Women in Tech Summit

 

Below please find our event schedule, speakers, login details and startups! Register for the event here!

 

Event Schedule (in CST)

10:00am	Opening Remarks
10:20am	Keynote Address with Sandy Carter
10:45am	Networking
11:00am	Live Improv Show with Coldtowne Tour Co.
11:30am	“Overcoming the Odds: How I Raised $20M+ in Funding for my Startup” feat. Ashley Rose and Tina Dai
12:00pm	“Joining a Early Stage Startup: How to Think About Career Growth and Equity” feat. Gordon Daugherty, Sara Brand, Riana Lynn, and Joelle Vail
12:45pm	Spotlight with Jasmin Brand
12:55pm	Spotlight with Dr. Lyndsey Harper
1:00pm	"How To Be Successful in Fundraising as An Underrepresented GP" feat. Jade Tran, Lorine Pendleton, Lauren Washington, and Claire Hansen
1:40pm	Spotlight Break with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas & C1 Innovation Lab
1:45pm	Spotlight with Janice Omadeke
1:50pm	Women in Tech $100,000 Investment Challenge Winner Announced by Janice Omadeke

Guest Speakers

(In order of appearance)

Courteney Real (she/her) | Venture Partnerships Manager at Capital Factory

Our co-host for the event will be Courteney Real. Courteney is a Corporate Venture Associate at Capital Factory & based out of the Austin Office. Courteney completed her undergraduate degrees in Finance, Entrepreneurship and International Business Management at Arizona State University. She was a member of the Draper University Fall 2017 cohort, with her company Trader Jack. Courteney has a vast experience working within the Startup Ecosystem. She has done everything from being an early-stage entrepreneur to launching coworking spaces, with experience in seed-stage venture capital/ Courteney lead on the Global business development team at silicon valley’s leading pre-accelerator Draper University. Most recently, lead the Investor Relations at Portfolia, a Venture Capital firm in Palo Alto, California. She is passionate about revenue models, early-stage investments, traveling the world and emerging startup ecosystems.

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Jill Firch (she/her) | Divisional Senior Vice President, Market Enablement at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas

Jill Firch is Divisional Senior Vice President at Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. HCSC is the largest customer-owned health insurer in the United States and fourth largest overall, operating through Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Firch is responsible for the market enablement of commercial products including product and market analytics, small group and broker services, legislative and regulatory management and sales administration delivery.

Before assuming this position in 2020, she served as Vice President, Regulatory and Sales Administration Delivery responsible for the legislative and regulatory management of all state and federal regulations, accurate and timely filing and production of member benefit material, along with commercial contracts solutions. Firch previously held various vice president roles in the customer service division at HCSC. Firch has over 25 years of experience at HCSC and holds a master’s in business administration with a focus on healthcare management from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University.

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 Sandy Carter (she/her) | VP of Public Sector Partners & Programs at AWS

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Dr. Lyndsey Harper (she/her) | CEO & Founder of Rosy 

Lyndsey Harper, MD is the Founder and CEO of Rosy, an app for women with decreased sexual desire and other sexual problems. Dr. Harper created Rosy out of frustration when she couldn’t find a modern and accessible resource to help her many patients with this problem. Rosy is a resource to connect the 84 million women in the US with sexual problems with hope, community, and research-backed solutions to improve their lives. Dr. Harper completed Ob/Gyn residency in 2011 at Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas, Texas, and Dr. Harper saw patients in private practice for seven years and now is a hospitalist. Dr. Harper is Associate Professor of Ob/Gyn for Texas A&M College of Medicine, a Fellow of The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health.

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Jade Tran (she/her)|Consultant at Cricket Partners

Jade Tran is a people and operations consultant in Los Angeles. Working with both venture capital firms and venture-backed startups, Jade is passionate about helping executive teams create and scale the environments and strategies that connect people with the resources they need, in order to do their best work. Previously, Jade led people-first initiatives, as Director of Culture at Honey (acquired by PayPal), and built Platform at DFJ, working with the firm’s early stage and growth portfolios. Having started her career in the non-profit arts space, she is a firm believer that all perspectives are not only valuable, but necessary, for bringing the best ideas to life. Jade also sits on the United Friends of the Children NextGen board, working to empower current and former foster youth. In her spare time, you can find her surfing, gardening, and taking neighborhood walks with her husband, and her rescue dog, Cricket.

