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For Saumya Bhatnagar, being the only woman in a room is far from a novel experience. An engineer by training and currently the co-founder and chief product officer at AI sales rep startup Jeeva, she remembers being the sole girl in her high school's 170-person <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/5-tips-women-career-coding-twilio-2020-8">coding class</a> — and that none of her male peers would sit next to her."I had to make space for myself, and there were plenty of micro and macro aggressions in the grand scheme of things that I had to talk my way through," she told Business Insider. "At the end of the day, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-left-out-of-the-ai-investment-boom-risks-bias-2023-10">it's a man's world</a> in the VC, startups, and AI space."Bhatnagar isn't alone in her journey. Although the number of women-founded startups has increased, less than 3% of venture capital funding went to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/venture-capital-decline-hurts-female-founders-gender-gap-startup-funding-2023-12">female-only founding teams</a> in 2022, according to PitchBook.A handful of women who are well-known as leaders in the AI space — including "Godmother of AI" <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-like-khosla-and-a16z-backing-robotics-that-use-ai-2024-7">Fei Fei Li</a>, Anthropic president and co-founder Daniela Amodei, and OpenAI's former chief technology officer Mira Murati. But others building startups report facing various gender-related obstacles to success, including bias in the fundraising process, limited mentorship opportunities, and difficulty building meaningful business relationships with men.In the AI sector specifically, which has surged in popularity since the release of ChatGPT two years ago, the challenges for female founders are even more pronounced. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-18-women-who-made-partner-vc-firms-in-2023-2023-11">AI continues to attract significant VC interest</a>, but women in the space face additional barriers compared to their male counterparts, starting at the education level.While a degree in engineering or computer science isn't a requirement for launching an AI company, it's often a prerequisite for techies building foundational models to tackle complex machine-learning problems. Women accounted for just 22% of AI and computer science PhD programs in the US in 2019, according to a Deloitte study.Women in 2020 made up an estimated 26% of data and AI positions in the workforce, per a World Economic Forum report. And <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uktech.news/diversity/ai-funding-women-founders-20240319">recent data from the UK </a>shows that only about 4% of AI startups in the country have women founders.Although Bhatnagar is among the small group of women in the space with advanced technical chops, she says she still notices the gender imbalance in the AI world — and that it, at times, has led to her feeling impostor syndrome and burnout.Developing relationships with other women working in the AI space has become a vital lifeline, she said. An active member of online and in-person groups, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenandai.com/">Women and AI</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://thewomenweadmire.com/">Women We Admire</a>, Bhatnagar said that she's made connections that support her in navigating difficult business dynamics, connecting with female investors, and finding solace in shared experiences."Women are not comfortable asking for help, and there's this idea that perfectionism needs to be showcased at all times," she said. "Finding a community of women has helped me take risks and realize that I'm actually doing okay," she said.Vivien Ho, a partner at early-stage fund Pear VC, has watched the meteoric rise of buzzy AI startups during the last two years and noticed that many are run by men, she said. But as a longtime community builder in the Bay Area tech scene, this didn't jive with what she was seeing on the ground. There were plenty of women interested in building AI companies, she said. Many just didn't know how to start.This observation was the catalyst for the Female Founder Circles, a community for women engineers interested in building AI startups. Each FFC cycle welcomes a cohort of around 50 women for two months of programming that includes fireside chats with existing female AI founders, company-building workshops with Pear investment partners, and other in-person events designed to help women build meaningful relationships with one another, such as pitch competitions, spa days, and public speaking practice.Demand for FFC has exploded, Ho said, with more than 500 women applying for the most recent cohort that kicked off last month. And the program has already been a success: more than 70% of participants end up incorporating their startups, and at least five women have matched with another female co-founder in their cohort, she said."Three of our FFC founders have already raised Series Bs, which is pretty incredible," Ho told BI. "We first meet them, and they're really shy, and then three years later, they're running a 100-person company and making eight figures. It's incredible to see how we can build a community that makes a difference."As women in AI create opportunities that could help them succeed, their work parallels women in another once-white-hot subsector of the startup world: at the height of the crypto craze, female-led blockchain startups earned about 6.4% of venture dollars in the third quarter of 2022, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bitget.com/blog/articles/bitget-report-the-gender-gap-in-blockchain-startup-funding-press-release">according to data from Bitget</a>.Funding in the space has dropped off dramatically during the last two years, and women continue to struggle when it comes to connecting with investors and closing rounds, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/08/29/what-web3-data-reveals-about-gender-inequality-in-the-crypto-industry/">Forbes recently reported</a>.For Shreya Rajpal, Pear VC's FFC was one of the first times she felt genuine, positive support from the people around her. As a software engineer who cut her teeth in startups and on Apple's machine learning initiatives, she was accustomed to being the only woman whose work was judged with more scrutiny than that of her male coworkers."There are a lot of men who aren't very supportive, and being the only woman on a team means that they're often an undue level of attention on your work, so you stand out, for better or for worse," Rejpal told BI. "Pretty early on, it was obvious that I kind of needed to justify my space in the room a lot more compared to other folks."Fast forward to today, and Rajpal is the CEO and co-founder of Guardrails AI, which builds risk and reliability systems for generative AI programs. As she's progressed in her career, she's made an effort to build community with other women in tech. It's work that takes significant time, but it's been "life changing" in terms of succeeding as a founder and well worth the effort, she said.Guardrails earlier this year raised a $7.5 million seed funding round led by Zetta Venture Partners with participation from Pear, Bloomberg Beta, and GitHub Fund.In addition to participating in bigger groups like FFC, Rajpal has sought out mentorship opportunities with other women in engineering, machine learning, and project management."I became friends with a woman who is five to six years older than me and in the industry for that much longer, doing the things that I wanted to do," she said. "Hearing from her and what worked for her, in terms of changing jobs and talking to her about how she made those decisions, was the stuff that ended up being really impactful for me."Stephanie Guo, a partner at Sapphire Ventures based in San Francisco, is constantly iterating on community events for women interested in AI that strike the right balance between informational – think fireside chats and panel discussions – and informal ways for women to form connections that turn into mentor relationships.These events aren't just for would-be founders: Guo says that while the number of female-funded AI startups can sometimes seem "abysmally small," she's encouraged by the number of women who hold leadership positions at AI startups, funds, and bigger companies."We're creating both the space to have dialogue, but also a networking opportunity," Guo told BI. "These relationships stick, and there are business opportunities that actually form from them."

