Project W's 2021 Impact Report

LOOKING BACK ON 2021

PROJECT W HELPING WOMEN SUCCEED

Embracing the Possibilities and Making Them Reality 04

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A Year of Possibilities Realized

2021 By the Numbers

Identifying Obstacles and Amplifying Solutions

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Unlocking the Potential

Success Stories

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Accelerating growth of women-led companies

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Empowering women to take their place in the C-Suite and Boardroom

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Amplifying voices that need to be heard

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Celebrating the Power of Community

What’s Next?

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Closing the racial and gender divide

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Succeeding in maledominated industries

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Building a corporate culture that recognizes the value of diversity

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Raising up voices from around the world

PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

A Year of Possibilities Realized

For many of us 2021 began on January 20, when Kamala Harris, the first woman – and woman of color – took the oath of office of Vice President of the United States. We no longer asked ourselves “What if?” Instead, we asked “What now?”

The vision of possibilities realized and potential affirmed – and the answer to the question “What now?” – informed our work at Project W during 2021: •

Accelerating growth of companies founded by women and, particularly, women of color;

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Empowering women to take their place in the C-Suite and Boardroom; and

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Providing opportunities for our women colleagues at DWT to make connections, hone their leadership skills, and advance to the partnership ranks.

We are ever mindful of the unique obstacles and challenges women face in building companies, climbing the corporate ladder, and taking their seat at the table. Through our monthly newsletter, we

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

provided thought leadership on how to overcome those obstacles, convert the challenges to opportunities, and amplify women’s voices. And, through our yearlong lineup of programming, we offered opportunities for women to learn the essentials of building a successful business, make connections to resources and capital, and build professional networks.

None of this work would have been possible without our constantly expanding community of advisors, investors, founders, and business leaders – women and men alike – who are committed to making gender and racial equity in the corporate world a reality. They wrote for our newsletter, mentored founders in our network, and shared their wisdom and expertise through workshops and presentations.

In the following pages, we are excited to share with you how – in 2021 – the Project W community answered the question “What now?”

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Every year, Project W produces multi-week byapplication accelerators along with workshops, panels, and events. Here is a look at our 2021 programming by the numbers:

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4 high impact accelerators

39 high potential companies selected to join our cohorts and added to the Project W Portfolio

3 out of 5 founders selected for 2021’s accelerators were women of color

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2021’s Project W Portfolio companies hailed from 23 cities across the world

73 workshops and events designed to support female founders

Support from 28 partners from across the globe

43 Guidance from 43 investors across the Project W community

Countless connections made 6

PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Identifying Obstacles and Amplifying Solutions Women face challenges their male peers often don’t, whether it’s lack of access to resources and networks of influence, skepticism about their credibility in male-dominated industries, or balancing the demands of parenting with building a company or advancing a career. For women and especially women of color, realizing their full potential requires overcoming these obstacles and breaking down barriers. Through our Project W newsletter, we interrogated the issues of racial and gender inequity in the startup ecosystem and in corporate culture and invited thought leaders to provide actionable, concrete advice as to how we rebalance the scale of equity.

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Original Newsletter Content CLOSING THE RACIAL AND GENDER DIVIDE

How feminism has failed Black women and what we should do about it.

Ain’t I a Woman?

Economic privilege in the startup space and how to overcome the consequences of the intergenerational wealth gap.

Closing the Racial Divide

Elevating Black professionals in tech and telecom to foster solutions for underserved communities.

Booting Up

The trillion dollar impact of unleashing the economic engine of underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Unlock the Potential

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

SUCCEEDING IN MALE-DOMINATED INDUSTRIES

How to play the male-dominated game and win.

Advancing the Ball

The benefits of a female perspective in the gaming industry.

Q&A With Maytal Olsha

Overcoming industry-fit bias in traditionally male industries. Q&A With Dr. Dana Kanze

How a “feminine” way of talking about wine clinches sales in the wine brokerage business.

Q&A With Robin Pohlman

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

BUILDING A CORPORATE CULTURE THAT RECOGNIZES THE VALUE OF DIVERSITY

Hashtags aren’t enough – companies need to walk

How to build and get the most out of a diverse

the talk. Putting Substance Behind Hashtags

board. Moving the Needle on Board Diversity

Why pay equity matters and how to achieve it.

