FourthWave, a business accelerator program for female entrepreneurs, kicked off its newest cohort featuring six Sacramento area companies.
The 16-week program matches entrepreneurs with business mentors and coaches to help them get positioned for funding.
“We are thrilled to officially unveil the next 14 remarkable women founders from 12 companies participating in the FourthWave Accelerator 2023 program,” said Christy Serrato, entrepreneur in residence at FourthWave, in a news release. Serrato is CEO and founder of Pair Anything Inc., a 2021 alumna of FourthWave. Last year, FourthWave had four local companies participating.
This year’s cohort includes:
- Da'Shena Payne of Sacramento-based CAGED.
- Kate Cordell of Folsom-based Opeeka.
- Diana Gamzina of Davis-based Elve Inc.
- Anne-Marie Schleiner of Davis-based Carrot Houses Inc.
- Haley Noelle and Avery Williamson of Davis-based 3D Organic Polymer Silk or 3D OPS.
- Maria Medrano of Elverta-based Inspirame.
- Rachel Serwetz of New York-based WOKEN.
- Emily Gavrilenko of San Luis Obispo-based Ryde.
- Christina Lennox of Palo Alto-based Brownstone Shared Housing Inc.
- Nina Warner of San Francisco-based Edulis Labs.
- Piyani Patel of San Francisco-based Emblem.
- Nonye Ekpe and Jocelyn Reaves of San Jose-based Balm.ai.
Since 2017, FourthWave has supported 44 founders who have gone on to raise more than $50 million in capital. The accelerator charges several hundred dollars for companies to participate, which is a nominal fee to ensure participation.
“With our proven track record, we will continue to focus on what we do best, helping women founders gain leadership awareness, develop sound business fundamentals and attract capital that aligns with their values,” Serrato said.
This is the fifth cohort to work out of Sacramento, where the program has the support of The Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at California State University Sacramento and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, among others. The program is run virtually, which allows it to work with women across the country.