For women building AI startups, finding community has been the key to success

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is funding IVF treatments for women using his sperm.</li><li>AltraVita IVF Clinic in Moscow confirmed the program, which it said is open to Russian women.</li></ul>Pavel Durov, the billionaire CEO of Telegram, funded fertility treatment for women using his sperm to conceive.A clinic in Moscow is advertising the service, which it said is paid for by a "very generous" contribution by Durov.It is a striking example of the enthusiasm of some tech figures to increase the number of births, including by fathering many children themselves.AltraVita IVF Clinic in Moscow has been advertising the service since at least this summer.In a phone call with Business Insider, a clinic spokesman confirmed the free IVF program, which he said was only open to Russian women.The spokesperson said the treatment would normally cost around $5,000. He declined to give more details of the treatment, citing medical confidentiality.Durov is being prosecuted in France, where officials are seeking to hold him personally responsible for illicit material shared on Telegram.Durov, who has French and Russian citizenship, was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-arrested-french-airport-2024-8">detained in August as he left his private jet in Paris</a>. He was released from custody but is banned from leaving France while the case progresses.In a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://t.me/durov/339">July Telegram post,</a> Durov said he started donating sperm 15 years ago, resulting in "over 100" children in 12 countries.He said AltraVita had his sperm and that it was "available for anonymous use by families who want to have kids."In the post, he spoke of declining fertility as "an increasingly serious issue worldwide" and said he wanted to normalize sperm donation."Defy convention — redefine the norm!" he concluded.Durov's pronatalist views are in keeping with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pronatalism-elon-musk-population-tech-2022-11">other tech figures who see declining fertility as an urgent crisis</a>.Elon Musk has repeatedly said he believes too few births in Western countries will lead to societal collapse.Musk fathered at least 12 children, including six with his first wife, Justine Musk, three with the musician Grimes, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-third-child-with-neuralink-exec-shivon-zilis-2024-6">three with the Nurealink executive Shivon Zillis</a>.Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, has invested in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retro-biosciences-sam-altman-longer-lifespan-2024-3">reproductive tech businesses</a>.One is the startup <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://conception.bio/">Conception</a>, which aims to enable women to conceive later in life and also to enable two biological males to reproduce.In a 2022 episode of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://podcasts.musixmatch.com/podcast/greymatter-01gtcnf5z0jrfe3e707r10jhfq/episode/openai-ceo-sam-altman-ai-for-the-next-era-01gtcnf5z0jrfe3e707r10jhfr">Greymatter Podcast</a>, Altman, who is gay, said he "of course" is going to have a "big family," and that "I think having a lot of kids is great."Peter Thiel, the billionaire cofounder of PayPal, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNewfkhhwMo">raised</a> the issue of birth rates at the University of Cambridge in May.He said it was "very odd" that people are not reproducing themselves and that it's "probably somehow entangled" with stagnation, decline, and a sense of pessimism about the future.JD Vance, the Vice President-elect, has also long been a proponent of increasing birthrates, as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/jd-vance-childless-cat-ladies-birth-rates-555c0f78ef8dd4c13c88b9e8d5f0024a">the AP reported earlier this year</a>.On the campaign trail, he presented declining birth rates as an existential issue, saying, "We don't have enough families and children to continue as a nation," which he argued was a more urgent priority than supporting Ukraine.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is funding free IVF for women who have his children

<ul class="summary-list"><li>New York-based BBG Ventures has raised a new $60 million fund.</li><li>The latest fund will invest in both female founders and those with diverse backgrounds.</li></ul>Only a handful of VCs sought out women entrepreneurs when AOL media execs <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/susan-lyne-bbg-gilt-groupe-2017-12">Susan Lyne</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-important-vcs-startup-investors-new-york-city-2023-10#jessica-lin-work-bench-40">Nisha Dua</a> launched BBG Ventures in 2014 to exclusively back female founders. Ten years later, the seed stage fund has raised a new $60 million fund and is moving beyond just backing female founders to any entrepreneur from a diverse background."This is not about abandoning women, but expanding our mandate to back a diverse founding team," Lyne told Business Insider.Founders from diverse backgrounds have taken a hit amid the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/venture-capital-funding-crunch-will-continue-2024-2023-12">funding slump in venture capital.</a> In the first half of 2024, Black-founded US startups received $228 million in funding — or about .3% of the nearly $79 billion that went to U.S.-based startups, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://news.crunchbase.com/diversity/black-founded-startup-venture-funding-fearless/">according to Crunchbase data.</a> The dollar total is a 60% drop from the first half of 2023. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/30-best-women-early-stage-seed-vc-investors-startups-2023-5">Lyne</a> and Dua teamed up at AOL in 2014 to create a $10 million fund, BBG, to back female founders and invested early in Spring Health, which was mostly recently <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.springhealth.com/news/fortune-exclusive-ai-powered-mental-health-startup-boosts-valuation">valued at $3.3 billion,</a> and toy brand KiwiCo.When <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/verizon-to-buy-aol-2015-5">Verizon bought AOL</a> in 2015, BBG Ventures separated and raised a new $50 million fund. For the first time, it raised capital from institutional investors, including the State of Michigan Retirement Services and Illumen Capital. Investments include genAI startup Topline Pro and skincare company Starface.Dua said that these LPs returned to back their newest fund and also increased their commitments. New investors in the fun include Fairview Capital, Pivotal Ventures, California Endowment, and Mizuho. Previous investors Nordstrom, Verizon, and Bank of America also invested in the $60 million fund.Dua explained that the decision to move beyond exclusively backing just female founders reflects the duo's shift in thesis around innovation. "There are underrepresented groups around not just gender but also race, age, and income," said Dua.She emphasized that female founders are still a huge focus area but that the firm is excited to back strong, underrepresented founders in healthcare, fintech, and the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-rapid-funding-rounds-2024-9">investment area nearly all VCs clamoring to back:</a> AI. The new fund has already backed an AI recruiting startup for hourly workers, UpWage.BBG isn't becoming an AI-focused firm anytime soon though, Dua cautioned. "Some funds are building a portfolio of just AI companies," she said. "That's not us." She highlighted a recent investment out of the new fund in Nara, a startup that has created an FDA-approved, certified organic whole milk formula. "It's important for us to be circumspect where AI can drive growth in certain startups," added Dua.For Dua and Lyne, being an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jordan-wan-cofound-partners-emerging-manager-fund-2023-10">emerging fund manager and raising a new fund</a> is "not easy." "The vast majority of VC funding this year goes to a very small pool of funds, and sub-$100 million funds have a tougher time raising," said Lyne. She added because of the competition to raise funds from LPs, many funds are taking longer to make decisions and waiting to see what returns a fund makes before investing again."Many of our LPs believe in impact and trying to broaden access to capital," said Lyne. "We raised more than our last fund, and I think it's validation of our thesis."

BBG Ventures raises $60 million for its latest fund and moves beyond just backing female founders 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Maven's chief financial officer has left the women's health unicorn one year after taking the role.</li><li>The startup plans to bring in a new CFO with public market experience, per a source with knowledge.</li></ul>Maven Clinic is swapping out its chief financial officers on the heels of a fresh funding round as the women's health startup inches closer to an IPO.Maven is bringing in a new finance head with experience leading a public company, according to a source with direct knowledge of the change.Kristina Campbell, Maven's former CFO, left the startup in October, according to her LinkedIn. She joined Maven a year prior, in October 2023.Earlier this month, Maven notched a $1.7 billion valuation with $125 million in new funding from the private equity firm StepStone Group. Business Insider <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/womens-health-unicorn-maven-clinic-raising-new-funding-stepstone-2024-9">first reported</a> the round in September.The identity of Maven's incoming CFO isn't known. Maven declined to comment for this story. Campbell didn't respond to requests for comment.Maven launched 10 years ago to provide virtual care to women and families through employers and health plans, including for fertility, pregnancy, and menopause. It's since raised over $425 million from investors such as Sequoia Capital, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, and Oak HC/FT.As the highest-valued women's health startup, Maven is expected to be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maven-ipo-chrissy-farr-womens-health-startup-prediction-2023-12">a candidate for the next wave of digital health IPOs</a>. The startup's hopeful future exit would be a boon for the women's health market, which remains a small fraction of all healthcare funding.Some of Maven's peers haven't fared as well in a tighter venture market. Fertility startup Kindbody is reportedly looking to raise more funding at a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-21/fertility-startup-kindbody-set-to-cut-valuation-letter-shows">$600 million</a> valuation, a massive markdown from the <a target="_blank" href="https://kindbody.com/kindbody-announces-100-million-in-new-funding-to-further-accelerate-growth/">$1.8 billion</a> valuation it landed in March 2023.Before Maven, Campbell spent over two years as the CFO of the cryptocurrency exchange Ripple. She left the company amid its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/xrp-price-today-ripple-crypto-bitcoin-sec-gary-gensler-2024-3">legal battle with the SEC</a> after the agency accused Ripple of selling its XRP token as an unregistered security.Campbell has now joined entertainment payroll startup Wrapbook as its CFO, according to her LinkedIn profile. Wrapbook raised a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/wrapbook-fund-bessemer-venture-partners-1236009642/">$20 million</a> funding round in September at a valuation of $750 million.

