Z.

Robyn Jones started an insurance business on the side while being a homemaker. The family’s stake in Goosehead Insurance is now worth $1 billion.

Sustain, led by CEO Meika Hollender, got acquired by Grove Collaborative.

Tara Bosch’s confectionery company SmartSweets is set to bring in ~$40 million in revenues this year, more than triple from last year.

Emily Weiss's Glossier hit a $1.2 billion valuation this year and passed $100 million in revenues. It raised $100 million in funding led by Sequoia.

Grasshopper Bank, led by CEO Judith Erwin, a NY-based digital-only bank going after entrepreneur and VCs, has raised more than $131 million to date.

Lively, a lingerie business founded and led by Michelle Cordeiro Grant, has sold to intimate apparel brand Wacoal for $85 million.

Crystal Etienne, Founder and CEO of Ruby Love, bootstrapped her company to $10M in sales and closed $15M in funding from The Craftory.

Mette Lykke is the CEO of Too Good To Go. Earlier, she co-founded fitness app Endomondo which she sold to Under Armour for $85 million.

Fund activity...

Virgin Startup pledged to provide funding for male and female-led businesses on a 50/50 basis by 2020.

VC Oak HC/FT (healthcare and fintech), led by GPs Annie Lamont, Andrew Adams and Tricia Kemp, announced its third fund of $800 million.

VC Lux Capital has raised >$1 billion across two new funds to back companies on “the cutting edge of science.” Deena Shakir, ex-GV (Google Ventures), has joined as an investment partner.

CRV hires Anna Khan as a general partner focused on enterprise alongside another new hire, former Social Capital partner Kristin Baker Spohn.

Interesting podcasts...

Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP on How I Built This. In 2017, the company was acquired for a reported $250 million.

The Economist podcast on mathematician and computer programmer Ada Lovelace and algorithmic bias.

Claire Coder, CEO of Aunt Flow is featured on AdWeek's Gen ZEOs podcast to discuss her mission and recent $1.5 million funding round.

Good luck to everyone on their startup journey!

Alicia Syrett is the Founder/CEO of Pantegrion Capital, an angel investment vehicle focused on seed and early stage investments, and The Point 25 Initiative. She is a recurring panelist on CNBC and MSNBC, a 2019 Fellow at The Economic Club of New York, a Contributor for Inc., and an Instructor at Columbia University. She serves on the Board of the NY Tech Alliance and was named as one of LinkedIn's Top Voices in Startups & Entrepreneurship in 2018, one of the “30 Women in Venture Capital to Watch in 2018” by Business Insider, one of the “25 Angel Investors in New York You Need to Know” by AlleyWatch, and one of Virgin’s “Five Next Generation Leaders Emerging from Tech.” Prior to founding Pantegrion, she was the first employee and CAO of a multi-billion dollar private equity firm. She tweets @AliciaSyrett.