Pipeline Angels, a network of women investors who support women and non-binary femme social entrepreneurs, hosted its 2016 Boston Pitch Summit in the Seaport last week. Nine female founders were selected to pitch to a panel of local Pipeline Angels investors, including Lillian Lakes, Maria Jobin-Leeds and Tara Greco, with the hopes of starting a conversation about funding for their startups.
According to Natalia Oberti Noguera, founder and CEO of Pipeline Angels, the organization was founded to make the realm of investing more welcoming for female entrepreneurs and angels alike. She explained, "People think that when women want to change the world, they’ll start a nonprofit."
But Pipeline Angels recognizes there are plenty of women founding for-profit businesses that can make a major impact on society. Its Pitch Summit is meant to support female entrepreneurs through "social capital through connections, as well as financial capital ... Even if they don’t secure funding during the Pitch Summit, the hope is that they will have more visibility in the community," Oberti Noguera said.
So who had the honor of sharing their startups' stories with the Pipeline Angels community? Here are the nine female-led startups that presented at the Boston Pitch Summit this year.
BeautyLynk connects people looking for onsite beauty services with experienced professionals on demand. It specializes in services for women of color and since starting, the venture has branched out to be a software management solution for the beauty industry. (Fun fact: Manny Ramirez used BeautyLynk when he was in town to see David Ortiz's last game.)
We clued in readers on Artyfactos earlier this year. But if you're still out of the loop, the venture offers sustainable statement jewelry made entirely of natural products, like orange peel, coffee beans and açai berries. Artyfactos employes artisans in Bogotá, Colombia, to make the jewelry and it hopes to make an economic impact in other developing nations in Latin America.
ENB Therapeutics is developing clinical therapies with the potential to prevent drug resistance and metastasis among melanoma patients. It's currently working on ENB-001, a component that could inhibit ETBR to stop tumor growth and block cancer from spreading.
Fresh Bellies is revamping our idea of baby food. It has released a line of all-natural vegetable and fruit purees seasoned only with herbs and spices rather than sugar and salt. The venture believes in introducing babies to flavorful, healthy food early to encourage the development of adventurous eaters early on.
This startup is making an app that lets users tap into an online network of parents who share their trusted helpers, like babysitters and housekeepers, and allows them to get assistance on demand. It's meant to be a lifeline for working parents trying to juggle professional and personal lives, giving them an extra hand on the home front when they need it most.
QallOut is bringing online commenting sections into the modern age. The startup lets users engage in live head-to-head video debates with each other, which can be moderated and either party can be muted if they go off topic. It also allows for near real-time video debates within comment sections. In both cases, QallOut wants to facilitate healthy debates, holding people accountable for what they say rather than letting them hide behind a keyboard.
Red Apple Lunch delivers homemade, health school lunches to people's doors. For every meal ordered through Red Apple Lunch, the venture gives a nutritious snack to a child in need. With this model, it hopes to make the daily lives of individual families easier, while supporting the greater community.
Solstice is restructuring how our country uses solar energy. According to the venture, 80 percent of U.S. households can't install solar panels on their roofs because of financial or physical limitations. Solstice lets people go in on solar together as a community, giving more folks access to clean energy and the benefits it brings.
Too lazy to do laundry? Sudzy lets people place orders online or through an app to have their dirty laundry picked up for free within 60 minutes and then cleaned. It partners with local laundromats and dry cleaners, and users can have their squeaky clean laundry delivered back to their doors for no additional cost.
This post has been updated.