Exclusive: Maven Clinic is swapping out its finance chiefs as the women's health unicorn looks ahead to an IPO

<keyword id="19955368" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="budget-2024" source="keywords">Budget 2024</keyword>, which is set to be presented on July 22nd, is set to accelerate the growth of <keyword id="20459350" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-stock-markets" source="keywords">Indian stock markets</keyword> by as much as 20%, a recent survey by <keyword id="19897999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bloomberg" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bloomberg" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Bloomberg">Bloomberg</keyword> noted. While some respondents hope that the <keyword id="20983733" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSE-Nifty50" source="keywords">NSE Nifty50</keyword>, which is currently trading at 24,273.35 points, might reach 26,000 points by the end of this year, others estimate the index to inch up even higher. The budget is likely to boost consumer spending, accelerate consumption, and support infrastructure development, noted half of the 24 experts Bloomberg surveyed. Data by Bloomberg Intelligence predicted that the estimated earnings per share (EPS) of companies on the MSCI India Index is set to rise by 15.6% on year basis, for the calendar year 2024. In contrast, Chinese firms are expected to grow at about 10%. One-fourth of surveyed analysts noted that pushing capital expenditure would be the government's top priority, while the other half thought the focus would be on boosting consumer demand. Naturally, analysts see potential growth in consumer discretionary stocks in the months to come, followed by financial services. <h2>Focus on Women, Capex</h2>Many are expecting the government to raise the standard deduction threshold from the current Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000. The government is also thinking of raising the limits of the <keyword id="19930663" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Public-Provident-Fund" source="keywords">Public Provident Fund</keyword> (PPF) from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. As per Ashwajit Singh, Founder and Managing Director of IPE Global, "the budget is expected to be tilted towards adopting a strategy for the underprivileged, youth, farmers, and women. The budget is expected to reflect the government’s tried and tested formula of ‘guarantees’ by opting for income transfer policies and spending more on welfare schemes in government campaigns in India. Allocations for existing schemes such as 'Housing for All’, MGNREGA, and health insurance for these sections of society are likely to increase while new schemes may be introduced". According to Badal Yagnik, CEO of Colliers India, the real estate segment is optimistic regarding this budget: "Housing, infrastructure development, sustainability, and digitization will remain at the core of the budget, which will go a long way in supporting real estate growth across segments in the long term. EV infrastructure, renewable energy, and green financing will continue to remain in focus, creating a strong base for a sustainable future. Incentivization of green buildings through minimum alternate tax or tax breaks similar to the infrastructure sector will be particularly beneficial. Meanwhile, retail investors are calling for additional rationalizing of the capital gains tax structure. The Union Budget 2024–25 should explore initiatives to boost greater retail engagement in REITs and InvITs". Anooshka Soham Bathwal, founder of Dhanvesttor, a financial management platform, expects that the government's focus is likely to keep driving the increased participation of women in the workforce in the upcoming full budget, where it can attain the same by incentivising higher education for women. "To promote entrepreneurship, the government can introduce special benefits for the businesses started by women. Further steps towards a stable policy environment and ease of doing business are also desirable. Incentives on tax, funding, and growth for women-centric organizations can help to further attain the inclusive growth objective of government". Bathwal also emphasized that the budget should promote entrepreneurs and the country's startup system. "Entrepreneurs are advocating for additional tax breaks for investors and promoters to attract more domestic capital. As India progresses towards becoming a global hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, fostering both technological and process innovations is crucial. Significant improvements in ongoing training and skill upgrades are vital, particularly given the rapid growth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. Additionally, the government needs to address the credit challenges faced by SMEs", she continued Also read <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/budget-2024-heres-what-indias-elderlies-want/articleshow/111486023.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Budget 2024: FM might delight India's senior citizens this time around</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/union-budget-2024-25-when-will-it-be-presented-what-to-expect-and-more/articleshow/111014203.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Union budget 2024-25 : When will it be presented, what to expect and more</a>

Budget 2024 to fuel stock markets: Bloomberg Survey

<ul class="summary-list"><li>If elected, Kamala Harris would be the first female president of the United States.</li><li>Her presidency could have a far-reaching impact on businesswomen in leadership positions.</li></ul>If Vice President Kamala Harris ascends to the Oval Office, it could have a rippling impact on women in business everywhere.Only two weeks into her presidential campaign, Harris has garnered <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-win-with-black-women-zoom-event-2024-7">overwhelming support</a> from Democrats and narrowed former President Donald Trump's lead in swing states.It's reminiscent of the hopes many women held in 2016 when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced off against Trump. If it happens this time, it could usher in a new age for women in positions of power."Having a woman as president, I think, normalizes what women's leadership looks like across everything, whether that's the private sector, public sector, education, labor, business, military," Cynthia Richie Terrell, executive director of Represent Women, which advocates for women in politics, told Business Insider. "I think a lot becomes possible overnight."In the business world, companies with female CEOs outperform those led by men, according to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.weforum.org/videos/gender-balanced-companies-outperform-less-equal-ones/#:~:text=Companies%20with%20female%20CEOs%20outperformed,%2Dled%20ones%20by%2010.5%25.">World Economic Forum</a>. The same is true for women-led hedge funds and women-led startups.Despite that success, women now run just 10% of Fortune 500 companies, a record-high that has remained the same since 2023."Those companies where women had a higher share in the board and in leadership were more likely to be profitable, and I think there's a clear connection to women in government," Richie Terrell said. "Women tend to bring those same skills, the ability to multitask, the ability to build networks, the ability to listen, which we hear a lot of times that women have a greater ability to do that."Jennifer Jeronimo, the CEO of Gaingels, a venture capital firm that prioritizes investing in companies with diverse leadership, told BI that "visibility and representation are crucial.""One reason I believe women receive only 2% of venture capital funding is that over 80% of VC funds lack women in decision-making roles," Jeronimo said. "A woman president, one of the world's most powerful roles, could normalize women in positions of power in certain industries and lead to more female decision-makers in venture capital. Additionally, after Kamala Harris's endorsement by Biden, women rallied to raise millions overnight for her campaign, proving their willingness to fund what matters to them."While it's early in her campaign but less than <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-trump-presidential-election-100-days-swing-states-2024-7">100 days from the election</a>, Harris will likely appeal to women more than the Trump-Vance ticket. Among women, Harris is polling nearly 15 percentage points higher than Trump, according to a recent poll from The New York Times and Siena College.Her favorability is paying off by the millions. The Harris campaign announced it raised $310 million in July, 60% of which were donations from women, the Associated Press reported.Meanwhile, Trump has a history of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-might-trigger-trumps-biggest-vulnerability-women-2024-7">alienating women</a>, and his VP pick in JD Vance hasn't helped matters. His <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-vice-president-democratic-leaders-childless-sociopaths-2021-email-2024-7">past comments</a> disparaging <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-defended-his-childless-cat-ladies-comment-2024-7">"childless cat ladies"</a> have come back to haunt him.

