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Sharon Vosmek, CEO Astia Message from the CEOIt feels like something exciting is happening around us. Maybe you know what I mean. Maybe you have felt it too. Each week it seems there is a new story about women in the innovation economy. Some stories highlight the number of women entrepreneurs, VCs, or angel investors and others highlight the impact women have on the economy. Yet others showcase women in technology, math and science. Even the government has had a voice, most notably Secretary Clinton announcing three State Department Initiatives for women and girls. It all feels very exciting and gives me hope that very soon Astia will no longer be needed. As NYC Advisory Board member, John Elton of iNovia Capital commented recently, "Astia is going to put itself out of business by solving the problem of the dearth of woman entrepreneurs; a future everyone sees is coming." Until that day, we will continue to deliver on our promise to maintain a framework and a platform that brings men and women together to grow exceptional companies. Thank you for being that framework. Indeed, you are Astia. A very happy spring to you all! Cheers, Sharon Vosmek Chief Executive Officer PS -- Make sure to read the market updates: Astia Europe just ran a second year of program and selected four new companies to join Astia. Astia NYC Investor Forum on June 9th will showcase qualified companies to the East Coast investor community and applications are now being accepted for the July Doing It Right NYC 2010. Silicon Valley will be celebrating the outstanding Q1 results at the Quarterly Advisory Board meeting. And on June 8th Astia will participate in the first Annual We Own It Summit - read more about it in Astia Events. Astia COO Katie Nittler to Guest Speak at Stanford School of Engineering San Francisco, New York and London (PRWEB) May 12, 2010 -- Astia, a premier venture accelerator that targets exceptional start-ups with women on their founding teams, today announced Katie Nittler, COO of Astia, will be a guest speaker in the Global Entrepreneurial Marketing course (GEM) at Stanford School of Engineering. For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1932/856/
Lithium buys Astia Client Scout Labs for $20M plus San Francisco Business Times Lithium Technologies, which helps companies manage online communities and other social media operations, has bought Scout Labs, a social media monitoring service, for somewhere between $20 million and $25 million, said Lithium CEO Lyle Fong. For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1926/856/
Two Astia Clients, Blurb and Medallia, make Finalist List 2010 SF Biz Times Awards 2010 San Francisco Business Times Tech and Innovation Entrepreneur Awards Finalists Announced on April 29, 2010. For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1921/856/
Astia Client Avaxia Biologics awarded Phase 1 Grant by the National Institutes of Health Avaxia Biologics was awarded a $213,000 Phase I grant by the National Institutes of Health to develop a proprietary anti-TNF antibody to be administered to patients suffering from IBD. For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1928/856/
Astia Client Crimson Hexagon Fills Out $2M Series A-2 Round; Names Scott Centurino New CEO Crimson Hexagon announced they have completed a $2 million financing round on April 5. Investors include Golden Seeds, Beacon Angels, New York Angels, CT Angel Investor Forum and Zelkova Ventures. For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1930/856/
Astia Client Bettyconfidential.com Wins The min 2010 Editorial Excellence Award What a year for BettyConfidential.com! Competing with Conde Nast's Concierge.com, The Daily Beast and FourSeasonsMagazine.com, today BettyConfidential.com won the min 2010. Best of the Web Award in Editorial Excellence. This marks the first time a women's website has been recognized - and now won - in the Editorial Excellence category. For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1919/856/
Astia Issues Statement in Support of Three Significant Women and Girls' Initiatives Astia Issues Statement in Support of Three Significant Women and Girls' Initiatives Announced by Secretary Hillary Clinton at Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship. For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1918/856/ Astia CEO quoted in American Statesman Story about Activate Texas State's Activate program aims to create women CEOs in tech fields. For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1916/856/ Astia Companies Show Record Q1 Momentum Despite Tough Economy Aligning with U.S. trends showing a rise in venture funding in the first quarter of 2010, Astia, a premier venture accelerator that targets exceptional start-ups with women on their founding teams, today announced that 11 of its member companies have secured funding and one has had a successful exit in Q1. Additionally, several Astia clients have demonstrated exceptional growth and revenues.
For more info: http://www.astia.org/content/view/1910/856/ |
In This Issue Message from the CEO
JOIN Astia and become a 2010 member today!
The financial contributions received through our membership program help to underwrite Astia´s mission of providing programs that accelerate the funding and growth of women-led companies, develop the executive leadership of the founding team, and enable For more information on membership levels and benefits, visit our website.
