From NYC Dinners to VC Deals: This Week's Must-Know Female Founder Highlights
$150.6M Raised Across 10 Female Founders, 4 Female Founders Led Successful Exits, Zinnie Zhang Launches Enttor, Why Female Founders Need More Active Male Allies in the Startup Ecosystem in 2025
This is WWV Labs’ weekly newsletter: Her Hustle, a place to learn all about the new and the next in female entrepreneurship, and we’re here to help you dive into it. We highlight all the fierce women who are building startups—from those launching from dorm rooms and balancing classes to recent grads and experienced professionals turning their bold visions into reality.
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This past Thursday, WWV Labs hosted our first-ever student founder dinner in NYC, and it was an absolute success! We brought together five incredible entrepreneurial female students for an intimate evening of connection, conversation, and inspiration. A huge thank you to my amazing co-founder Adrian for graciously hosting and helping make this event happen!
While we touched on our shared entrepreneurial passions, what made this dinner truly special was the chance to dive deeper—getting to know each attendee as more than just a founder. From hearing about their personal journeys to their lives outside of entrepreneurship, I was reminded that behind every startup is a remarkable human story waiting to be shared.
Creating this low-stakes, authentic space was exactly what I envisioned: a setting where we could connect meaningfully without the pressures of traditional networking. It reinforced the importance of building relationships that go beyond just exchanging ideas—relationships rooted in trust, understanding, and support.
This dinner left me inspired, grateful, and excited to host more intimate gatherings like this in the future!
Last Wednesday, I also hosted my first-ever masterclass on Building In-Person Female-Focused Startup Communities—and it was a success! After the session, our chapter leaders gained exclusive access to a Google Drive filled with exclusive resources designed to help them thrive.
These resources are the ultimate toolkit for anyone looking to build a vibrant, female-focused entrepreneurial community on their campus.
If you’re interested in starting your own WWV Labs chapter and gaining access to these exclusive materials, email me at danielaandrade@college.harvard.edu—I’d love to welcome you to the team!
Laurie Smith, Co-Founder of Core Sound Imaging, raised $80M from PSG to expand their medical imaging platform.
Anna Veronika Dorogush, Founder of Recraft, a generative AI-powered graphic design tool, raised $12M Series A led by Khosla Ventures.
Berkeley SkyDeck and Mayfield partnered to launch the Mayfield AI Garage at Berkeley, offering three UC Berkeley student teams $25K stipends (up to $50K per team), access to $350K in compute credits, and mentorship to transform groundbreaking AI ideas into startups.
Claudia Natasia, Co-Founder of Riley AI, a platform that transforms product discovery with AI-powered insights, raised $3M seed funding led by Vertex Ventures.
Dr. An Huang, Founder of Sonocharge Energy, a battery tech startup, raised $23.5M to make EV batteries charge faster, last longer, and operate safer, backed by Cycle Capital and Temasek.
Neha Singh, Founder of Obsess (New York, NY), redefined e-commerce with her 3D virtual store platform, adopted by brands like Dior and Ralph Lauren, was acquired by Infinite Reality.
Brooke Hopkins, Founder of Coval (YC S24), raised $3.3M seed funding led by MaC Venture Capital for her platform that ensures AI chat and voice agents are tested and reliable.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Engler Enterprise Financing Program has launched, offering low-interest loans of up to $25,000 and hands-on training to empower student entrepreneurs like Abby Miller, whose mobile tap service is now scaling across the Midwest.
Ksenia Iliuk, Co-Founder of LetsData, a cybersecurity startup combating disinformation, secured $1.6M pre-seed funding led by SMOK Ventures.
Dr. Angela Wilson, Founder of SeKON Enterprise, Inc. (Reston, VA), built a trusted woman-owned consulting firm for federal agencies, acquired by Alpha Omega.
NIDHI NIRMAL, Co-Founder of KisanKonnect, an agritech startup, raised $4.5M Series A funding led by Mistry Ventures.
Penelope Finnie, Co-Founder of Egal, raised $4M Series A to make period products more accessible in public restrooms worldwide.
Joselyn Lai, Co-Founder of Bedrock Energy, a geothermal startup, secured $12M Series A led by Titanium Ventures.
Maria Colacurcio, Co-Founder of Smartsheet (Bellevue, WA) and a leader in B2B SaaS and HRTech, has achieved a monumental milestone with Smartsheet's acquisition by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners for $8.4 billion.
Maria Zhang, Co-Founder of Palona AI, raised $10M seed funding led by UpHonest Capital to help D2C businesses with AI that adapts to customer needs, creating personalized “super employees.”
Amy Wright, Co-Founder of Macro Solutions (Washington, D.C.), built a leading woman-owned IT consulting firm for federal clients, acquired by Alpha Omega.
Lexi Reese, Co-Founder of Lanai, raised $10M seed funding from Juxtapose to help businesses adopt AI safely and efficiently, reducing risks from shadow AI usage.
Michelle Knott, Co-Founder of Cascade Specialty Pharmacy (Poulsbo, WA), transformed the business into a thriving compounding pharmacy that was acquired by Revelation Pharma.
