Female Foundry Week 84: Summer Edition 2023.
Welcome to The Week 84, 2023 Edition of the Female Foundry newsletter!
Female Foundry - where investors and female founders meet.
This is the last weekend of August. I am looking forward to my two-week holiday next week, catching the final bursts of the summer sunshine in Europe and switching off.
Here is the special Summer Edition of the Female Foundry Newsletter.
The hottest rounds.
We have passed a half year mark this summer. It is a great opportunity to celebrate the founders that, despite the slowest fundraising conditions in almost a decade, raised the biggest financing rounds so far this year.
In June, French Pigment, co-founded by Eléonore Crespo, whose mission is to take on Microsoft Excel, landed an $88m Series C round led by Iconiq Growth. The new injection of capital happened just 8 months after raising its $65m Series B round (Week 39) in October last year and brought the total funding to $234m.
The other nine female-founded startups with the most impressive rounds include, Charmaine Chow (GetHarley), Ekaterina Damer (Prolific), Maria Pereira (TISSIUM), Stephanie Gosset (ZEWAY), Lourdes Agapito (Synthesia), Marta Palmeiro (StudentFinance), Benjamina Bollag and Dr. Ruth Faram (Uncommon), Hélène Huby (The Exploration Company), Ida Boesen and Julie Koch Fahler (Agreena).
Quiz
Founders, what are your plans over the next few months? I am trying to gauge where you are in your business building journeys.
The hottest reads.
The books you have read this summer.
I asked a few of you to share books that you enjoyed this summer. Here are the top picks. - I was happy to learn that not all of them were business related (!).
➯ What They Don't Teach You About Money by Clear Barret. “A must-read for anyone to understand financial planning”➯ Power and Progress by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson. “Great book to understand how technology shaped humanity ad what it might and how it might shape the future” ➯ Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. “Fearless. Smart. I haven’t laughed this much in a long time!” ➯ Trespasses by Louise Kennedy. “Great read. An inspiring story of a strong woman” ➯ How Big Things Get Done by Ben Fryvberg and Dan Gardner. “Smart advice on how to execute on a big vision!” ➯ King. A life. by Jonathan Eig. “Excellent read about a great man. Inspiring life story” ➯ MAAME by Jessica George. “Raw and beautiful. Relatable book for many women”.
Community
What’s ahead.
We have an exciting project extending over this autumn and winter engaging all of you and helping to deliver the Female Foundry “The future of venture is here” mission. More to come after the summer break.
Apart from that, we are partnering with several exciting events this autumn, including Bits & Pretzels, WebSummit, Slush, Emerge, European Blockchain Convention. Stay tuned!
Ticket draw: Bits & Pretzels | 24-26th of September 2023 | Munich
The complimentary tickets winners are: Alessandra (Gd6di8), Nadia (1aqkxK) and Morgane (TLko78). You can view the draw here. Congratulations! I will get in touch with you shortly.
Summer bucket list.
Extending the Summer.
With 3 weeks to go before the summer, officially, ends. Here are some of the tips on how to make the most of them and get ready for win..(I am not quite ready to use that “w” word just yet!). 1. Go on the road trip. 2. See an outdoor movie 3. Host a BBQ. 4. Start an outdoor sport routine. 5. Clean your desktop. 6. Close all the tabs in your browser. ..Relax.
Now, it’s my time to switch off and make the most of the last days of summer.
See you in 3 weeks!
Agata
Written by Agata Leliwa Nowicka, an investor, a startup adviser, a two-time entrepreneur, and a founder of Female Foundry based in London.
Suggestions? Drop me an email.
Check femalefoundry.co for more fundraising tools and investor content. View other Female Foundry articles.
Another fab newsletter Agata!