Q&A With Laura Turczanski

Flexible work schedules and affordable childcare as keys to achieving gender parity in the workplace.

The New Elusive Balance

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

RAISING UP VOICES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Sharing and learning from the lived experience of

How change happens when women speak up.

women throughout the globe.

A Sisterhood of Stories

What’s in a Name?

How leveraging a dual identity to solve a unique cultural problem inspired a founder to start her company. Q&A with Tania Kottoor

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Unlocking the Potential

Meaningful change demands more than words on a page. It requires intentional and sustained action. So: • When women need expertise, we provide resources.

• When women lack access to networks of influence, we make connections and create our own networks.

• When women’s voices are not heard, we amplify them.

Here’s how.

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

ACCELERATING GROWTH OF WOMEN-LED COMPANIES Through our four accelerator programs, we offered workshops on the essentials of building a successful business, we connected founders with experts, mentors, and investors, and we created a space where founders could build their own networks.

Emerging Food Brands Lab A 7-week program crafted to help female founders of branded food companies scale production, optimize distribution, accelerate growth, and raise capital

Tech Equity Hub A 12-week program for pre-seed tech companies founded by Black and Latinx female founders providing workshops and 1:1 mentoring 10 founders from 9 cities

9 founders from 6 cities

SaaS Launch Lab An 8-week program, in collaboration with Microsoft’s M12 venture fund, for pre-seed female founders building SaaS enterprise solutions

Women Entrepreneurs Boot Camp (WEB) An intensive one-week program for seed-stage, female-founded tech companies focused on scaling to Series A readiness

10 founders from 7 cities

10 founders from 9 cities

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

The Expert Faculty for Our Accelerators EMERGING FOOD BRANDS LAB

Janet DeFrino | Five Mile Advisors Kaitlyn Fallon | Davis Wright Tremaine

Randy Anderson | Olipop

Jenevra Georgini | Spark + Sterling

Melissa Baker | Fenwick Brands

Leslie Goldman | The Artemis Fund

Gigi Lee Chang | BFY Capital

Whitney Heaps | Unreasonable Group

Lisa Curtis | Kuli Kuli

Lenore Kantor | Growth Warrior

Betsy Fore | Tiny Organics

Juanita Lott | Technology Executive & Entrepreneur

Christy Goldsby | Honey Mama’s

Lauren Maillian | digitalundivided

Ariel Hauptman | Seemore

Shelly Malik | Davis Wright Tremaine

Michelle Hunt | Herb Pharm

Nathalie Molina Niño | Known Holdings

Amy Kaufman | Tia Lupita

Nicole Negowetti | Nicole Negowetti Coaching

Heather La Freniere | LAGO Innovation Fund

Jen Richard | Bonfire Ventures

Carolyn O’Hare | Tiny Organics

Danielle Toaltoan | Davis Wright Tremaine

Maria Pearman | Perkins Accounting

Latoya Tyson | Davis Wright Tremaine

Junea Rocha | Brazi Bites

Melanie VanSlavens | Davis Wright Tremaine

Amanda Steele | Agriculture Capital

Luke Wippler | U.S. Bank Ksenia Yudina | UNest

SAAS LAUNCH LAB Sarit Amir | Citibank

WEB

Anna Consani | Springboard Enterprises

Stephanie Benedetto | Queen of Raw

Kathleen Egan | ecomedes

Sara Brand | True Wealth Ventures

Jenevra Georgini | Spark + Sterling Sarah Holmes | Unshackled VC

Barbara Clarke | The Impact Seat

Ainhoa Maiz | M12

Jessica Green | Insight Partners

Eva Sasson | Argyle

Dr. Dana Kanze | London Business School Jenevra Georgini | Spark + Sterling

TECH EQUITY HUB

Pallavi Kuppa-Apte | Chargehound

Noelle Acosta | Maven Clinic

Amy Millman | Springboard 2000 Enterprises, Inc.

