Join here: https://zoom.us/j/6690003249

In 2019, only 2.8% of venture financing went to women-founded businesses. In 2020, that number dropped below 2%. Join our candid conversation on the state of women in venture capital with three heavy-hitting investors and experts who have a view from both the top and ground floors. Topics we will cover:

-Many founders aspire to raise "venture capital" but their business models don't demand it, or it really just doesn't make sense. Why has VC financing has become so glamourized?

- What is your experience like as a woman in venture? How do you navigate and shine in this male-dominated space?

- Women only receive 2% of venture financing down from 2.8% in 2019. And Black female founders and Latina founders only get a fraction of that, it mostly goes to white women. What's it going to take to accelerate some change here? For both investment in women founders at large, and especially for BIPOC women founders?

- What are you most excited about? Is it the future of social media, the future of e-commerce, the future of sustainability? Where are you investing your dollars and placing your bets?

- What is special about female founders? Why do you all so deliberately want to invest in us and help them succeed?

Rochelle Stewart is the Vice President of Consumer Technology at Silicon Valley Bank. Her expertise includes investing (PE & VC), digital strategy, strategic marketing, growth marketing, business development & partnerships, strategic business planning and operations. She comes from an illustrious career in financial services, media and publishing, and enjoys angel investing, advising, traveling, cooking and singing.

Fran Hauser is is an author, keynote speaker and investor at the intersection of women’s empowerment, career fulfillment, and collective wellbeing. She is the best-selling author of The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate which has been translated into six languages and was named “Best Business Book of the Year, 2018” by Audible. Fran has invested in over 20 female-founded companies across CPG, media, future of work, and wellness, including iFundWomen, Hello Giggles, and Mogul. She also serves as an LP in the Female Founders Fund. Her writing, speaking and investing is informed by 15 years spent in media, from startups where she played an integral role in the $525mm sale of Moviefone to AOL, to ultimately rising the ranks at Time Inc. to President of Digital where she led innovation, acquisitions and digital expansion for powerhouse media brands People, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Essence, and People en Espanol.

Annie Evans is the former co-founder of Beautified, a geo-located app to find and book on-demand beauty and fitness services. As the architect behind Beautified's enterprise strategy and business development, Annie understands consumer behavior and the key role of B2B partnerships to scale and grow ideas into big companies. With over a decade of experience in consumer marketing, Annie has worked with leading media brands such as Esquire and O, The Oprah Magazine as well as global brands such as Diageo and Audi. Prior, Annie founded The Society NYC – a private social cultural community connecting innovative minds with one another and the brands that seek their attention. Annie has been featured in Vogue, NY Times, TechCrunch, Entrepreneur Magazine, and many others based on her work in business, fashion, lifestyle and tech.

Annie loves working with entrepreneurs to help bring their vision into the stratosphere of possibility. Currently, she is an advisor for tech venture - Waitron, an on-demand hospitality job marketplace to connect employers with employees.