A Kamala Harris presidency could be a game changer for women in business

<ul class="summary-list"><li>At Leerink Partners, Sasha Kelemen runs an investment-banking team unlike any other on Wall Street.</li><li>The team is focused on landing deals in women's health, a historically underfunded space.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/30-leaders-under-40-changing-healthcare-2023">Sasha Kelemen</a> pursued a career in investment banking with the goal of providing capital to women.After graduating from business school at the University of Virginia in 2017, she joined the healthcare team at Goldman Sachs. There, Kelemen held her own at tables full of primarily white men and won major opportunities. During her first year, she represented Goldman on an initial public offering. By 2021, she'd been promoted to vice president and chosen by a senior partner to work on the $17 billion <a href="https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/athenahealth-bought-private-equity-firms-hellman-friedman-bain-capital" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sale</a> of Athenahealth to private-equity investors.Kelemen, 35, credits some of her success at Goldman to the confidence she learned from her scrappy family, who moved to the US from Venezuela when she was 7. Growing up in Florida and then Connecticut, Kelemen played soccer and violin, and she competed with her twin brother for who could win the most money from report cards. They got $20 for each A and $10 for each B. For every C, their parents fined them $30. <div type="image" title="Sasha Kelemen and her husband, Chris, on graduation day at the Darden School of Business at UVA." height="1687" width="2250" msid="103507157" hostid="261"></div>"Perhaps it's the immigrant mentality, but living in a new country with a different language and no extended family nearby forces you to step outside of your comfort zone and straddle the line between blending in and finding your own voice along the way," Kelemen told Insider in an email.After finishing undergrad at Boston College in 2010, Kelemen spent a handful of years in media, gaining storytelling skills that were surprisingly relevant, later, in the world of investment banking."So much of an IPO or a transaction is, can you build a narrative?" she told Insider in an interview.Insider recently named Kelemen to our list of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/30-leaders-under-40-changing-healthcare-2023">30 leaders under 40 transforming healthcare</a>.<h2>Untapped potential in women's health</h2>Kelemen liked her job at Goldman and planned to stay, but things started to change after she had her first daughter.During her pregnancy, she read obsessively about women's health. She was about to become a new mom who'd never so much as changed a diaper, and she was trying to stay healthy during a pandemic while she worked nonstop. But soon, she realized there was untapped business potential in the space."There's something here," she said. "Why is nobody on Wall Street paying attention?"<div type="image" title="Sasha Kelemen." height="779" width="1039" msid="103507159" hostid="261"></div>When she returned to work in May 2021 after her maternity leave, Kelemen pitched Goldman on letting her work with more women's-health companies, but was told no. A lot of those startups were still too small for a firm like Goldman, she said.Simultaneously, she was trying to figure out how to be a working mom — short on time to pump breast milk, pick up her daughter from day care, and care for her when she got sick — with few visible examples of what that could look like."There's no sick days in investment banking," she said. "Like, how do you do this?"The bank SVB Leerink, as part of a growth spurt in its healthcare coverage, recruited Kelemen in summer 2021. In a 90-minute meeting, she pitched Barry Blake, SVB's global <a href="https://ir.svb.com/news-and-research/news/news-details/2021/SVB-Leerink-Hires-Barry-Blake-as-Global-Co-Head-of-Investment-Banking/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cohead</a> of investment banking, on her vision to build a team to land deals in women's health. She also told him about her family and intentions to grow it.Blake endorsed both of Kelemen's plans."I wanted to be direct because being a mom and being a banker are two really important parts of my identity," she said. "I wanted to be somewhere that appreciated that and respected that."In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for Goldman Sachs said that the bank's healthcare team has a diverse composition, which has contributed to its dedicated effort to advise women-led and -centered companies.<h2>Wall Street's only women's-health-focused squad</h2>Blake hired Kelemen the following November to run what Kelemen says is the only team of its kind on Wall Street.As head of women and family healthcare services and technology investment banking, Kelemen now leads a small team of female bankers who advise investors as well as early-stage startups and multibillion-dollar companies, most of which are founded or led by women, on their strategies.The team is now part of Leerink Partners, after a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/svb-financial-group-enters-into-definitive-purchase-agreement-to-sell-svb-securities-to-management-team-group-led-by-jeff-leerink-and-backed-by-the-baupost-group-301853729.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">management buyout</a> in June separated the investment bank from SVB, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-bank-svb-biggest-bank-failure-since-2008-crisis-2023-3">following its collapse</a>.As Kelemen has become more established in her career, she's tested how to show up as the most genuine version of herself at work. Instead of suits, sometimes she'll wear flower dresses to see private-equity clients. Instead of golf, she'll invite investors out for pedicures or pickleball. Every day, her calendar is blocked from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. so she can spend time with her kids.<div type="image" title="Sasha Kelemen's family." height="843" width="1124" msid="103507160" hostid="261"></div>Thanks to the explosion of remote work, Kelemen and her husband, Chris, who's also in finance, were able to <a href="https://scarsdale10583.com/section-table/122-scarsdale-worships/9250-new-to-the-dale-and-loving-it-meet-your-new-neighbors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">move to a suburb</a> about 45 minutes north of New York City. Today, Kelemen works in the office or travels to see clients up to three days a week, and Chris works away from home up to four days a week. But with few exceptions, they're always home by the girls' bedtime. Leerink has made accommodations, too, like ensuring Kelemen has access to pumping rooms in the office, she said.While she challenges traditional banker stereotypes behind the scenes, Kelemen is also waging a separate but related battle to shift more power and capital into women's hands.Investors are still allocating a tiny amount — about 2% of venture dollars — to companies <a href="https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/the-vc-female-founders-dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">founded solely by women</a>. Investment in women's-health startups, which, per Kelemen, are founded mostly by women, is <a href="https://medcitynews.com/2023/01/the-rise-of-interest-investment-in-womens-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">picking up some</a>, but it's still largely focused on <a href="https://rockhealth.com/insights/2022-year-end-digital-health-funding-lessons-at-the-end-of-a-funding-cycle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reproductive care</a>, which is relevant only for some women over a handful of years.<h2>Making investment in women's healthcare a self-fulfilling cycle</h2>Part of the problem is that investors are still mostly men, Kelemen said. A big part of her job is explaining the value of women's-health companies to male investors who haven't personally experienced something like menopause, childbirth, miscarriages, postpartum depression, pelvic-floor dysfunction, or pain during sex.<div type="image" title="Sasha Kelemen with her daughters Olivia and Zoe." height="843" width="1124" msid="103507162" hostid="261"></div>"Hopefully one day soon, I won't be getting questions like, 'Is this market really big enough?'" she said.More deals in the space will create more data points that investors can point to, which should fuel further investment in a self-fulfilling cycle, Kelemen said.Last year, Kelemen <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221017006101/en/Unified-Women%E2%80%99s-Healthcare-acquires-Gennev-to-become-the-leader-in-menopause-care-in-the-U.S." target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold</a> a menopause-treatment startup to a national OB-GYN services company. It was the first deal Kelemen put together from start to finish and the first time her client, the startup's CEO, Jill Angelo, wasn't a man. Right after the deal was announced, on World Menopause Day, Kelemen hung up the phone and kissed her second daughter, who was about 5 days old, on the head, thinking she might have better access to care one day. Then she started to tear up.Kelemen added that other than that, she didn't work during her maternity leave.