Dylan Adams | Davis Wright Tremaine

Brett Queener | Bonfire VC

John Bernat | U.S. Bank

Andrew Schultheis | Davis Wright Tremaine

Mona Bijoor | Kings Circle Capital

David True | Pagility Advisors

Holly Bjelland | U.S. Bank

Melanie VanSlavens | Davis Wright Tremaine

Will Butler | Unreasonable Group Maryam Casbarro | Uber Greg Coleman | Sworkit

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

THE POWER OF MENTORSHIP

" I was paired with Jeff for a 1:1 deep dive into the data management of my technology, which uses AI to deliver cultural trauma-informed Social Emotional Learning tools to improve the learning experience for vulnerable students in underserved school communities. I expected that Jeff and I would just walk through how I needed to construct my database. Instead, Jeff really got into it. At our second meeting, he showed up with a mock-up of the database schematics that achieved exactly what I needed. Jeff provided the help I needed to instruct my developer on how to improve the database design for our technology. His guidance was invaluable and saved me months of time and potential missteps in taking my tech to the next level of sophistication."

— Laura Thomas, founder of Effective to Great and alumna of the Tech Equity Hub

“ One can’t help but be energized when working with someone like Laura! She is clearly passionate about the mission of the company she has founded and is determined to serve our youth. We talked through many of her technology questions, and I was able to help her feel more prepared to move forward with those aspects of her work. It sometimes feels a bit rare that a “work meeting” leaves you feeling as good as that second meeting with Laura did for me!”

— Jeff Sabado, Director of Knowledge Management at Davis Wright Tremaine and Mentor, Tech Equity Hub

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

EMPOWERING WOMEN TO TAKE THEIR PLACE IN THE C-SUITE AND BOARDROOM We create opportunities for women to learn from our peers and from women who came before us. We stand on the shoulders of women who led the way. Women helping women is in our collective DNA.

WomenOwning THE C-SUITE

Our RiseTogether community continued to bring together women in the media and entertainment industry for networking and peer mentoring. With curated gatherings (still on Zoom this year), straight talk, and shared wisdom, the RiseTogether community aims to level the playing field for women and promote gender equity in the corporate workplace.

Some women get to the C-suite by building their own and others get there by navigating the corporate ladder. Our Women Owning the C-Suite series brought together women fund managers, corporate executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs to examine how women can leverage their ecosystem, access capital, and take their place in the Boardroom and the C-Suite.

Led by Melanie VanSlavens, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine

Led by: Cheryl Wei, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine Megan Claydon, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine

We proudly sponsored the Better Boards Initiative inaugural event at which they released preliminary findings from their innovative research on best practices of gender and racially diverse boards. Better Boards Initiative aims to increase representation of women and people of color on corporate boards and to create the culture and systems for better organizations and a better world.

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

AMPLIFYING VOICES THAT NEED TO BE HEARD Cutting through the noise in the startup ecosystem, we threw the spotlight on accomplished female founders who are building solutions to improve people’s lives and achieve a more sustainable environment. These founders took the stage to share their vision, make connections, and let the world know how they are changing it.

In collaboration with Springboard Enterprises and Black & Brown Founders (BBF), we hosted a Dolphin Tank series featuring Black and Brown female founders building companies that are changing the future of education, food, health, and commerce.

With BBF and Project W alumna Tiffanie Stanard, we presented the Supply + Demand series on innovation in the supply chain, featuring female founders of color building solutions for the way we distribute and purchase raw materials and products.

Tiffanie Stanard Presenting at the Supply + Demand Series

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

For the third year we were honored to collaborate with the UK Consulate General New York to introduce a mission of UK female founders to U.S. investors in a oneof-a-kind whiskey tasting and pitch event.

We were at SXSW 2021 virtually with our Founded in Texas showcase in collaboration with the Artemis Fund. The showcase introduced female founders from Texas to investors from around the country for a friendly feedback session.

We were excited to export our signature Founded in… programming, in partnership with Canadian Women’s Network, to introduce U.S. investors to Canadian female founders building solutions in food and ag tech.

We moderated a discussion at the U.S. Commerce Department’s SelectUSA Investment Summit highlighting the success stories of Fengru Lin, co-founder of Turtle Tree, and Iris Skrami, co-founder of Renoon.