Become an Astia Member- Astia is now blogging! Join our ongoing discussions at Astia Notes
You can now follow Astia on Twitter: Sharon Vosmek | AstiaSF | AstiaUK | Astia is also on Linked-In and Facebook. Be sure to join our groups! Want to join the Astia community? Register for the community portal and fill out your member profile! Astia Investor Advisory Council JOIN Astia´s Investor Advisory Council Allegis Capital; Alloy Ventures; Apex Venture Partners; Asset Management Company; CalPERS; CISCO; Garage Technology Ventures; Hamilton Lane; Hummer Winblad Venture Partners; Illuminate Ventures; Intel Capital; Levensohn Venture Partners; Milk Street Ventures; Opus Capital Ventures; Palomar Ventures; Prolog Ventures How to Get Connected
Silicon Valley
New York
London
India |
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Silicon Valley Update
West Coast companies are applying to Astia for the New York Program (20-23rd July). It is earlier than the Silicon Valley Program and allows the entrepreneurs to build their network on the East Coast. The 2010 Angel Capital Association Summit last week in San Francisco was fascinating - with 420 Angels from across the US and globally coming together the major themes were around syndication and professionalism. Syndication between the groups is driving the Angel investments up. 15% were women, a larger % than in the VC community which, if this is the time for the angels, then these are both great trends for Astia companies. This week we achieved a huge milestone with the Astia case studies that are being written by Professor Tom Kosnik from Stanford School of Engineering and two of his students – Natalie Cox and Susana Montes. Katie joined Tom to team teach the first of the Astia case studies in the Global Entrepreneurial Marketing course (GEM) at Stanford School of Engineering!
During the class, teams of students presented their recommendations to the questions set in the Astia case. It was fantastic to see the energy and insightfulness of the teams and the class. The opportunity to work with these students and to expand awareness of Astia and our core mission and vision to its next generation of thinkers and leaders is phenomenal. The final case study will be published shortly and will be available free of charge to Business Schools with the Astia community supporting the classes globally.
“As the first in a trilogy, this case study provides the base line with the next two focusing on Astia’s expansion globally and on the strategic direction needed to maximize Astia’s impact based on our mission,” said Prashant Shah, Chairman of the Board at Astia and Managing Director at Hummer Winblad. “The strategic value of this initiative is immeasurable especially in terms of its impact on women and how it will increase the pipeline of women-led high growth businesses being served by Astia.” To celebrate the great Q1 results there is a Cocktail Reception on 19th May, hosted by Fenwick & West, for the Astia clients following the Quarterly Silicon Valley Advisory Board meeting.
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New York Update
Spring is (finally!) here in NYC and we are excited about the Astia programming and events coming up this summer. Here we go! The application deadline to apply for Astia programs is May 27, 2010. Please click here and join us! We are delighted to partner with our generous sponsor, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, for a vibrant evening of discussion about the $1B in funding available for emerging growth life sciences companies: "Fast Track Your Rx for Non-Dilutive Financing" on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 6:00pm-8pm. Please join us at this event for the first networking event for Astia NYC's Life Sciences Community. Please join Astia, Girls in Tech, the NYC Investment Fund and Dogpatch Labs for the GIT Entrepreneurship and Venture Series Kick-Off on Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 6:30pm. Astia NYC Advisory Board member and NYC Investment Fund Senior Vice President, Jalak Jobanputra, will moderate a robust discussion with women entrepreneurs who successfully raised venture capital. We are delighted to extend an invitation to the Astia investor community to our "mini" Investor Forum on Thursday, June 9, 2010 at the offices of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal from 12pm-3pm. Astia companies from NYC, SF and London will be showcased. Please click here for more information. Last, we would like to extend a very special thanks to Carolyn Simnett Branco (Columbia GSB '11), Stephanie Palmeri (Columbia GSB '11) and Avanti Paranjpye (NYU Stern '11), our fantastic Astia NYC interns who provided immeasurable value to the community this Spring semester. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. You will be missed! NYU-ACRE is pleased to offer low or no-cost space for a fixed period of time at its beautiful location on Varick Street in Tribeca. They would absolutely love to have Astia companies join their community. If you are interested, contact Micah Kotch. Looking for MBA interns in NYC? The NYU Stern Entrepreneurial Exchange Club (NYU EEX) is accepting postings for paid/unpaid internships for its 1,200 full-time and part-time students. Contact Pauline Oudin, President of the NYU EEX.