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Lorine Pendleton (she/her)| Lead Partner for Portfolia's Rising America Fund

Lorine Pendleton is a seasoned VC investor and former business development executive and attorney with extensive experience in the legal, technology and media and entertainment industries. She is a Lead Partner for Portfolia’s Rising America Fund I & II, which invests in companies with founders of color, women, LGBTQ or companies with products or services addressing these markets. To date her fund I invested in 16 companies including Madison Reed, Maven Health, Canela Media, MoCaFi and Goalsetter. Portfolia is an innovative platform of investment funds for women designed to back innovative companies for returns and impact. It combines the professional management and diversification of a venture fund with the engaging and accessible experience of angel investing, Portfolia focuses on opportunities in high-growth segments routinely undervalued or poorly understood by traditional venture capital. Portfolia has made 80 investments across 13 funds and have had two significant exits since its initial fund founding in December 2015. Lorine started as an angel investor and advisor to women and diverse-led companies and has invested in 30+ early-stage companies.

She was named by Mergers & Acquisitions as the 2021 Top 25 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, by Worth as one of the “16 Financial Powerhouses,” Marie Claire as one of the “Most 50 Connected Women in America,” Business Insider as one of the “22 Female Angel Investors Every Startup Founder Should Know,” Crunchbase as “39 Black Women Investors Inspiring a New Generation of Investors,” Medium as one of the “200 Women of Color to Follow on Twitter,” and Black Enterprise as one of the “20 Angel Investors You Should Know.”

She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Angel Capital Association (ACA), the largest angel professional development organization in the world, with 13K+ accredited angel investors, 260 angel groups, family offices and accredited platforms with 91K companies in ACA member portfolios. She is ACA’s first African-American board member in its history.

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Lauren Washington (she/her) | Cofounder & CEO of Fundr

Lauren is the cofounder and CEO of Fundr, a platform that automates and removes bias from seed investing by creating portfolios of AI-vetted startups. Prior to this, Lauren cofounded Black Women Talk Tech, the largest membership organization and only conference for black women founders and KeepUp, an automated social listening platform. Her companies have won multiple awards including 43North and the Advanced Imaging Society’s Distinguished Leadership Award. She has been featured in The New York Times, TechCrunch, Elle, Inc and Black Enterprise and has been listed as a top entrepreneur in CIO Magazine, Essence Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine and the ForbesNEXT1000 list. Lauren started her career as a special education teacher with Teach for America and went on to develop marketing and data strategy for over 100 global companies at InStyle Magazine, TVGuide and Omnicom Group. She has her BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She is on the board of advisors for SXSW Pitch, Athena and New Profit’s Future of Work Fund, as well as the vice board chair of Talk Tech Association and on the board of directors of Beam.

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Claire Hansen (she/her) | Principal at Firebrand Ventures

Claire Hansen is a leader in Austin’s early stage investment and innovation ecosystem, having worked alongside startups and investors since 2015. Prior to joining Firebrand as Principal, Claire worked for the U.S. Army as a founding member of Army Futures Command’s Corporate Ventures unit. There, she was responsible for sourcing deal flow and deploying startup diligence strategies with Army stakeholders. Notably, Claire also previously served as the Investment Director of the Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN) and as the Coordinator for Capital Factory’s Accelerator program. Claire received a MA in Organizational Communication from Texas A&M University and a BA in the same subject from Pepperdine University. She also holds certifications in Data Analysis and Financial Modeling. In her spare time, Claire plays the violin in a community orchestra and tends to her Lettuce Grow.

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Eunice Chendjou (she/her) | Founding Partner of Lafricorp Capital

Eunice is a Cameroonian-American Tech Entrepreneur and Investor. She is the Founding Partner at Lafricorp Capital, an early-stage VC fund investing in visionary founders in sub-Saharan Africa. Eunice is an executive with experience ranging from start-up funding and management to leading a $10M+ tech startup. She has a track record of leading business organizations to profitable, market-winning positions in hyper-competitive environments. She was previously a co-founder of OpenTeams, an online marketplace that makes it easy for users of open source to connect and transact with services providers. Prior to OpenTeams, she founded DataGig, an online marketplace where enterprises hired vetted data experts and vendors for their big data and analytics projects on-demand. Prior to founding DataGig, she was a Product Consultant and Analyst at Apple. She's also a Founder Institute and SputnikATX alumni, programs that teach all facets of start-up development and growth from concept, to fund-raising, to validation and expansion, all the way to exit. Eunice strongly believes in educating, equipping, and empowering the next generation of African founders, investors, and innovators on the continent and in the diaspora.

