Meet these female founders at Vinetta Project’s final showcase

Next month, four women-led startups will pitch for the win at the Vinetta Project’s final showcase of 2017.

On September 14 at Social Tables, the September Female Founder Showcase will feature finalists Yulia Yaani of RealAtom, Meghan Buck of VEDA Data, Steph Speirs of Solstice and Carey Anne Nadeau of Open Data Nation.

They were selected after pitching at semifinal events earlier this year.

One finalist will walk away with a $20,000 cash prize from Paley Rothman and GSP, as well as four months of office space provided by MakeOffices.

The event also offers something for those who might not be pitching. According to last year’s winner Saureen Desai, CMO and cofounder of ShipLync, the Vinetta Project showcases hold a particular value for those female entrepreneurs looking to get more connected to #dctech.

“[It’s] an amazing pitch competition to attend specifically for those female entrepreneurs who are a bit wary about the D.C. tech scene and need a place to start connecting the dots,” Desai told Technical.ly. “Attendees will also get first-hand exposure on what it truly takes to raise money from the ground up.”

To Desai, these showcases foster an environment that disrupts the norm in venture funding. Vinetta Project D.C. Co-Director Rebecca Yarbrough explained how the format achieves that.

“The ultimate goal is to connect female founders with capital and other resources to grow their businesses, and so we curate a room full of leading investors, high-potential founders and industry influencers who will benefit directly from investments being made in high-potential Vinetta companies,” Yarbrough said.

This occurs not only through the Pitch & Panel session, but also the networking hour. Past participants had the chance to rub shoulders against investors and influencers from Revolution, Grotech, Capitol One and Deloitte. Not to mention Social Tables founder Dan Berger and Tom Gardner, CEO and cofounder of Motley Fool.

According to Yarbrough and fellow co-director Anna Mason, the event also offers a chance to hear about plans for next year. While tight-lipped on any details for now, Yarabrough said there will be a big announcement regarding the Vinetta Project’s 2018 plans.

To save your seat, RSVP for the final showcase on the link below.