Why this top banker left Goldman Sachs to help fund women who are changing healthcare

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Hello! Elon Musk and Taylor Swift might not appear to be natural allies, but neither of them seems to like that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-taylor-swift-concerned-about-jet-tracking-accounts-2024-2">college kid who tracks celebrities' private planes online</a>.In today's big story, we're looking at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">startups worth betting your career on</a>.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: Regional lender NYCB's plummeting stock price is stoking fears of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nycb-regional-bank-fears-commercial-real-estate-turmoil-fears-2024-2">further banking turmoil</a>.</li><li>Tech: Hundreds of layoffs at Amazon's <a target="_blank" href="https://businessinsider.com/post/preview?svapi&amp;post_id=65c2605b72404cb055752f64">One Medical and Pharmacy units</a>.</li><li>Business: A new huge sports streaming service <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/espn-warner-disney-fox-launch-sports-streaming-platform-change-tv-2024-2">could upend the TV landscape</a>.</li></ul>But first, you should try applying there!If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h2>The big story</h2><h3>Career makers</h3><div type="image" title="A four-square collage of startup founders." height="450" width="600" msid="107499511" hostid="261" sizebytes="20968"></div>Which startup would you recommend a friend or family member should work at?That was the prompt for Business Insider's VC and startups team as it compiled <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">a list of early-stage companies to bet your career on</a>.The team was armed with plenty of information, having worked on lists identifying the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-promising-startups-2023-according-top-vcs-2023-7">hottest startups</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-best-early-stage-seed-vc-investors-startups-2023-5">backers</a>. But a challenging startup environment — where layoffs and a funding drought have plagued the industry — made an already tough task even more difficult.The team still managed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">come up with 44 startups across a range of industries</a>. The list doesn't have specific parameters, Leena Rao, the deputy editor of BI's VC and startups team, told me.When it comes to picking a startup to work at, the sweet spot is often a mid- to late-stage company. It offers more job security than a young startup, but better upside (see: equity) than one ready for an exit.Startups that made the cut include AI community Hugging Face, newsletter platform Beehiiv, and women's health company Maven, to name a few.<div type="image" title="Venture Capitalist Businessman walking quickly towards a bright opening, money falling from briefcase" height="500" width="1000" msid="107499514" hostid="261" sizebytes="42250"></div>The world of startups is in a fascinating dilemma.At first glance, things are bad. Like, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-mass-extinction-event-has-begun-venture-capital-2023-6">dinosaurs-staring-at-an-asteroid-careening-toward-Earth</a> bad. Even the people who are supposed to invest in startups <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/venture-capital-fundraising-decline-leads-to-layoffs-restructuring-quitting-2024-1">are giving up</a>.But as bleak as the industry looks, some firms are still doing great.Artificial intelligence is the most obvious sector full of hope, and features prominently on this year's list.The success in AI juxtaposed with the issues other startups face has created an even wider gap between the "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-2023-startup-fundraising-challenges-2023-12">haves" and the "have nots,"</a> as BI's Ben Bergman previously wrote.How that impacts future innovations will be interesting. With so much money pouring into AI startups, founders' attention will naturally be drawn to the tech when thinking about their next project.So, if you think AI hasn't penetrated your industry yet, just wait. Either a startup is working on it, or an investor is looking for one that will.Meanwhile, the volatility among startups comes at a time of broader instability for the tech industry.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-new-normal-constant-layoffs-job-cuts-google-amazon-meta-2024-1">Waves of layoffs hit Big Tech</a> throughout 2023 – and even though the pace of redundancies has slowed down, there's still a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/post/preview?svapi&amp;post_id=65c2cdb804b5f0737c71da78">grim feeling in the industry</a>. Executives at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-earnings-q4-2023-mark-zuckerberg-hiring-2024-2">Meta</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-earnings-hints-more-layoffs-despite-strong-financial-results-2024-2">Amazon</a> hinted at not being as aggressive with hiring plans going forward on earnings calls earlier this month.Meanwhile, some longtime tech employees are questioning whether their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/news-today-december-22-google-culture-ai-bard-2023-12">companies' once-beloved culture</a> has changed forever.All of that creates an interesting ecosystem for talent, as opportunities to work at high-flying startups and more secure roles in Big Tech are on track to become harder to come by.<h2>3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="Flagstar Bank" height="1536" width="2048" msid="107499517" hostid="261" sizebytes="136350"></div><ol><li>NYCB is stoking fears of more banking turmoil. The regional lender's shares tumbled 22% Tuesday to trade at their lowest level in a quarter of a century after Moody's downgraded it to "junk" status. Some investors are worried that its struggles signal a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nycb-regional-bank-fears-commercial-real-estate-turmoil-fears-2024-2">looming commercial-real-estate crisis</a>.</li><li>Cathie Wood's Ark Invest hasn't been a good bet for investors, according to Morningstar. An analysis by the research company found Ark Invest <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/funds/cathie-wood-ark-invest-wealth-destroyed-tech-stocks-morningstar-arkk-2024-2">destroyed $14 billion in wealth over the past decade</a>. Ark Innovation, the firm's flagship ETF, is down 8% on the year and roughly 70% from its peak in early 2021.</li><li>Paul Tudor Jones sounds off on the "debt bomb" looming over the US. The billionaire investor said the government's pace of borrowing and spending is what's behind the country's economic growth. "<a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/us-debt-economy-outlook-government-spending-deficit-paul-tudor-jones-2024-2">We've got an economy on steroids, and it's unsustainable</a>," he said in a recent interview.</li></ol><h2>3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="A photo illustration of a hand holding a phone with the YouTube logo on the screen." height="401" width="600" msid="107499519" hostid="261" sizebytes="10922"></div><ol><li>YouTube has become one of the biggest pay-TV services in the US. With more than 8 million subscribers, YouTube TV is the fourth largest pay-TV service, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-tv-fourth-biggest-pay-tv-cable-broadband-bundle-google-2024-2">scoring a major win for YouTube and parent company Google</a>. The company also appears to be interested in expanding its offerings; On Monday, YouTube said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-apple-vision-pro-app-roadmap-2024-2">an app for Apple's Vision Pro</a> is "on our roadmap."</li><li>Amazon's One Medical and Pharmacy units cut a "few hundred" jobs. The layoffs are part of <a target="_blank" href="https://businessinsider.com/post/preview?svapi&amp;post_id=65c2605b72404cb055752f64">a cost-cutting mandate</a> that could save One Medical $100 million as Amazon exerts more control over the unit.</li><li>Move over, App Store — there's a new marketplace in town. OpenAI launched GPT Store specifically for builders to share their generative AI projects. BI's Samantha Stokes took a look at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-gpt-store-most-popular-apps-2024-2">13 of the most popular apps</a> available.</li></ol><h2>3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="An illustration of a young couple without kids." height="300" width="600" msid="107499520" hostid="261" sizebytes="21514"></div><ol><li>DINKs are living the new American dream. Dual income, no kids couples are<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parents-dinks-winning-childfree-economy-finances-income-vacation-retirement-kids-2024-2"> living it up with vacations, financial stability, and the freedom of choice</a>. As the stigma around foregoing children lessens, DINKs are emerging as an aspirational class for young people.</li><li>iHeartRadio's broken promises (Taylor's version). Two years ago, iHeartRadio, which owns 850 radio stations nationwide, promised to only play "Taylor's Version" of Taylor Swift songs. An analysis of data from six iHeart stations shows that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/post/preview?svapi&amp;post_id=65c24edf178f29663ab0377e">the company broke that promise</a>.</li><li>ESPN, Warner Bros., and Fox are teaming up to launch a new sports streaming service. The three companies <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/espn-warner-disney-fox-launch-sports-streaming-platform-change-tv-2024-2">revealed their "all-in-one premier" joint venture</a> in a press release cosigned by Bob Iger, Lachlan Murdoch, and David Zaslav on Tuesday. If priced suitably, the platform could <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/espn-wbd-new-sports-streaming-service-could-kill-cable-tv-2024-2">kill off cable TV for good</a>.</li></ol><h2>In other news</h2><ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-republicans-2-big-losses-one-night-still-a-mess-2024-2">House Republicans failed to pass two votes on Tuesday: impeaching Mayorkas and aid to Israel</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bluesky-social-media-app-invite-open-ceo-jay-graber-interview-2024-2">Bluesky is finally open to everyone. But will anyone come? We ask its CEO</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nikki-haley-loses-nevada-gop-primary-none-of-these-candidates-2024-2">Even without Trump on the ballot, Nikki Haley loses Nevada GOP primary to 'None of These Candidates'</a></li></ul><h2>What's happening today</h2><ul><li>Today's earnings: Uber, Alibaba, The Walt Disney Company, and others <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar">are reporting today</a>.</li><li>Fortegra is expected to announce its final IPO pricing.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-defrancesco">Dan DeFrancesco</a>, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/hallam-bullock">Hallam Bullock</a>, editor, in London. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jordan-parker-erb">Jordan Parker Erb</a>, editor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/george-glover">George Glover</a>, reporter, in London.

