LOOKING BACK ON 2021
Embracing the Possibilities and Making Them Reality
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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
• Accelerating growth of women-led companies
• Empowering women to take their place in the C-Suite and Boardroom
• Amplifying voices that need to be heard
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• Closing the racial and gender divide
• Succeeding in maledominated industries
Success Stories
• Building a corporate culture that recognizes the value of diversity
• Raising up voices from around the world Celebrating the Power
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;
• Empowering women to take their place in the C-Suite and Boardroom; and
• 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
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?”
4 high impact accelerators
39 high potential companies selected to join our cohorts and added to the Project W Portfolio
2021’s Project W Portfolio companies hailed from 23 cities across the world
73 workshops and events designed to support female founders
3 out of 5 founders selected for 2021’s accelerators were women of color
Support from 28 partners from across the globe
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: 4 73 39 3/5 28 43 23
Guidance from 43 investors across the Project W community
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.
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?
Elevating Black professionals in tech and telecom to foster solutions for underserved communities.
Booting Up
Economic privilege in the startup space and how to overcome the consequences of the intergenerational wealth gap. Closing the Racial Divide
The trillion dollar impact of unleashing the economic engine of underrepresented entrepreneurs. Unlock the Potential
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
BUILDING A CORPORATE CULTURE THAT RECOGNIZES THE VALUE OF DIVERSITY
Hashtags aren’t enough – companies need to walk the talk. Putting Substance Behind Hashtags
How to build and get the most out of a diverse 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
RAISING UP VOICES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Sharing and learning from the lived experience of women throughout the globe. A Sisterhood of Stories
How change happens when women speak up. 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
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.
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
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
10 founders from 7 cities
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
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 9 cities
The Expert Faculty for Our Accelerators
EMERGING FOOD BRANDS LAB
Randy Anderson | Olipop
Melissa Baker | Fenwick Brands
Gigi Lee Chang | BFY Capital
Lisa Curtis | Kuli Kuli
Betsy Fore | Tiny Organics
Christy Goldsby | Honey Mama’s
Ariel Hauptman | Seemore
Michelle Hunt | Herb Pharm
Amy Kaufman | Tia Lupita
Heather La Freniere | LAGO Innovation Fund
Carolyn O’Hare | Tiny Organics
Maria Pearman | Perkins Accounting
Junea Rocha | Brazi Bites
Amanda Steele | Agriculture Capital
SAAS LAUNCH LAB
Sarit Amir | Citibank
Anna Consani | Springboard Enterprises
Kathleen Egan | ecomedes
Jenevra Georgini | Spark + Sterling
Sarah Holmes | Unshackled VC
Ainhoa Maiz | M12
Eva Sasson | Argyle
TECH EQUITY HUB
Noelle Acosta | Maven Clinic
Dylan Adams | Davis Wright Tremaine
John Bernat | U.S. Bank
Mona Bijoor | Kings Circle Capital
Holly Bjelland | U.S. Bank
Will Butler | Unreasonable Group
Maryam Casbarro | Uber
Greg Coleman | Sworkit
Janet DeFrino | Five Mile Advisors
Kaitlyn Fallon | Davis Wright Tremaine
Jenevra Georgini | Spark + Sterling
Leslie Goldman | The Artemis Fund
Whitney Heaps | Unreasonable Group
Lenore Kantor | Growth Warrior
Juanita Lott | Technology Executive & Entrepreneur
Lauren Maillian | digitalundivided
Shelly Malik | Davis Wright Tremaine
Nathalie Molina Niño | Known Holdings
Nicole Negowetti | Nicole Negowetti Coaching
Jen Richard | Bonfire Ventures
Danielle Toaltoan | Davis Wright Tremaine
Latoya Tyson | Davis Wright Tremaine
Melanie VanSlavens | Davis Wright Tremaine
Luke Wippler | U.S. Bank
Ksenia Yudina | UNest
WEB
Stephanie Benedetto | Queen of Raw
Sara Brand | True Wealth Ventures
Barbara Clarke | The Impact Seat
Jessica Green | Insight Partners
Dr. Dana Kanze | London Business School
Jenevra Georgini | Spark + Sterling
Pallavi Kuppa-Apte | Chargehound
Amy Millman | Springboard 2000 Enterprises, Inc.
Brett Queener | Bonfire VC
Andrew Schultheis | Davis Wright Tremaine
David True | Pagility Advisors
Melanie VanSlavens | Davis Wright Tremaine
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
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.
Women Owning 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.
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.
Led by: Cheryl Wei, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine Megan Claydon, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine
Led by Melanie VanSlavens, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine
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
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.
Investors Who Provided Guidance To Our Founders
Bukie Adebo, WomensVC Fund II
Juliet Bailin, General Catalyst
Laura Baldwin, Golden Seeds
Lisa Burton, HearstLab
Stephanie Campbell, Artemis Fund
Kate Cartini, Chloe Capital
Terence Craig
Janet DeFrino, 1843 Capital
Edith Dorsen, WomensVC Fund II
Lindsay Fitzgerald, Amex Ventures
Morgan Flager, Silverton Partners
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
Sarah Rende, Amex Ventures
Jen Richard, Bonfire Ventures
Juliette Richert, Artemis Fund
Kerry Rupp, True Wealth Ventures
Eva Sasson, Primera Impact
Jeffrey Seltzer, Pierce Yates Ventures
Venu Shamapant, Live Oak Venture Partners
Katie Shea, Divergent Capital
Meg Vorland, Dcode Capital
Chris Wilkes, HearstLab
Julianne Zimmerman, Reinventure Capital
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.”
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.
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.
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.
FEBRUARY
UK Black Tech Founders Trade Mission
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.
MARCH 11 – 14
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.
JULY –
SEPTEMBER
Tech Equity Hub
The 12-week virtual accelerator for pre-seed Black and Latinx female founders is back.
SEPTEMBER
SaaS Launch Lab
Watch for a new format for our signature SaaS Launch Lab for female founders building SaaS enterprise solutions.
APRIL
Women Entrepreneurs Boot Camp (WEB)
We’ll be back with our immersive, in-person, one-day program in New York City.
RiseTogether
Our community of women in media and entertain will be holding in-person events in LA throughout the year.
FinTech Women
We’ll be rolling out a series of curated dinners around the country for our community of women in FinTech.
NOVEMBER
WEB
WEB returns to Seattle for an in-person daylong program focused on scaling from seed to Series A.
More throughout the year in collaboration with our many community partners.
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
This
report is dedicated to the investors, advisors and experts who gave so generously of their time and wisdom to Project W during 2021.