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UK Market Update
Just last week Astia Doing It Right in London took place for a second year. This year we partnered with The Next Women to offer the premier program for entrepreneurs in Europe. Hosted again by Morrison & Foerster, companies gained access to top tier investors, entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. The week culminated with four companies being invited to join Astia's elite group of clients who gain ongoing access to our global network and resources for the full lifetime of the company. Investors should register today for the 24 June 2010 Investor Forum in London, once again to be hosted on location by Osborne Clarke. While in London, Sharon had the privilege of keynoting the London launch of Women 4 Technology dinner. The organization provides valuable networking for women in the technology sectors - from entrepreneurs, to corporations to academia to service providers. Congratulations to Women 4 Technology on the successful launch of the London chapter and the 1 year anniversary of the Cambridge group as well!
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Samara Innovations, LLC is proud to announce the launch of its first product, Aspaeris(TM) compression shorts. The compression shorts mark the first product in a full line of athletic apparel designed to help protect young female athletes from injury while enhancing their performance. Samara's patent-pending compression short helps mitigate knee injuries, especially those involving the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), amongst female athletes. Aspaeris(TM) is off to a great start with two Universities outfitting all of their female athletes in Aspaeris(TM) shorts, as well several premier (AAU, PONY) organizations bringing in Aspaeris(TM) Compression shorts for their female athletes. Please contact Glennis Orloff, CEO, with any questions or visit www.aspaeris.com to find out more or purchase Aspaeris(TM) Compression Shorts.
Astia casual games start up Real Life Plus has recently acquired an angel round of funding leading to the opening of its Emeryville office. Terry Redfield, founder and Chief Creative Officer, is driving the creation of the next generation of social gaming by merging fun web based content, such as Zynga's's Farmville, with a 3D virtual destination. Check out www.realifeplus.com from this Friday (5/14) for the launch of its new website, product updates and news on Real Life Plus' upcoming Facebook applications
As Astia continues to grow our community globally we are proud to partner with the Cherie Blair Foundation. The Foundation's aim is simple: to offer women better access to business development support, networks and finance in areas of the world where they lack equal opportunities. Research by the OECD shows that women tend to invest 90% of their income back into their families, so their success is critical to the ability of their children to escape poverty too. And yet, women find it harder to obtain access to finance, the right training and good advice. The Foundation is a response to these challenges.
Application Deadline Astia NYC Program
Date: Thursday, May 27 2010 Application deadline for attending the Astia NYC Program. Click here for more information We Own It Summit
Date: Tuesday, June 08 2010 Click here for more information Astia Summer in New York Investor Forum
Date: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 from 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM Select Astia companies that have attended Astia's Doing it Right programs in London, New York and Silicon Valley will present to an audience of Angel and Venture Capital investors. We look forward to seeing you at this exciting event showcasing innovative women-led high-growth companies. Click here for more information Astia 2nd European Investor Forum Date: Thursday, June 24 2010 On 24 June 2010, select companies from the Astia Doing it Right programmes around the globe will present to an audience of angel and venture capital investors at the 2nd Annual Astia London Investor Forum. The day includes a keynote speech by Simon Walker, Chief Executive Officer, BVCA. The Astia London Investor Forum is generously hosted on location by Osborne Clarke. Click here for more information Astia Doing it Right New York Date: Tuesday, July 20 2010 to Friday, July 23 2010 Astia is now accepting applications for the Doing it Right program on the East Coast. In its third year, this highly selective program is open to qualifying high-growth start-ups.
