Our Female Founders Pitch Night on February 23rd was a resounding success! Supported by VentureX HQ and sponsored by the City of Perth, we hosted an unforgettable event with over 110 in attendance that was both ground breaking and empowering.
This pitch night was significant, as it was not only our first, but also the first of its kind in Western Australia specifically designed for female founders. What made it unique was the fact that it wasn’t your typical pitch night – about half of the businesses presenting were not startups, and only a few were actively seeking investment.
The aim of the Female Founders Pitch Night was to provide a safe and supportive platform where women could step out of their comfort zone and pitch for the resources they need to succeed. Our ultimate goal was to highlight the exceptional talent of female founders in Western Australia and raise awareness of the lack of representation and various challenges they face within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
When we announced the pitch night we received just under 30 applications to pitch, with just 9 finalists pitching on the night.
Elected Member for City of Perth, Sandy Anghie gave the opening remarks and we were thrilled to be joined by a powerhouse panel of judges, who offered plenty of questions and valuable insights to our female founders:
Grace Mugabe – CEO of Financially Empowered
Glenn Butcher – VC & Investor, Director of Fund WA
Pia Turcinov – Director of VentureX HQ & Fund WA
While all of the pitches were incredible, the judges choice was awarded to:
No Code Odyssey | Elizabeth Knight
No Code Odyssey empowers entrepreneurs, business owners and creators to build incredible apps and websites without coding, 10x faster and cheaper than software development.
Through their online academy, coaching and navigation tools, No Code Odyssey help entrepreneurs to navigate the no code ecosystem and support them in optimising their websites and app development.
Elizabeth received an amazing prize package worth $15,000.
There was also the opportunity for the audience to vote for their favourite pitch in the People’s Choice. This was awarded to:
Coffee Van Collective | Emily Zaborski
Coffee Van Collective is a software solution for mobile coffee vendors across Australia to manage their day-to-day operations in one centralised location and to connect them directly with event organisers for bookings.
Although targeted towards the mobile coffee industry in the immediate term, Coffee Van Collective has visions to evolve and service the whole mobile vendor community, including food trucks and market stall holders.
Emily took home a mentoring package and gift pack worth $3000.
Congratulations to all of the female founders who showed strength and resilience when they pitched.
Industry OneCARD | Kareena Waters
Industry OneCARD is REG-TECH and is tackling head-on the escalating administrative nightmare companies face collecting, maintaining, and tracking employee training licence and induction records.
Humyn.ai | Holly Bridgwater
Humyn.ai is the new way data science work gets done. A web based platform, Humyn.ai is a talent marketplace that connects companies with top talent around the world to execute data science projects, without needing to hire.
Juliaewert.com | Julia Ewert
Julia Ewert helps companies with turnover between $20m and $200m establish perpetually effective and scalable sales functions, with sales and negotiation skills based on world’s best practice and FBI negotiation techniques, through The Infinite Sales System™.
Strength Heroes | Fiona Perrella
Strength Heroes runs art and play workshops for primary school aged children that incorporate art, storytelling, movement and STEAM activities to develop the art of resilience.
Brown Girl Bloom | Valerie Weyland
A wellness space for Black, Indigenous and Women of colour to slow down, heal and bloom. They are simplifying women’s journey towards inner well-being through a culturally accessible wellness and meditation app.
Mud Organics | Imogen van Haagen & Courtney Thornton
A natural skin care and supplementation brand that in its first year generated revenue of just under $1 million. Mud’s products combine a unique blend of supplements and ingredients that can be ingested or applied to the skin.
Australia for Cedar Tanzania | Nina Hjortlund
Australia for Cedar Tanzania creates positive sustainable change in rural Tanzania through numerous projects, empowering people to live free of poverty and to have access to quality healthcare services.
A very big thank you to our prize package sponsors including We Are Emersyn and VentureX HQ.
Spacecubed: providing premium, flexible workspaces across Australia for you and your growing team. Whether you’re looking for creative coworking spaces in Perth, or private offices in Western Sydney, Spacecubed have something to meet the needs of your business.
Financially Empowered: equipping women, migrants and other under-represented groups with financial literacy skills.
Mette is Baking: Australia’s most moreish crackers. Bringing a piece of Nordic tradition to your table with our all-natural dip mixes and multi-award-winning, artisan baked crackers.
Carla Bonner: one of Australia’s most prolific female actors, spiritual life coach and speaker.
Leverage Media: a boutique PR agency working with individuals, teams and organisations to elevate and amplify their brands.
And a big shout out to everyone that attended our Female Founders Pitch Night and gave it the vibe that it truly deserved. Overall, it was an incredible night and we are proud to have played a part in amplifying the female founders voices and helping them achieve their goals.
We Are Emersyn uses an inclusive definition “female” and “women” and we welcome trans people, women, genderqueer women, and non-binary people who identify, have identified, or have been identified as female, women, or non-binary.