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Jasmin Brand (she/her) | CEO & Founder of Her Texas 

Jasmin Brand is an entrepreneur, speaker, published writer and thought leader in brand strategy, digital media and community building. Sensing the need for greater collaboration, communication and community among Texas women, Jasmin and team have spent the last two years building Her Texas, the first statewide hub and organization powered by the diverse, professional women who live, work and do business in the state of Texas. Her Texas provides women with the navigation, resources and connections needed to prosper and thrive here in the state, no matter what her zip code is. By creating a vibrant, integrated ecosystem, Her Texas is on a mission to ignite Texas’ economic and social capital statewide. It also sets the stage for Texas women to advance their personal and professional pursuits forward through the existence and support of other women. Jasmin is also the founder and President of The Start, a creative agency specializing in culturally rich content and experiential events. She brings close to a decade of executive experience in tech-driven, marketing strategy and digital publishing to the Texas media landscape. Some of Jasmin’s accolades include: Named Official City Leader for Dallas, 2020 Backstage Capital Tour Minority Business Leader of the Year Award presented by the Dallas Business Journal

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Ashley Rose (she/her) | CEO & Founder of Living Security

As the CEO of Living Security, Ashley Rose has been the driving force behind the company’s rapid growth. Since its founding in 2017, Living Security has raised more than $20 million for growth and product development and accelerated revenue growth for three consecutive years. Ashley is also continually working to build a diverse and inclusive organization around the belief that the team should reflect the community at large. An adaptable problem solver, Ashley is thoughtful and transparent in her approach to running the company and working with clients toward a singular goal: reduce risk by making people a security asset instead of a liability. Ashley has a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and is a serial entrepreneur with experience designing and managing product lines. After launching her career in the tech industry, she became intrigued by cybersecurity and its accelerating impact on organizations, individuals, families and communities. She co-founded Living Security based on a philosophy that empowering people is the best approach to lasting security awareness and breach prevention. She has also become a thought leader in the industry regularly contributing to Forbes among other publications.

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Tina Dai (she/her) | Principal at Silverton Partners

Tina joined Silverton Partners in 2020 to invest in and support founders as they build the companies that will shape the future. At Silverton Partners, Tina board observes for Self Financial, Ontic, The Helper Bees, InsiteFlow, and RoundUp App. Previously, Tina held roles at First Round Capital, Intuit, and McKinsey & Company. Tina is passionate about elevating female investors and founders: she is the National Co-Lead for AllRaise’s Principal Cohort program to accelerate women’s careers in venture capital, is a founding member of the Beam Angel Network, and helps make angel investing more accessible with The Council. She is an active angel investor with a personal portfolio of 20+ startups.

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Gordon Daugherty (he/him) | Cofounder & President at Capital Factory

Gordon is a best-selling author, seasoned business executive, entrepreneur, startup advisor and investor. A proud native Texan, Gordon grew up in a small town and graduated from Baylor University with a computer science degree.

Gordon joined Capital Factory as a mentor, angel investor and co-founder in 2012 as we were opening the coworking space after two IPO’s and more than a dozen M&A transactions on both sides of the table. Gordon developed the current Capital Factory Ventures program and remains one of the most helpful mentors in the community. Over the years, Gordon has given personal advice to several hundred entrepreneurs, and more than 1,000 startup founders have completed his Founders Academy boot camp.

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Joelle Vail (she/her) | Chief Operating Officer at Capital Factory

Joelle has built her career dedicated on driving startup, mid-size and enterprise organizations to successful growth and scalability. With more than 25 years of hands-on business experience, Joelle joined Capital Factory in February 2020. As a tenured executive with experience successfully growing organizations from startup to enterprise, Joelle focuses on optimizing financials, production, product, customer service and company culture. Prior to joining Capital Factory, Joelle was the Chief Revenue Officer of Ascentis Human Capital Management Software and a regional Sales Executive at Paychex.

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Riana Lynn (she/her) | Founder of Journey Foods

Riana leads fast-growing software startup Journey Foods. The company is backed by top VCs in North America, Europe and Asia. Riana has served as a top consultant and VC to fortune 500 food and CPG companies. She's currently an angel investor and former Google Entrepreneur in Residence. She is one of just a few dozen black women that have raised more than a million dollars in venture funding. Riana has been featured in Forbes, MIT 35 under 35, USA Today, Fast Company, CNBC, Wired, TechCrunch, Entrepreneur Magazine and more. A Chicago native and Austin-based that enjoys growing fruit trees, writing film scripts, and exploring black culinary and architectural heritage sites around the world. She currently sits on the board of AGLIFF, one of the country's largest annual and inclusive film festivals.

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Sara Brand (she/her) | Founding General Partner at True Wealth Ventures

Sara Brand is the Founding General Partner of True Wealth Ventures, an early-stage VC fund investing in women-led businesses improving environmental and/or human health. She is also the co-founder of (512) Brewing, believed to be the largest draught-only, self-distributing microbrewery in the U.S. before COVID. Sara was previously in venture capital and management consulting in the Bay Area as well as in a variety of strategic and operational roles in large tech companies. Sara holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in green design and manufacturing from UC Berkeley and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from UT Austin.