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Investors Who Provided Guidance To Our Founders Bukie Adebo, WomensVC Fund II

Sarah Rende, Amex Ventures

Juliet Bailin, General Catalyst

Jen Richard, Bonfire Ventures

Laura Baldwin, Golden Seeds

Juliette Richert, Artemis Fund

Lisa Burton, HearstLab

Kerry Rupp, True Wealth Ventures

Stephanie Campbell, Artemis Fund

Eva Sasson, Primera Impact

Kate Cartini, Chloe Capital

Jeffrey Seltzer, Pierce Yates Ventures

Terence Craig

Venu Shamapant, Live Oak Venture Partners

Janet DeFrino, 1843 Capital

Katie Shea, Divergent Capital

Edith Dorsen, WomensVC Fund II

Meg Vorland, Dcode Capital

Lindsay Fitzgerald, Amex Ventures

Chris Wilkes, HearstLab

Morgan Flager, Silverton Partners

Julianne Zimmerman, Reinventure Capital

Matt Gittleman, Blue Ventures Leslie Goldman, Artemis Fund Solomon Hailu, March Capital Sarah Holmes, Unshackled Ventures Nafisa Istami, Mercury Fund Cheryl Kallem, Golden Seeds Anne Kennedy, Masters Fund Karin Kidder, First Row Partners Olivia Kim, Gingerbread Capital Judith Knowlin Toly Kvitnitsky, Amex Ventures Samantha Lewis, Mercury Fund Marcia Mitchell, ff Venture Capital Gillian Muessig, Masters Fund Diana Murakhovskaya, Artemis Fund Megna Narasimhan, Unreasonable Group Lisa Nelson Yoko Okano, First Row Ventures Shijiro Orchibat, Reinventure Capital Meg Paulus, HOLT Ventures Barbara Raho, Golden Seeds

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Success Stories

Kathleen Egan CEO & Co-Founder of ecomedes SaaS Launch Lab ’20 alumna M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, joined forces with Project W in the Fall of 2020 to put together a program for female-led pre-seed companies that have developed enterprise SaaS solutions. As part of the program, an M12 investor met with each of the twelve cohort members for a 1:1 conversation. One of those conversations resulted in M12 leading a $3.25M seed round in ecomedes that closed in 2021. Ecomedes, founded

by Kathleen Egan, reduces costs, human health risks, and carbon, energy, and environmental impacts of buildings through a breakthrough SaaS platform digitizing building product data management, product research, and the path-to-purchase. “Environmental sustainability has increasingly become a priority for enterprises but operationalizing ambitious sustainability initiatives is a persistent challenge. That is why we are excited to invest in ecomedes,” said M12 senior associate Ainhoa Maiz. “Our investment in ecomedes is a bet on sustainability as an enduring movement, and on the built environment as an immediate way to drive cost savings and positive climate impact.”

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Tiffanie Stanard CEO & Founder of Stimulus, Inc. SaaS Launch Lab ‘20 alumna In 2021 Project W teamed up with 2020 SaaS Launch Lab alumna Tiffanie Stanard, along with partner organization, Black & Brown Founders, to produce an event series that discussed supply chain issues through the voices of diverse founders. An expert on supply chain issues, Tiffanie is the CEO & Founder of Stimulus, a relationship intelligence SaaS platform that uses data and analytics to help companies of all sizes and industries make better purchasing decisions. The series covered topics from how to navigate supply chain pain points to how blockchain is disrupting traditional models. “The SaaS Launch Lab connected me to Project W and I’m happy to report that we are working together on a series of events along with Black & Brown Founders that has tremendous meaning to me. The Lab was much more than an accelerator program – I feel as if I’ve also gained a partner in my corner who is genuinely invested in my success.”

M.H. Lines Founder & CEO of Stack Moxie SaaS Launch Lab ‘20 and WEB ‘21 alumna M.H. Lines and her company Stack Moxie initially crossed paths with the Project W team at a pitch event in Seattle in 2018. Fast forward two years and M.H. was selected to join the inaugural cohort of Project W x M12’s SaaS Launch Lab. And, in 2021, Stack Moxie joined the seventh cohort of Project W’s signature accelerator, our Women Entrepreneurs Boot Camp. The Seattle-based company is a monitoring and testing automation platform for tech stacks. “Project W x M12’s SaaS Launch Lab was incredibly valuable. It was a group of the absolute superstars of early stage enterprise female-led startups,” said Stack Moxie founder M.H. Lines. “The universe of women who have the audacity to build software for enterprises is small, but the relative quality and accomplishment of the women and their companies is damn impressive.” M.H. successfully raised a pre-seed round in Spring 2021.