The job market for startups and Big Tech is in a weird spot 

<ul><li><keyword id="7363049" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="janitri" source="Orion">Janitri</keyword> provides ‘medical-grade fetal and maternal monitoring solutions’ to use at hospitals or homes. </li><li>The Bengaluru-based startup started selling its products in March 2021, after spending five years on development. </li><li>Arun Agarwal, the founder of Janitri, walked away with an investment of ₹1 crore for a 2.5% equity stake from <keyword id="544908" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Namita-Thapar" source="Orion">Namita Thapar</keyword>. </li></ul>Despite medical advancements, high infant and maternal mortality rates remain a prevalent concern in India. As of 2019, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in India <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1796436">stood </a>at 30 per 1,000 live births. Lack of institutional births, low-birthweight babies and maternal mortality are other challenges that the country faces. The government introduced several schemes and frameworks like the Janani Suraksha Yojana in 2005; and a framework — Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) in 2013 to address these challenges. However, lack of access to primary healthcare centers and other issues affect women and child development in India. Janitri, the latest startup pitched on <keyword id="11924074" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shark-tank-india" source="Orion">Shark Tank India</keyword> S2, aims to tackle this problem with “medical-grade fetal and maternal monitoring solutions” via wearables, and affordable AI-enabled devices and software. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="A patch, a wearable and a software" comment="subhead2" text="A patch, a wearable and a software">A patch, a wearable and a software</cmsannotation> Founded by Arun Agarwal, Janitri is a Bengaluru-based startup that launched operations in March 2021. It offers three products — Keyar Patch, Daksh, and Navam wearable. Navam wearable can be worn on the wrist and helps in fetal monitoring, but it’s still a prototype. Made of silicone and plastic, Keyar Patch can be attached to the stomach of a pregnant woman and it monitors fetal heart rate, maternal heart rate, labour contractions and fetal movements. It’s available for ₹29,000. Keyar Patch connects to Daksh, which is a mobile application that can run on any Android-backed mobile or tablet. It helps monitor mothers during intrapartum and postpartum periods of labour by continuously sending relevant information to the doctors. It also generates critical alerts, notifies the staff, and is available for an annual subscription cost of ₹10,000. Together, Keyar Patch and Daksh allow doctors to remotely assess fetal movements to help both the mother and the child. Aggarwal claims that timely monitoring during the last trimester and labour can help save 80% of the women and/or newborns who succumb to complications during pregnancy. Most hospitals traditionally use a cardiotocography machine commonly known as a fetal monitor. However, it isn’t digital and produces graphs in thermal print that doctors study. It also requires the nurse to change the position of the probes on the mother’s belly every 30 minutes. These machines cost ₹1 lakh or more apiece, claimed Agarwal. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Bring a change at the grassroots level" comment="subhead2" text="Bring a change at the grassroots level">Bring a change at the grassroots level</cmsannotation> Originally hailing from Alwar, Rajasthan, Agarwal did his graduation (Bachelor's in Technology) in Electronics from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), before pursuing a Master’s in biomedical engineering from VIT. His decision to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering stemmed from his desire to bring a change in the healthcare system in India. “I had a dream to solve the grassroot level problems in healthcare through technology. I heard my grandmother’s story of how, among the six siblings she had, one died within a year of being born. When I started my B.Tech I deduced, this a huge problem globally, and technology has not yet reached this area,” shared Agarwal. He worked as a patent analyst in the healthcare industry for two years to gain financial stability, and gained further insight into the industry by attending Healthcare Hackathons, visiting hospitals, and watching live deliveries, before starting Janitri. For five years, he worked on R&amp;D, clinical trials, and regulatory compliance for Janitri. During this time, the company received grants from Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), BIll &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Canada, and the Government of Karnataka. It also raised ₹2.35 crore in February 2020 in a seed round at a valuation of ₹15 crore from an angel investor. It raised an additional ₹1.15 crore via convertible notes in April 2021 from the same investor. As per Agarwal, Janitri has raised ₹7 crore so far in an equal mix of grants and equity. The startup has applied for 12 patents, four of which have already been granted. In its first year of operation, the company earned a revenue of ₹1.03 crore. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Offers galore, but conditions apply" comment="subhead2" text="Offers galore, but conditions apply">Offers galore, but conditions apply</cmsannotation> While all the sharks were impressed by the product, Namita Thapar, executive director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals, was the first to make an offer — ₹75 lakh for 5% equity, with ₹25 lakh debt. While she did match the past valuation of the startup, the founder remarked that the past valuation was an older, pre-money valuation. After which, Thapar doubled the valuation to ₹30 crore and made an offer of ₹60 lakh for 2% equity and ₹40 lakh debt. “In this country, if we wish to make healthcare effective, we can’t do it without the help of technology. The day pharma and technology join hands, we can create magic,” said Thapar. Lenskart co-founder Peyush Bansal and CarDekho co-founder Amit Jain made a joint offer of ₹1 crore for 2.5% equity, valuing the company at ₹40 crore. However, the offer was contingent on Janitri making sales worth ₹20 crore in the next year, failing which the sharks’ equity will double to 5%. Thapar matched this offer while adding that with her support, Janitri could easily achieve sales worth ₹50 crore. Ultimately, Aggarwal went with Thapar’s final offer of ₹1 crore for 2.5% equity, but on the condition that if the company does not achieve revenue of ₹20 crore in the next financial year, Thapar will get an additional 2.5% equity. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/we-are-looking-to-acquire-new-airports-through-govt-bids-adani-airports-ceo/articleshow/97088266.cms">We are looking to acquire new airports through govt bids: Adani Airports CEO</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/360-one-takes-controlling-stake-in-mumbai-angels-two-new-funds-announced/articleshow/97083831.cms">360 ONE takes controlling stake in Mumbai Angels; two new funds announced</a>

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation backed startup provides AI solutions to monitor pregnant women

