Yael Vizel is the founder of the startup, Zeekit, which uses artificial intelligence to enable customers to try on clothes via a virtual platform. Vizel is also one of the only Israeli women to seal a nine-figure exit deal with an acquirer (in this case Walmart). This article shares a fascinating interview with her as she discusses the deal and also the ins and outs of being an entrepreneur.
Sallie Krawcheck, one of the highest-ranking women on Wall Street from positions at Bank of America and Citigroup, is the CEO of Ellevest, a digital financial company for women that she co-founded in 2014. In this interview with NPR’s “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal, she shared thoughts on what the COVID pandemic has specifically meant for women’s personal finances.
According to Krawcheck, “if pay is what you bring in, wealth is what you have and keep.” Prior to COVID, women’s wealth was approximately 32 cents to a white man’s dollar – and only one penny if only considering Black women. In this discussion, Krawcheck mentions how this has only become more severe during the pandemic and also shares strategies to close the gender wealth gap.
Essence recently published a piece with nine resources for black women entrepreneurs. They include grant opportunities, pitch competitions, and crownfunding platforms. Check out this article to learn more.
The US Chamber of Commerce has a helpful website that provides links to financial assistance programs, resources, and advice to help small business owners – which is particularly important as we continue to navigate the COVID pandemic. From national to state and local resources, the page is a great one to scroll through if you are a small business owner.
According to this recent post, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced grant funding along with the launch of 20 new Women’s Business Centers (WBC) that will be opened across America. These new centers will serve rural, urban, and underserved communities. The move to open 20 new WBCs is the largest single expansion of the program since it began 30 years ago. Check out the post to read more about where the centers will be located as well as to access other resources from the SBA.
Click this link to access “Black Entrepreneurship: Overcoming Adversity and Staying Focused”. In this webinar, a panel of Black entrepreneurs in various stages of their startup journeys will share their experiences, the adversities they’ve overcome, and the resources and organizations that have provided them the support, connections, and opportunities they needed.
The panel was moderated by Marquita M. Qualls, Ph.D., Executive Director of Entrepreneurship Programs, The National GEM Consortium and the panelists included Shila Nieves Burney (Founder and Managing Partner, Zane Venture Fund), Hakim Weatherspoon (Associate Professor, Cornell University; and Co-founder and CEO, Exotanium) and Titus Calloway (Founder and CEO, BlackLaunch LLC and ReLo)
This webinar was coordinated by Black Entrepreneurs in Training (BET). BET is a Cornell program dedicated to inspiring, informing, and initiating the next wave of black student entrepreneurs and is supported by the Center for Regional Economic Advancement at Cornell University (CREA).
In honor of National Women’s Small Business Month, IFundWomen will be awarding six (6) $2,500 grants to idea stage entrepreneurs. Applications will be accepted through Saturday, October 31, 2020. For more information, click here
The Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program is accepting applications from now until November 12th, 2020. The Fellows Program is a one-year fellowship that offers mentorship in addition to a $5000 grant to use for additional business education. To learn more and access the application, click here.
In this September 22,2020 interview, Inc. magazine senior editor Christine Lagorio interviews Cindy Eckert who is the CEO of Sprout Pharmaceuticals as well as the founder of Pink Ceiling, a business incubator for women.
During the interview, Eckert shares her own dissatisfaction with traditional big-business which led her to become an entrepreneur. Related to that, she discusses the importance of creating a strong company culture – whether your organization is just getting off the ground or an established business. Finally, she shares her thoughts on the three things that every founder should be able to express when heading into a potential investor meeting. Click the link above to access the write-up and interview.
Click this link to access the August 18, 2020 webinar entitled “Raising Capital During A Crisis: Launch and Grow Your Business With Crowdfunding”
Olivia Owens, Head of Partnerships at IFundWomen, discusses how to leverage crowdfunding for your business. You’ll come away from this workshop with a honed pitch, a network map, a winning rewards strategy, and a marketing plan for your crowdfunding campaign.
In this 15 minute video segment, Liz Ngonzi looks at the spectrum of business models from not-for-profits to social enterprises to traditional for-profits and then explores a variety of sources of funding that apply to each model. She also discusses organizations such as incubators and accelerators that can provide both monetary and consulting support to start-up businesses.
Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi is the Founder and CEO of Liz Ngonzi Transforms who as an international educator, speaker, executive coach, and consultant, helps impact-driven leaders, entrepreneurs and organizations to more effectively define and tell their stories, enabling them to improve engagement with their stakeholders. In helping clients she aims to INSPIRE, CONNECT with and ACTIVATE them to create the TRANSFORMATION they seek in their lives and/or organizations. Additionally, Liz proudly supports women leaders and entrepreneurs as a facilitator in the Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell. Previously as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Cornell Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship, she helped aspiring entrepreneurs develop and present their unique value proposition to funders.