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Celebrating the Power of Community

We can’t make change alone. To overcome the barriers faced by women in the startup ecosystem and the workplace, it takes a community of like-minded organizations and individuals to link arms and push forward towards progress.

We are honored to link arms with the following companies and organizations who share our vision and are instrumental in supporting our mission.

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Corporate Partners

Community Partners

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

What’s Next?

UK Black Tech Founders Trade Mission. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the UK Consulate General New York and welcome the founders in the Black Tech Founders Mission to NYC in February.

SXSW. We’ll be back in Austin in March with a series of Project W events and festivities. We would love to have you join us. Let Molly Klein know if you will be in Austin that weekend.

Accelerators. We’re excited to reprise our SaaS Launch Lab, Tech Equity Hub and Women Entrepreneurs Boot Camp (WEB) in 2022, returning to our daylong in-person format for WEB. Our Emerging Food Brands Lab will return in 2023.

Industry Focused Communities. Our signature industry vertical communities will be back with in-person events uniting women professionals, business executives and entrepreneurs in the fintech, healthcare and media and entertainment sectors. Stay tuned for news about FinTech Women, Women in Health and RiseTogether.

And that’s just the beginning.

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

FEBRUARY

MARCH 11 – 14

APRIL

UK Black Tech Founders Trade Mission

SXSW

Women Entrepreneurs Boot Camp (WEB)

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the UK Consulate General NY and welcome the founders in the Black Tech Founders Mission to NYC in February.

We’ll be back in Austin in March with a series of Project W events and festivities. We would love to have you join us. Let Molly Klein know if you will be in Austin that weekend.

We’ll be back with our immersive, in-person, one-day program in New York City.

JULY – SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER

NOVEMBER

Tech Equity Hub

SaaS Launch Lab

WEB

The 12-week virtual accelerator for pre-seed Black and Latinx female founders is back.

Watch for a new format for our signature SaaS Launch Lab for female founders building SaaS enterprise solutions.

WEB returns to Seattle for an in-person daylong program focused on scaling from seed to Series A.

TBD

TBD

TBD

RiseTogether

FinTech Women

Our community of women in media and entertain will be holding in-person events in LA throughout the year.

We’ll be rolling out a series of curated dinners around the country for our community of women in FinTech.

More throughout the year in collaboration with our many community partners.

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

Turning the page on a year of possibilities realized and potential fulfilled, we are excited by what is in store in 2022: the possibility of more women in leadership in our companies and firms, more women in the C-Suite and Boardroom, and more women on a path to building the next generation of Fortune 500 companies.

These possibilities inspire us to do more – more to empower under-resourced and underrepresented women in the startup space and in the workplace, more to promote gender equity in pay and promotion, and more to support the women innovators who are addressing some of the most intractable problems facing our people and planet.

As this Report illustrates, it takes an engaged and committed community of like-minded individuals and organizations to make these possibilities reality. We are deeply grateful to our corporate and community partners for their support of our work and to the multitude of investors, advisors and experts who so generously share their time, expertise, and wisdom with the founders in our community. Yet, much work remains to achieve our collective vision of gender and racial equity in the startup ecosystem and in our companies and firms.

We look forward to many opportunities in 2022 to collaborate with our partners and the women and men in the Project W community.

We invite you to join our community as we continue to do the work that will answer the question “What’s Next?”

THE PROJECT W TEAM

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

to d te a c di de is t r o p e r is Th ts r e xp e nd a s r o is v d a s, r to the inves e m ti ir e th f o ly us o r e n e g who gave so .

1 2 0 2 ing r u d W t c je o and wisdom to Pr

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PROJECT W | 2021: EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES AND MAKING THEM REALITY

DWT.COM/PROJECTW Anchorage | Bellevue | Los Angeles | New York Portland | San Francisco | Seattle | Washington, D.C.

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