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="14055516" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="inside-voices" source="Orion">Inside Voices</keyword> is a platform to review employers and how they handle <keyword id="11893568" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="diversity-and-inclusion" source="Orion">diversity and inclusion</keyword>.</li><li>Founder Ekow Sanni-Thomas opted for organic growth on TikTok rather than seeking <keyword id="12153034" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vc-funding" source="Orion">VC funding</keyword>.</li></ul>By the time Ekow Sanni-Thomas left the corporate world after 11 years in real estate, he had seen firsthand how easy it is for companies to turn their backs on Black employees despite claiming to promote diversity and inclusion. "This is a problem that I've dealt with throughout my career, not just lack of diversity but also companies having false reputations," Sanni-Thomas said. His negative experience at his last job sparked the idea for his <keyword id="11897892" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="startup" source="Orion">startup</keyword>, <a href="https://www.insidevoices.io/">Inside Voices</a>, an online platform for diverse workers to submit anonymous reviews of their employers. It's similar to other review sites, like Glassdoor or Indeed, but it's designed to share the unique perspectives of underrepresented employees.Sanni-Thomas says transparency is one way to equip workers of color with the knowledge they need to find the right company. Since the global reckoning with racism and police violence two years ago, companies have pledged <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/two-years-floyd-ceos-banks-black-americans-wall-street-promises-2022-5">billions of dollars</a> to anti-racist causes and set goals to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-job-descriptions-inclusive-to-attract-diverse-talent-2020-9">recruit and retain Black talent</a>. However, many consultants, professors, and employees contend that diversity efforts to date have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-diversity-inclusion-less-of-an-empty-buzzword-2022-1">failed across the corporate world</a>. "The only reason that companies are able to get away with this is because there's no transparency," Sanni-Thomas said. "There's no place for us to hold them accountable. That's where Inside Voices intends to come in."<h2>Building a company from scratch</h2>Inside Voices also aims to address some of the challenges that other review websites face. Sanni-Thomas said he's focusing on designing the website to weed out spam and provide relevant information to Black and brown employees. Users submit anonymous reviews, answering questions that diversity experts have created, such as: "How do you feel about this statement: I would recommend my company to a person of color?"Sanni-Thomas said Inside Voices currently has about 5,000 user reviews, from major companies like Salesforce, Google, and Deloitte, among others. Since he left his job to build his company in March 2021, Sanni-Thomas has made intentional choices as a CEO to ensure that the foundation of Inside Voices remained aligned with his mission. First, he says he took the extra time to find contractors of color to build his website. He also made the decision to stay away from venture-capital funding, funding the initial product out of his one savings account. In 2020, only 3% of venture-capital funding went to Black-owned companies, though <keyword id="13125131" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="black-entrepreneurs" source="Orion">Black entrepreneurs</keyword> owned 10% of companies in the US, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/venture-capital-funding-diversity-idINKBN2AM12X">according to Reuters</a>. For a while, users rolled in slowly. But when Sanni-Thomas committed to using TikTok and LinkedIn, he finally found his footing. Inside Voices currently has over 31,000 followers on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@insidevoices.io?lang=en">TikTok</a> and Sanni-Thomas has become an influential voice about diversity on the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-break-into-tech-tiktok-videos-nurses-teachers-2022-2">#careertok</a> hashtag, which influencers who give advice about <keyword id="13015466" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="career-development" source="Orion">career development</keyword> frequent. "There is nothing for organic growth like TikTok, particularly when you have a $0 marketing budget," Sanni-Thomas said. "I scrapped away for nine months, getting one review here, two here. Then I started using TikTok and LinkedIn and it all changed from there." With two beta versions and thousands of users to show for his success, Sanni-Thomas is now going into his first round of VC funding.<h2>Career advice for diverse talent</h2>Charting a career as a Black employee in the corporate world is like a game of Snakes and Ladders, Sanni-Thomas said, referring to the board game where ladders send you up toward your goal and snakes take you back toward the starting line."There's a lot more snakes than there are ladders," he said. When he started his career, Sanni-Thomas said he thought he had thick skin, but over time, he realized that dealing with racism in the workplace was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-say-microaggression-against-your-colleague-at-work-2020-6">taking a toll on his mental health</a>. He felt like he wasn't doing enough."I wish I had just been a little bit kinder to myself," he said. "If you don't hit all the milestones that you expected to hit at the speed that you want, just be forgiving and know that a lot of it was not in your hands."Sanni-Thomas also emphasized his own privilege — as a man with a British accent and savings in the bank — as a factor in getting Inside Voices off the ground. Black women, in particular, are "discriminated against with a regularity and ferocity that would simply stop most people from trying," he said.As he builds his community and team at Inside Voices, he wants to ensure that combating misogynoir — discrimination against Black women — is at the center of his mission. "I'm not just out to build a company, just to build a company," he said. "With that being my guiding principle, I don't think I really have any other option but to stay steadfast on the path."

An entrepreneur built a platform for diverse workers to share honest reviews of their employers. It's registered over 5,000 reviewers from companies like Google and Deloitte in its first year.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>We are looking for women startup founders in the creator economy and influencer space.</li><li>Nominees must be women and have founded a creator-adjacent startup.</li></ul>Insider is seeking nominations for our inaugural list of women founders in the creator economy and influencer space.Startups that cater to content creators have boomed in the past two years.After a rosy 2021 that saw 11 unicorns in the industry, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ma-predictions-for-creator-economy-and-influencer-marketing-in-2023-2022-12">2022 was a slower year</a>, with only four companies exceeding a $1 billion valuation, Insider previously reported based on data from venture-capital fund Antler.But despite a complicated year, the space continues to grow and VC funds continue to invest in startups that cater to creators and influencers — some of them, like <a href="https://www.nightventures.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Night Ventures</a> or <a href="https://www.creator.ventures/">Creator Ventures</a>, have made investments in this area their focus.Now, we are looking to highlight women founders in the creator-economy industry. The list will be determined by Insider based on our reporting and the nominations we receive.We will take into consideration factors like customer adoption, funding and financials, and its impact on the creator economy as a whole. Please note, we will not be considering influencer-marketing agencies and talent-management firms for this list.You can nominate yourself or someone you know via the Google Form below, until Monday, February 13. The form will close on that date, and we will not be accepting further applications past the deadline.<h2>Submit here:</h2>

Seeking nominations for women startup founders in the creator economy. Nominate yourself or someone you know.

