The next group of women-led D.C. startups has been chosen to pitch at the Vinetta Project semi-finals. The women entrepreneurs were chosen out of dozens of applicants to pitch their companies on May 24 at Social Tables for the chance at $20,000 prize from GSP Financial Services along with a free month of office space at Cove and other in-kind awards.
"We can't wait for this next round of pitches," Anna Kohanski Mason, co-director of the Vinetta Project in D.C. and founder of BurnThis told DC Inno in an interview. "Final decisions were difficult because there were so many impressive companies who applied, which we think is a testament to the continued rise of high-potential female founded tech companies in D.C. Thankfully, our Advisory Council is heavily involved in the selection process and we benefit from the thorough industry knowledge and thought leadership they bring to the table."
This is the second round of the 2016 Venture Challenge. Alexandra McManus and her construction industry data analytics startup Prescient System won the first semi-final round last month. The technology for keeping track of projects, costs and other vital data in real time impressed the judges and she will go to the finals in September after the third semi-final in July. The headline speaker this time will be entrepreneur, NASCAR driver and Survivor contestant Julia Landauer.
This time, the three entrepreneurs competing include another broad range of startups, far beyond any stereotypes of women-led startups. Saureen Desai co-founded Shiplync, a platform for managing shipping logistics in real-time with her husband Somil, while Alice Hu is a co-founder of BigSpool, which offers 3D printing for consumer brands in markets underserved by the new "maker" industry and Sarah Rumbaugh will pitch her RelishMBA platform connecting MBAs with recruiters and jobs.
"We've been wowed by the diversity of companies that have applied," Amelia Friedman, the other co-director and co-founder of mobile app building platform Hatch Technologies told DC Inno. "We’re seeing companies in big data, real estate, health tech, logistics, fintech and more. "Founders with immensely promising startups have come out of the woodwork to apply."
At that level, picking a winner will be tough, Kohanski Mason acknowledged, but said that is part of what will be fun.
"Competition is going to be fierce!"
Update: Saureen Desai of ShipLync will move on the finals on July 24. The application deadline for the third semi-final is July 5
