The second episode in our FemTech and women's healthcare sprint was with Elanza Wellness. Today, we spoke with founders Brittany Hawkins & Catherine Hendy. Elanza Wellness specializes in utilizing holistic methods in order to manage fertility. Tune in to hear about the company, trends within the fertility space, and the founders’ experiences!

Our first sprint of the semester focuses on femtech and the women's healthcare industry. As the pandemic led to an increase in VC funding in healthcare and digital health, femtech has also exploded in the last year and many new startups have emerged in the space. Today we will be speaking with Buffy Alegria, Managing Partner at SteelSky Ventures, a firm that specifically invests in women's healthcare. Come learn about the trends shaping femtech, unique subsectors that are poised for growth, and what SteelSky looks for in companies and founders!

Sweden has a flourishing startup scene, particularly in the software space. We sat down with Hannah Meiton of Sting, a Swedish VC firm to discuss how she guides SaaS and Fintech companies in their growth stage. Having previously worked in San Francisco, Hannah shares the distinctions between VC investing in the States and in the Nordic’s—where historical and cultural factors have made it a startup hotspot. Tune in to learn more about the promising ecosystem developing in Stockholm.  

The international VC sprint continues with OurCrowd, a global crowdfunding platform and the most active VC investor in Israel. We sat down with Ariel Krause to discuss how OurCrowd is democratizing access to investments in pre-IPO tech companies, how the firm navigates the legal challenges of investing in companies around the world, and her journey from St. Louis to Tel Aviv. Listen to learn more about how crowdfunding is changing the venture capital landscape and the Israeli startup ecosystem, one of the fastest growing technology hubs in the world.

Join Founder Friendly for our newest sprint focusing on international accelerators and venture capital firms! Our first episode is with Station F, the world's largest startup facility, where we'll be sitting down with Marwan Elfitesse to discuss the resources Station F provides to build a community of entrepreneurs and their unique campus program in the heart of Paris! Learn about why they believe the greatest resource for founders is...other founders.

We are entering, or perhaps in the thick of, a golden age for SaaS—software as a service—companies. Everywhere we look a new SaaS startup is popping up, so we thought we’d learn a bit more about how investors determine which teams to back; we were lucky enough to sit down with investor Casey Aylward of Costanoa Ventures for a conversation on how these companies develop their go-to market strategies, whether Costanoa prefers greenfield opportunities or solutions with marginal improvements, and how students can position themselves for careers working-in or investing-in SaaS companies.

The student startup sprint continues with some wonderful East Coast companies. Join to hear how COVID allowed NYU's very own POSH to permeate the event ticketing space, and how they differentiate through CRM features. Or listen to learn about the Minecraft map-making vertical with Varuna and what it has to do with the meta-verse and NFTs. Keep listening for a great conversation with the CEO of Simplex Sciences on the applications of single-stranded DNA ladders and leading a biotech company as a college junior. 

There are strengths and weaknesses in being a student founder. Maybe you have an idea you’re considering developing while enrolled in college—this is the episode for you. Listen and learn from three founders—Ofek (Quokka Brew), Audrey (Curious Cardinals), Alex (GoSurf)—about their experiences leveraging student ambassadors, targeting early adopters, and leaning into university resources. From jitterless caffeine to reimagining edtech to a full-stack platform for surfing, these companies span various industries and reveal different pain points in a startups journey. 

Vice Clauses, remnants of America's Protestant prudishness, prevent most VC firms from investing in lucrative, growing industries like cannabis, sextech, and alcoholic beverages. We were able to sit down with Vice Ventures founder Catharine Dockery to discuss how she carves out a competitive edge by exclusively investing in these underfunded, good businesses operating in "bad" industries. Check out the episode to hear Catharine's own vice, how Mark Andreessen of a16z responded to her cold email, and the future of harm reduction technologies.

Our third sprint will be on how VCs that deeply specialize have a competitive advantage over generalist firms. Today we are speaking with Amy Jermain of XXcelerate, an Oregon based women-focused accelerator investing in community impact oriented startups founded by women and BIPOC! Come listen and learn about the challenges faced the male-dominated industry and how Amy is elevating these founders!