11/22/21: A VC recently presented data at a preseed conference showing 94% of VC $ is going into later stages. Women & minorities get ~2% and have been historically overlooked specifically at early rounds. This means the recent influx of capital is going to the same homogenous group of founders who have been traditionally funded. We need more public discourse here.
10/20/21: It's not for us to say how a founder identifies as underrepresented in the startup/fundraising landscape. You also don't have to identify as underrepresented to work with us. We would never turn a founder away if they can benefit from our program or community. True diversity means equal representation for everyone without the exclusion of any profile.
9/20/21: Underestimated founders are conditioned over the course of our careers to defer to others. This is in full force when we're pitching for investment and further tips an already imbalanced power dynamic. The next time you're in a pitch meeting, be you founder or investor, stop and ask yourself if you're cognizant of your own mindset.
8/20/21: We're asking for your help planning a new type of startup event, we've launched a new founderUP initiative to get resources to underserved entrepreneurs, and we released a free guide to business entity formation in partnership with Northeastern.
7/15/21: Founders - know that your startup is not your entire life. If you feel like it is, please step back and take a broader perspective of who you are, where you've been, and where you're going. Keeping life perspective is part of keeping your sanity intact, which is definitely critical for running a successful company!
6/16/21: June is a Scroobious month. In the U.S., we observe Juneteenth as well as celebrate those in the LGBTQ+ community. Equality is front and center both in the recognition of past, and sometimes current, atrocities and the joy in progress made.
5/19/21: We've welcomed new founders, new investors, new partners, new team members, released new product updates, held new pitch workshops, and awarded new grants from our sponsors to underserved founders covering their Pitch it Plan™ membership!
4/13/21: Proud to announce our partnership with the ParentPreneur Foundation, two new advisors, job openings, and as the title says, lots of upcoming events!
3/17/21: You don't need a specific month to support women, but if it helps spur you to action, then, by all means, act now! In particular, support a female founder. An investment check is likely the most helpful thing you can do, but if that's not an option, read for some other meaningful ideas.
2/16/21: I was invited to speak as the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) Empower Hour guest this past Wednesday, February 10th. It's still slightly unbelievable to me that OVER 1,200 PEOPLE registered for the event and NEARLY 500 watched live! This is a positive signal that we will see an upwell in women's entrepreneurship.
1/13/21: I wrote a LinkedIn post about the need for all of us to take time to process our reactions to recent and ongoing events. Humans process visual information quickly and we retain it, which is why pitch videos are so much more powerful than static decks, and we are being flooded by images and videos of what transpired.
12/17/20: One of the hardest challenges a non-technical founder faces is recruiting a technical partner who aligns with your mission, is skilled, is up for the start-up challenge, and whom you enjoy working with. Read on to meet our incredible new team member! Together, we are going to grow Scroobious and affect systemic change in how cold sourcing is conducted.
11/12/20: Our founders have closed rounds and been accepted to MassChallenge and Y Combinator after going through our Pitch Learning Program. We're THRILLED that our vetted pitch deck framework was published in Business Insider! We're now raising a pre-seed round to keep this train moving at high speed.
10/13/20: People invest in people, but the character of those pictured above cannot be communicated in a static pitch deck. A pitch video instantly humanizes in a way a deck never can. This message is clearly resonating as evidenced by Scroobious' growing waitlist and continued involvement in media, speaking, and events.
9/9/20: Founders and investors alike are coping with existential challenges and everyone has a new appreciation for the human aspect of making it through the day. Scroobious' human-first approach to addressing the funding gap has never felt more relevant. Visionary Voices, live Pitch Learning Program, and another strong female founder you should know.
7/24/20: We've started to slowly onboard beta users. Make sure you're on the waitlist to save a spot! Plus, meet our featured founder, Anna Western, who is helping you visually organize the internet.
6/18/20: We are excited to have our June newsletter guest-written by Joel Francois and Philip Toussaint, two of our beta founders. In their dual narrative they tell the truth of what it's like to be a Black founder trying to launch a company and secure funding in 2020.
