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Welcome to The Founders Edit, the weekly newsletter where female founders get the latest trends, opportunities, and advice.
This week, we're sharing an early-stage grant you can apply for, what we can learn from Facebook’s outage, women’s day networking events, and more.
Let's leap right into what’s brewing in the business world!
Inside This Edition:
Read Time: 5 minutes
đź’° Funding Focus: Apply for this StartHER microgrant
đź“° Industry Insights: Meta went down, tips from a $200 mil CEO, and more
🛍️ Lessons From Female Founders: Apply these unique qualities to your own business.
đź‘ Founder Networking 27th Feb - 5th Mar: Mark your calendars for these networking events
🛠️ From The Vendor List: Make editing your Instagram videos a breeze
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Funding Focus: StartHER
​StartHER is a micro fund created by Peanut App founder Michelle Kennedy to support early-stage, pre-seed businesses led by women and underrepresented founders.
🙋‍♀️ Application Tips for Success:
- Talk About Your Big Goal: Explain how your business will help people, the environment, or healthcare. Make it clear why your idea matters and how it can make a difference.
- Show You're Just Starting But Ready to Grow: Prove that your business is new but has big potential. Share any small successes or examples to show them you're serious and ready for their help with money, advice, and contacts.
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Industry Insights: Latest weekly news
Stay up to date with the latest trends and news in the business world. Here are three stories that caught our eye this week and what you can learn from them:
Meta Outage Brings Down Facebook, Instagram, and More
Did you have a momentary panic that you couldn’t get into your Facebook and Instagram accounts on Monday? If so, you weren’t alone, as Meta had a massive outage that created issues for several platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and What’s App.
Key Insights:
- Check if it’s just you: Before you panic and reset all of your passwords, check a website like DownDetector.com to see if a wider outage is at play.
- Give it a spin: No one likes it when major websites go down, but see if there are any creative ways you can use an outage to your advantage. For example, Tonic’s marketing team was on the ball and made this post during the outage highlighting their latest launch saying “We must have broken Facebook with our big launch, our bad!”
👩‍🏫 Rebecca's Take: Having multiple ways to contact your customers and prospects is key, and this becomes even more obvious any time there is a social media outage. If your socials go down, could you quickly get in touch with your customers through another means like email or SMS? Better safe than sorry!
Women Are More Likely to Be Laid Off Than Promoted in Tech
There is a massive gender gap in the tech industry, with women more likely to face layoffs than promotions. How can we do better?
Key Insights:
- Women face more layoffs: Women, who already have fewer leadership roles in tech, were 69% of those laid off in 2022, showing deep-seated biases and unfair treatment.
- Support with mentorship and training: Programs that mentor women and train them for leadership can help close the gender gap, giving women the support they need to succeed.
👩‍🏫 Rebecca's Take: As we build and grow our own companies, it’s important to support fellow women along the way. Think of how you can implement policies and culture at the foundation of your company that can lead to growth and opportunity, especially in leadership roles.
Strategies from a $200 Million Beauty Brand Female CEO
Milani Cosmetics' CEO Mary van Praag shared her strategies behind the brand's impressive growth in this Forbes article with actionable takeaways you can use for your own business.
Key Insights:
- Brand Identity and Focus: Emphasizing luxury quality at affordable prices and inclusivity has been fundamental, showing the importance of staying true to your brand’s DNA.
- Strategic Team Building: Assembling a leadership team with an aligned vision and proven capability highlights the critical role of having the right people in place for growth.
👩‍🏫 Rebecca's Take: The journey of Milani Cosmetics is a stellar example for female entrepreneurs in the beauty industry. It teaches us the power of knowing our brand inside and out, doubling down on what works, and building a team that shares your vision.
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Lessons From Female Founded Brands
Featuring remarkable female entrepreneurs and their products, along with unique qualities that can inspire your own business approach.
This week, we're spotlighting three exceptional women-led brands we love:
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Brother Vellies: Founded by Aurora James in 2013, Brother Vellies aims to preserve traditional African craftsmanship through its luxury accessory line.
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Founder: Aurora James
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What makes them stand out? Artisanal Heritage: Brother Vellies was created to preserve traditional African design practices while also creating artisanal jobs. This commitment is shown throughout the brand in their ethical product manufacturing. They do not put their products on sale, instead focusing on pricing products based on their materials and fair labor practices.
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FoodMarble: Founded to ease digestive issues, FoodMarble created the first handheld device for breath testing to help identify food intolerances directly impacting gut health.
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Founder: Lisa Ruttledge
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What makes them stand out? Technological Innovation: Almost 1 billion people struggle with digestive issues, so FoodMarble was created to help people track and understand their digestive health. Backed by scientific research, the product uses a breath test to help guide users in creating diets for their unique digestive systems.
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Inspiro Tequila: Mara Smith, a former attorney and corporate strategist, founded Inspiro Tequila in 2020, driven by her search for a clean, gluten-free spirit that resonated with her active lifestyle.
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Founder: Mara Smith
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What makes them stand out? Female Empowerment: The brand was built on female entrepreneurship in a traditionally male-dominated industry. They are female-owned and operated, including partnering with a female master distiller as well as working with women in Mexico for production and distribution.
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Do you know of an amazing female-founded brand that should be featured in a future newsletter (or want to see your own business featured)? Reply to this email and let us know! |
Founder Networking: Upcoming Events (8th - 17th March)
Here are some of the best female entrepreneur networking events happening in the next week:
International Women's Day - Female Business Leaders Panel Discussion
- Date and Time: Friday, 8th Mar 2024 18:30 - 21:00 GMT
- Location: The Hearth - 16 Lonsdale Road London NW6 6RD
- Price: ÂŁ10
- Who it’s for: Celebrate International Women’s Day with this panel discussion of female business leaders sharing their stories and lessons learned.
- ​Get more information and sign up here
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Elite Business LIVE 2024
- Date and Time: Wednesday, 13th and Thursday, 14th Mar
- Location: 10 Godliman Street St Paul's London EC4V 5AJ
- Price: ÂŁ99 per day
- Who it’s for: This two-day conference is perfect for meeting other start up founders and small business owners through networking events and panel discussions.
- ​Get more information and sign up here​
Startup, Tech & Business Networking London
- Date and Time: Wednesday, 13th Mar 18:00 - 22:00 GMT
- Location: All Bar One Leicester Square - 46 Leicester Square London WC2H 7LU
- Price: ÂŁ15
​Who it’s for: Watch other start-ups pitch their businesses or sign up to pitch yourself!
- ​Get more information and sign up here​
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From The Vendor List: CapCut
​CapCut is a user-friendly video editing app that makes it easy to post quality video content to your social media channels.
Why It's Useful:
- Easy to Use: CapCut's click-and-drag interface makes it quick and easy to edit your videos before posting.
- AI-Enhanced Editing: CapCut has AI tools like automatic subtitle generation and translation, background remover, and color correction to save time editing your videos.
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