January 27 | 🚺 Women’s Health Founders: Intimate Funding & Connection Session (San Francisco)
January 27 | 🤝 Future Female Founders MEET & GREET (Salt Lake City)
January 28 | 🏃♀️ Women's Health Morning Walk & Coffee (San Francisco)
January 28 | 👩💻 AI-Powered Women 2025 Summit (Cambridge)
Limited number of discounted and complimentary tickets available for students or women in need—no one will be turned away due to cost. To inquire, email the team at connect@aipoweredwomen.com
January 28 | 🥂 Women in AI: San Francisco Happy Hour hosted by Create.xyz (San Francisco)
January 30 | 🌉 Women Tech Meetup (San Francisco)
February 4 | 🏛️ Unusual Ventures University Founder Fellowship Event (Boston)
February 7 | 🍽️ LA Female Founders Lunch (LA)
February 7-8 | 👩💻 FEMHACK: All-Female Hackathon hosted by Fierce Foundry (NYC)
February 10 | 🌃 Female Founders & Funders Networking (NYC)
February 19 | 🌃 Women in Robotics NYC – (re)Introductory Meetup (NYC)
March 21 | 👩💻 Go Beyond 2% - Women's Leadership Conference (San Francisco)
Hosting an event for women in entrepreneurship?
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Harvard student Nicole Chen, Paraform’s first intern and a former Kleiner Perkins Fellow, redefined what it means to intern by redesigning the company’s onboarding process and building meaningful solutions—proof that female student talent is shaping the future of startups!
The Genesis Fund is looking to invest in Boston student founders—DM me if you’d like a warm intro!
Zinnie Zhang, Harvard JD candidate and founder of Enttor, just launched an AI-powered platform revolutionizing enterprise marketing by unifying tools for marketing teams—marking a bold step into the future of marketing tech!
Funding for female founders hit a five-year low in 2024, underscoring the need for male allies to step up and advocate for female founders in the startup ecosystem.
Fellowships provide a clear path into tech, offering opportunities at FAANG+ companies, mentorship from YC founders, high-impact projects, and exclusive workshops.
Jonathan Liu (Co-Founder of @ Fixa, YC F24) shares bold advice for college founders: prioritize building side projects over traditional classes, focus on cool ideas, and grow your network through entrepreneurial communities.
Name: Zinnie Zhang
School: Harvard Law School' ‘27 (on leave building Enttor)
Startup: Enttor
Sector: Marketing Tech
Description of Startup: Enttor is an enterprise software platform designed to unify and automate digital marketing operations for up to 100 users. Our industry expertise lies in helping global leaders in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Retail. Enttor helps brands increase their online visibility and streamline customer support across major digital channels. Our unique advantage lies in our proprietary database of systematically labeled digital marketing campaigns, which provides enterprises with data-driven insights.
Biggest Startup Achievement: Building Enttor from the ground up while juggling the chaos of being a full-time law school student. It’s been a wild ride of late nights, big risks, and learning to trust my instincts. Turning an idea into something real while earning my degree has been the most rewarding challenge of my life.
Biggest Startup Learning Moment: Learning to navigate enterprise sales taught us the importance of listening deeply to clients’ needs. We discovered that long-term relationships are built not just on delivering solutions, but also on aligning our vision with the client’s goals and adapting to feedback swiftly.
Advice for Female Students Interested in Entrepreneurship: Chase the bold, crazy idea—the one that makes people question your sanity. If your vision doesn’t feel impossible to others, you’re not dreaming big enough. True innovation thrives at the edge of doubt. Trust your instincts, embrace the challenge, and let your ambition redefine what’s possible.
Know a bada$$ female student founder?
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💁♀️ Are you a female student or recent graduate who wants to work at a startup? Apply to WWV Labs Fellowship Program to find ad hoc projects, term-time internships, summer internships, or full-time employment opportunities at startups!
Join our community of 750+ fellows from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, UPenn, UC Berkeley, and other top universities today!
🚀 The Bain Capital Ventures Labs Fellowship is now accepting applications: a Summer 2025 internship program for tech-focused undergrads, master’s, and PhD candidates to work with BCV-backed startups in Silicon Valley, network with founders and VCs, and access exclusive career opportunities.
💰 Runwei™ is an AI-powered entrepreneurial ecosystem platform. Runwei™ connects entrepreneurs with equity-free and debt-free funding and resources. Sign Up for Runwei™ Beta here.
💘 Test Intuition, a new app designed to help students navigate relationships and mental health with confidence. Download the app via TestFlight and complete a quick 10-minute survey. Complete the survey by February 4th to be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card!
📝 Y Combinator-backed startups are worth $100B+, and now you can access 13 must-have resources covering everything from finding a co-founder to raising funds—perfect for founders gearing up to apply for YC's Spring 2025 batch!
🛂 If you're an international student founder aiming to work in the U.S. on your startup or join a startup team, Alcorn Immigration Law offers personalized guidance to secure the right visas and green cards to help bring your entrepreneurial dreams to life—reach out to Sophie and mention you were referred by Daniela Andrade, WWV Labs!
📊 Accountalent, the leading tax and accounting firms for over 5,000 startups, has offered to file 2024 taxes for any undergraduate female-founded and managed startup corporation totally free of charge. This includes filing the Federal and State corporate tax returns, DE Franchise tax return, Form 1099s, consulting on tax matters, etc. It also includes preparing 2024 financial statements.
Joe Faris, CPA, founder of Accountalent has conducted Office Hours for many years at Harvard, MIT and UChicago and has worked with hundreds of female founders, including many foreign founders. Feel free to email him or make an appointment on his online calendar to redeem this perk or if you have any tax questions:
Joe Faris, CPA, jfaris@accountalent.com, Online Calendar: https://calendly.com/joefaris
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I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, Hustlers!
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Love,
Daniela