<ul><li><keyword id="74945" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-entrepreneurs" source="Orion">Women entrepreneurs</keyword> are not far behind in founding the most valuable businesses of this millennium. </li><li>Ghazal Alagh of Mamaearth, and Saumya Singh Rathore of Winzo, aged 35, each is the youngest woman in the list. </li><li>Ruchi Deepak, co-founder of Acko, and Amrita Sirohia, co-founder, Amrita Sirohia, co-founder, INDmoney, at 41, are the eldest women in the list </li></ul>When it comes to founding valuable new businesses, women <keyword id="53533" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="entrepreneurs" source="Orion">entrepreneurs</keyword> are giving men a run for their money. We take a look at top ten <keyword id="19669428" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="youngest-women-entrepreneurs" source="Orion">youngest women entrepreneurs</keyword> in India according to the first edition of ‘India's Top 200 Self-made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2023’ launched by I<a href="https://www.idfcfirstbank.com/personal-banking/wealth/First-Private#home">DFC FIRST Private</a> Banking and <a href="https://hurunindia.com/">Hurun India</a>. Ghazal Alagh, 35, Gurugram Ghazal Alagh is a self-made woman entrepreneur and the co-founder of Mamaearth, one of India's leading brands of natural and toxin-free skincare and baby care products. Alagh's journey started with a personal need – she was struggling to find safe and effective skincare products for her son. This inspired her to create her own brand, Mamaearth, which has since become a household name in India and recently went public. Saumya Singh Rathore, 35, New Delhi Saumya Singh Rathore, co-founder of WinZO, has contributed to building India's leading social gaming platform in local languages, boasting a user base exceeding 100 million. Since its inception in 2018, WinZO has secured funding surpassing $100 million, supported by key investors like Griffin Gaming Partners, Makers Fund, Courtside Ventures, and Steve Pagliuca. Rajoshi Ghosh, 36, Bengaluru Rajoshi Ghosh, a serial entrepreneur, serves as the COO and co-founder of Hasura, a software technology company based in San Francisco. Beyond her role at Hasura, she has initiated five other startups. She holds the title of a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and commenced her professional journey as a published bioinformatics researcher specialising in genomics at the Genome Institute of Singapore. Dr. Garima Sawhney, 37, Gurugram Dr. Garima Sawhney, a co-founder at Pristyn Care, is a leading figure in India's healthcare. Renowned for her expertise in gynaecology, she embarked on her career as a doctor, honing crucial life skills during her tenure at a government hospital. Her leadership, born from compassionate patient care, has steered Pristyn Care to a valuation of $1.4 billion. Kanika Gupta, 39, Gurugram Kanika Gupta Shori holds the position of co-founder and COO at Square Yards, an integrated real estate marketplace. With an educational background from Wharton Business School, she brings more than 11 years of experience in both banking and entrepreneurial pursuits. Beyond her professional roles, Kanika actively contributes to initiatives centred around empowering women and supporting children's welfare. Vineeta Singh, 40, Mumbai Vineeta Singh is an Indian entrepreneur and investor who is the co-founder and CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics, a popular Indian beauty brand. Singh is also a judge on the Indian reality television show Shark Tank India. Singh is known for her tough questioning and her willingness to invest in businesses that she believes have the potential to succeed. Ruchi Kalra, 40, Gurumgram Ruchi Kalra, an entrepreneur from Gurgaon, has co-founded two unicorn startups – OfBusiness and Oxyzo with her husband, Ashish Mohapatra. Ruchi's successful business approach centres on extracting profit from each transaction, a strategy that has proven effective. She and her husband are the first couple who has founded two unicorns. Mabel Chako, 40, Bengaluru Mabel Chako, co-founder and chief operating officer at Open, boasts a 13-year entrepreneurial journey in financial technology. Her expertise spans intricate financial landscapes, honed through roles at Citrus Payment Solutions and PayU. Her founding of CashNxt in 2007 and Zwitch in 2013 (later acquired by Citrus Payments) underscores her entrepreneurial acumen and commitment to innovative solutions. Ruchi Deepak, 41, Mumbai Ruchi Deepak, co-founder of Acko, hails from Jamshedpur and pursued her bachelor's degree at Lady Shri Ram College, followed by Law at Delhi University. Ruchi aimed for meaningful innovation in financial services. Witnessing the industry's focus on selling to distributors rather than customers directly, she envisioned a shift. Co-founding Acko with Varun Dua, they leveraged technology to revolutionise insurance experiences. Amrita Sirohia, 41, Gurugram Amrita Sirohia, co-founder of INDmoney, embarked on her journey in the financial sector driven by a passion for technology and finance. Amrita's professional trajectory includes roles at renowned companies like Google and Barclays, which led to her understanding of financial complexities and technological innovation. Co-founding INDmoney, her aim was to democratise wealth management through tech-enabled financial solutions, empowering individuals to navigate and optimise their financial portfolios efficiently.

She power: The top 10 youngest women entrepreneurs in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider just published its second annual <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-100-best-early-stage-investors-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">Seed 100</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-25-best-female-early-stage-investors-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">Seed 25 lists</a> of the best seed VCs.</li><li>The lists not only celebrate past wins but also use a statistical model to predict ongoing success.</li></ul>Insider's second annual Seed 100 list once again names the best seed-stage investors in the US.<h4>Read: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-100-best-early-stage-investors-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">The Seed 100: The best early-stage investors</a></h4>And our second annual <keyword id="13790593" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="seed-25" source="Orion">Seed 25</keyword> list, which honors the rising number of women in seed-stage investing, names the best female investors.<h4>Read: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-25-best-female-early-stage-investors-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">The Seed 25: The best female early-stage investors</a></h4><h2>Based on data</h2>What makes these rankings different from other best-VCs lists is that they're based on data. And they're not just rearview analyses that celebrate past success. They use a statistical model designed to predict, with high confidence, future success.That makes the Seed 100 and Seed 25 ideal tools for founders looking for successful early-stage investors to bring on as partners, as well as for other VCs and angel investors searching for top dealmakers to include in their networks.In fact, those are the exact reasons that the data-driven VC firm Tribe Capital, the creator of the model, spent three years building and fine-tuning it. Tribe's data selected and ranked these top investors out of a field of more than 1,400 people using 25 attributes.<h4>Read: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-seed-vcs-venture-capital-tribe-capital-seed100-seed25-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">How Tribe Capital selected and ranked Insider's Seed 100 and Seed 25 lists of the best seed VCs</a></h4><h2>Newcomers and rising stars</h2>This year's list includes 37 newcomers, including Ian Rountree, No. 6 on the Seed 100, who worked in the nonprofit world until he realized, he told us, that nothing changes the world faster than "solving problems with cash flow."Read: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ian-rountree-top-seed-vc-climate-tech-crypto-biotech-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">How Ian Rountree bet $120,000 of his life savings on startups and became one of the nation's top seed investors</a>Another newcomer is Miriam Rivera, No. 1 on the Seed 25, who built her firm by backing female founders and founders of color, filling the skies with unicorns as she did. "People have seen that investing in diverse people is profitable," she said.Read: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miriam-rivera-ulu-ventures-vc-unicorns-underrepresented-startup-founders-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">How top VC Miriam Rivera turned bets on underrepresented founders into multibillion-dollar wins</a>Speaking of unicorns, Aileen Lee, No. 2 on the Seed 25, coined the term. But Lee told us that she was most proud of mentoring founders: "Sticking by people through hard times is actually one of the things that I feel really proud about."<h4>Read: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vc-aileen-lee-cowboy-ventures-secret-to-her-success-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">'It was scary': How Aileen Lee launched her own VC firm after 13 years at Kleiner Perkins — and became one of the best in the business</a></h4>Then there's Garry Tan, who rose 33 spots this year on the Seed 100. He said, "A founder who is a great builder tends to be a magnet, attracting the smartest people."These three Seed 100 stars also told us how they achieved success in a world so full of competition.<h4><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jenny-fielding-techstars-vc-top-female-seed-investor-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">How Jenny Fielding, the face of Techstars, became the most well-connected investor in New York</a></h4><h4><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/eric-paley-top-seed-vc-investing-startups-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">How seeking out the 'weird and wonderful' led to Eric Paley's seed investment in Uber and hundreds of other startups</a></h4><h4><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/engineer-kevin-mahaffey-top-seed-vc-angel-investing-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">Kevin Mahaffey began building software when he was 8 years old. Now he's the No. 3 seed investor.</a></h4>But the list is also full of surprises, such as football great Joe Montana, who's VC fund has quietly become a powerhouse.<h2>Read the full list: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-100-best-early-stage-investors-2022-5?r=seed-100-lp">The Seed 100: The best early-stage investors of 2022</a></h2>

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