Welcome to WWV Labs Her Hustle Community!
Welcome, queens, to Her Hustle—the one and only online community serving up the hottest news on female student founders from across the globe!
We’re all about the new and the next, and we’re here to help you dive into it. We’re going to highlight all the fierce women building startups from their dorm rooms, balancing classes, and even #droppingout to turn their bold visions into reality.
Are you ready to dive into the next big thing, brought to you by unstoppable women?
Her Hustle is powered by WWV Labs, a talent-matching and skill-building platform created to connect top female students and recent grads with high-growth startups.
Female Student Founder Spotlight
For our first newsletter, let me introduce you to Daniela Andrade—the female founder behind this newsletter and community!
Name: Daniela Andrade
School: Harvard University, Class of 2025
Startup: WWV Labs
Sector: HRTech
Description of Startup: WWV Labs is a talent-matching and skill-building service designed to connect top female student and recent graduate talent with high-growth startups.
Biggest Startup Achievement: WWV Labs secured four LOIs* from startups within a week of launching our landing page.
*For those new to the startup ecosystem, an LOI (Letter of Intent) is a document that outlines the intention of two parties to collaborate on a business deal, without it being legally binding yet. LOIs can take the form of emails or documents that clearly outline the intent of both parties and include key terms for the potential partnership or agreement.
Biggest Startup Learning Moment: When I set out to build a women’s health solution focused on mental health, I was passionate about the pain point but lacked the technical skills to execute my idea using Virtual Reality. Without a background in software engineering or VR development, I struggled to create an MVP, and the startup “failed.” The lesson: Choose a pain point you're passionate about, but ensure the solution is within your skill set—or find a technical co-founder to help you build it.
Advice for Female Students Interested in Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship and venture capital are relationship-driven businesses and tight-knit communities. My advice: show up! Attend events, have coffee chats, and talk to people to learn about what’s being built and where you fit in the startup ecosystem. It’s all about putting yourself out there, staying curious, and constantly learning in this ever-evolving space!
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Female Venture News
Women’s health tech companies are ‘less likely’ to get funding if a woman is on the founding team (The Guardian)
Yup, you read that right—women, with their firsthand expertise living in a woman's body, are less likely to get funding than all-male teams building women’s health tech solutions. Now that is what I call bias!
The ‘huge disadvantage’ women behind femtech phenomenon face: gender bias in funding and censorship of digital communications on women’s health (The Guardian)
Not only do female founders face limited fundraising just for being women solving women’s health issues, but most femtech founders can’t even use the word 'vagina' to describe their products—while male sexual health companies can freely say 'semen.' Now how’s that for a double standard?
If you’re interested in learning more about digital suppression of women’s reproductive and sexual health content, check out my NY #TechWeek Presentation: On Free Female Speech & Reverse-Engineering Algorithmic Suppression & Censorship in Tech Ecosystems.
70% of Shark Tank Investor, Kevin O’Leary’s Best Returns Come from Women-Led Companies (Yahoo Finance)
Despite the challenges, female-led startups prevail and succeed—are we even surprised though?
“If they say, ‘I’ve got three kids,' I don’t care,” O'Leary said. To him, the fact that women have multiple responsibilities is a testament to their capability, not a deterrent.” Now that’s a man who puts his money where his mouth is 🤑
Trending on LinkedIn
Cindy Gallop, Founder of MakeLoveNotPorn: Remembering Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer ever was a woman!
“Nick Bilton for The New York Times 10 years ago, 'The Women Tech Forgot': 'It’s no secret that people are often erased from the history of big-tech companies. It’s so prevalent in Silicon Valley that it is known as “The Creation Myth.” But what may come as a surprise is the number of women who played a pivotal role but who are now forgotten.”
David Fogel, Co-Founder of Alma Angels: If you know a female founder who’s raised money, there’s a 90% chance she was sexually harassed during the process.
100% of female founders surveyed reported that they felt threatened during fundraising at least once, while zero male founders reported feeling threatened.
Women in Entrepreneurship University Events
Girls Into VC x Harvard Undergraduate Women in Entrepreneurship 2024 Summit @ Harvard University on Sunday, Nov. 3rd, 2024 → Apply here.
Hosting an event for women in entrepreneurship?
Share the details with Her Hustle’s community by filling out this form!
Resources
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!
In today’s competitive job market, it’s essential to have a polished resume. Check out Harvard’s resume template for some tips!
Being a startup founder is hard, and dealing with legal issues is even harder. Sign up for Onward Justice’s legal platform to post your questions for free and connect with lawyers ready to help (for a fee)!
Let’s Connect
Share this newsletter with a friend and start growing your network.
Connect with me on LinkedIn for daily insights on women in entrepreneurship.
Partner with WWV Labs if you are a startup interested in hiring top female talent.
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, Hustlers!
Feel free to share your feedback with me by filling out this form!
Love,
Daniela