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Janice Omadeke (she/her) | CEO & Founder of The Mentor Method

Janice Omadeke is the CEO and Founder of The Mentor Method, an enterprise platform helping companies keep and develop their diverse talent using the proven power of mentorship. Using a double-blind algorithm, The Mentor Method is closing the opportunity equity gap in the workplace. Janice is a 2020 Austin Under 40 nominee and winner of DivInc’s Champion of Change Diversity Champion of the Year for the city of Austin. Venture-backed by funds including Backstage Capital and Capital Factory, Janice's company was a finalist at the Grace Hopper annual conference in 2018, is a MassChallenge Texas Gold winner, a 50 on Fire winner for both Austin and DC Inno, and a 2017 Startup Grind Global Exhibition selection. Black Enterprise recognizes Janice as one of DC’s top 5 black women in tech. She has also been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur magazine, and she was a subject matter expert at the 2016 White House Summit on Building the Tech Workforce of Tomorrow. Janice is certified in Entrepreneurship from MIT, and is PMP certified with over 10 years of corporate leadership experience for Fortune 500 companies.

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$100,000 Investment Challenge Winner Announcement

The Prize:

• $100,000 Investment from Capital Factory and $10,000 of Legal Services provided by Baker Botts!

The Judging Panel:

Lisa Besserman, Founder of Startup Buenos Aires accelerator, has been named as Business Insider’s “Top 100 Most Influential Women in Tech”, and the “Business Innovator of Latin America” by the Council of the Americas. She has also been credited as “The Woman Behind Argentina’s Startup Revolution”. Currently, Lisa serves as the Managing Director at Expa VC a $350m fund led by Garrett Camp (founder of Uber & StumbleUpon), investing between $250k to $3m in pre-seed to series A startups. Prior to Expa, she was the Head of Program at Indeed’s global corporate Incubator in Austin, Texas. Lisa is a Google Mentor and has been a judge for dozens of startup competitions around the world. She was recognized as a successful entrepreneur in Forbes magazine and an International spotlight entrepreneur from the U.S Department of State. Lisa has been featured by CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Reuters, Entrepreneur Magazine, Fortune, and CNN. She has guest lectured on entrepreneurship and innovation to prominent universities such as NYU, MIT, Northwestern, Berkeley, and University of Pennsylvania.

Samina Farid is an experienced leader with a unique background that includes both a successful corporate career and entrepreneurial success in building a global energy technology firm. After 15 years of progressive experience serving oil & gas companies internationally and domestically, and as one of the top women in the industry, she founded her own company, Merrick Systems, and grew it to be the leader in oil & gas production software before selling it in 2014. Merrick software products for production field data capture and hydrocarbon accounting software are used by almost 50% of oil & gas wells in the US, and internationally. Samina mentors entrepreneurs and young business talent, advises startup and growing companies, and continues to serve the community on not-for-profit boards, especially those focused on education and women’s issues. Samina has received numerous awards and recognitions and, in 2018, was inducted into the Greater Women’s Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame for her business and community leadership. Samina earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston and is a 2018 Harvard University Advanced Leadership Fellow. She holds the title of Managing Director of Farid Ventures and also runs the Houston Chapter of Golden Seeds, an organization formed in 2005 in New York with over 300 members and 8 chapters in the US to pursue investment returns through the empowerment of women entrepreneurs and the people who invest in them.

Lissie Garvin, Founding Chief of Staff As Founding Chief of Staff at Seven Seven Six, Lissie works directly with Alexis Ohanian to ensure all aspects of the firm are running effectively. A multifarious operator, she manages the firm’s communications teams and guides the social media and public relations strategy. In her role, Lissie works closely with the Seven Seven Six portfolio companies as a trusted advisor and supports the founders by helping to develop their brand storytelling. Lissie is also the Producer of the top-rated ‘Business Dad’ podcast. Prior to Seven Seven Six, Lissie served as Chief of Staff to Alexis both at Reddit and Initialized Capital.

Leigh Christie is the CEO and Executive Director of Beam and the Beam Angel Network. Previously, Leigh was the Senior VP, Global Technology & Innovation at the Greater Austin Chamber where she focused on international investments and worked with Austin's startup and technology ecosystems. Prior to joining the Austin Chamber, she was the Executive Director at the Entrepreneurs Foundation and worked closely with Austin technology companies and their leadership teams to create and grow their company culture through private-public partnerships with local, mission-driven nonprofit organizations. Leigh is an attorney by trade and on the Board of Directors for SAFE and the Marbridge Foundation.

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