2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women: Call for applications and nominations Now in its third year, Entrepreneurial Winning Women is a competitive award designed to connect high-potential women entrepreneurs with the advisors, resources and insights they need to become market leaders. Learn how to apply or nominate a deserving woman entrepreneur at
www.ey.com/us/entrepreneurialwinningwomen. San Francisco Business Times Tech Innovation & Entrepreneur Awards Date: Thursday, May 20 2010, 5:30pm - 8:00pm Please join the celebration, as we honor the Bay Area's most innovative technology companies, led by the most enterprising entrepreneurs. Our editors and judges selected 25 of the region's most outstanding companies as finalists from nearly 300 nominees. Winners in 12 categories will be announced at a gala awards reception. This is your opportunity to meet 25 of the best and brightest technology companies in our region--all fueling the growth of jobs and our economy. TechCrunch Disrupt Date: From Monday, May 24 2010 - 7:30am To Wednesday, May 26 2010 - 6:00pm The inaugural TechCrunch Disrupt conference on the evolution of media and technology will feature a unique mix of no-BS content from industry insiders and fresh ideas from launching companies. Every morning, experts will address issues such as mobile, social and real-time technologies, while afternoons we'll delve into our high-energy Startup Battlefield competition. Fast Track Your Rx for Non-Dilutive Financing Date: Tuesday, May 25 2010, 6:00pm - 8:00pm Topics to be Discussed:
85 Broads: "Social Ventures. Celebrate Businesses That Give Back" Date: Tuesday, May 25 2010, 6:00pm - 8:00pm Join New York Leadership members Diana Sonis and Susan McPherson as 85 Broads E.Forum brings together socially focused entrepreneurs in the network with members of Collective-E. 85 Broads Power Circle Luncheon Date: Thursday, May 27 2010, 12:30pm - 2:00pm 85 Broads, Janet Hanson & Mary Mattson Kenworthy invite you to attend our first exclusive 85 Broads Power Circle Luncheon. Luncheon Guest Speaker is Dina Dublon The GIT NYC Entrepreneurship and Venture Series Kick-Off Date: Thursday, May 27 2010, 6:30pm - 9:00pm An evening discussion with high caliber female entrepreneurs who have successfully raised venture capital. Panelists: Heidi Messer, Stephanie Sarka, Jenny Fleiss, Jen Bekman. Moderator: Jalak Jobanputra The Hatchery and Columbia University present HATCH MATCH 2010 Date: Thursday, June 03 2010, 5:00pm - 8:00pm Join us for an evening of facilitated networking with New York's leading web/Internet/IT investors and advisors. London Business School: Entrepreneurial Leadership Speaker Series with Mike Hedger Date: Thursday, June 03 2010, 6:30pm - 9:00pm London Business School's Entrepreneurial Leadership Speakers seminar is a monthly speaker series that brings leaders from the European technology and venture capital community to campus to share their insights and stories behind high growth businesses. UC Berkeley's Cleantech Institute Date: From Wednesday, June 09 2010 - 8:00am To Thursday, June 10 2010 - 5:30pm UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business is once again presenting the Cleantech Institute, the premier cleantech executive education program in the nation. Because we limit our class size to 55, you have the unique opportunity to have intimate and deep dialogue with key luminaries from UC Berkeley, ARPA-E, CPUC, CEC, Kleiner Perkins, MDV, NREL, and many more. Cleantech Entrepreneurs: Think Global, Think EU Date: Tuesday, June 15 2010, 6:00pm - 9:00pm 2009 was a record year for cleantech in EU and particularly in France. According to the Cleantech Group's investment data, 2009 saw more fundings in France than any previous year, making it the most active European country. France offers attractive environment for cleantech and exceptional funding opportunities for R&D (Research Tax Credits). This evening is a unique opportunity to gain a broad understanding of the cleantech landscape in France : come and listen to successful US companies who will provide detailed explanations on how they took root in Europe and France. Through the analysis of those concrete case studies on their transatlantic experiences, the panel will share their critical insight on the current and future potential for research and business development activities -- and how it translates to your growth potential. TechConnect presents Technology Conference & Expo 2010 Date: From Monday, June 21 2010 To Friday, June 25 2010 The Technology Conference and Expo combines five world-class events to create an extraordinary week where innovative technology solutions are matched to real world business challenges. Dos & Don'ts for Cleantech Ventures - Preparing for Due Diligence Date: Tuesday, June 22 2010, 8:30am - 10:30pm Your business plan may look great, your product and technology roadmap may be sound ... but, frankly, that's just the first step in preparing for fundability. Investors want to complete a thorough due diligence audit of your company -- intellectual property, regulatory certifications and tangible/intangible corporate assets, and more -- before agreeing to back your new cleantech venture. In this workshop, you'll learn what to do - and not to do -- to prepare for your investor's first due diligence audit of your company. You'll learn how to avoid the 10 pitfalls of "unfundable" companies by establishing IP value, anticipating and clearing away IP roadblocks and structuring and staffing your company to deliver on your IP promises. 85 Broads: "Crush It!" Date: Tuesday, June 22 2010, 6:30pm - 8:30pm Join NY Chapter Leader Diana Sonis and 85 Broads E.Forum for a high octane evening of entrepreneurial drive, business ideas, wine, social media, passion and hustle with Gary Vaynerchuk, author, entrepreneur, & wine expert.
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