Author: hello_waffa

Big congratulations to Alta Founder Son Ca Vu (WG16), who was just chosen to be one of the 25 companies participating in the inaugural AWS Impact Accelerator for Women Founders! 25 women founders will participate in this intensive eight-week program at headquarters in Seattle, WA. Each startups will receive up to $225k in cash along with AWS activate credits, an extensive and individually curated training curriculum, mentoring and technical guidance, introductions to Amazon leaders and teams, networking opportunities with potential investors, and ongoing advisory support. 

Congratulations to Verishop co-Founders Catherine Khan (WG05) and Imran Khan who raised $40M in Series B round this summer, led by Lion Capital along with participation from current investors. The company plans to use the financing to improve its products and platform capabilities with a focus on supporting independent and up-and-coming brands with their online businesses. Read more at RetailDive.

Amazing article in Forbes about Aimee Yang (WG20), Founder and CEO of BetterBrand. She is redesigning traditionally non-nutritious foods into delicious, guilt-free versions of themselves. (Note to self: Refined carbs are the enemy.) BetterBrand is putting their stake in the ground by transforming the most carb filled food, the bagel, into the carb equivalent of two slices of banana while keeping it highly functional/nutritious. Check out “The Better Bagel” which just launched in Whole Foods Market. 

About her time at Wharton, Aimee says, “I credit those two years at Wharton as being incredibly special – that taught me that not only could I drive large scale impact as one person, it’s my responsibility to do so.”

We had an amazing Fireside Chat with Amy Errett of Madison Reed recently! We are so grateful for the time and energy Amy shared with us.

We learned that one of the key success factors of Madison Reed is Amy’s devotion to uplifting people. Her mission has been to provide an empowering new option: gorgeous, high-quality, Smart 8-Free, Leaping Bunny Certified hair color with ingredients you can feel good about. And at the end of the day what Madison Reed truly symbolizes is empowerment and self esteem; it’s not just about the product.

Amy shared with us her trials and tribulations and we saw how being vulnerable and understanding who you are, will allow each of us to reach our full potential. Some key lessons learned: 

• Shatter your own glass ceiling. Read the book “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks. 
• Make sure if you partner with people, it is a strategic partnership. (She told us a great story about working with existing partners to help solve the company’s supply chain issues in their factories in Italy during the Pandemic) 
• Truly learn what your customers need. Amy listened in to every customer service call for over a year and a half.
• Love your people. Amy is committed to the stylists and employees at Madison Reed.
• Be authentically you. Every night ask yourself “Am I good with me”? 

More good news for WorkWhile and CEO/Founder Jarah Euston (WG09 plus Jarah co-founded WAFFA!). WorkWhile is an hourly labor technology platform and FreightWaves reports: Bringg and WorkWhile have launched a gig driver network to provide on-demand workers for last-mile delivery. 

Sandra Shpilberg (WG02), Founder, CEO & Board Director of Sanaby Health: “We’re continuing our work at Sanaby Health  to find a great company to take public via SPAC merger.” Find out more here.

Fascinating segment on ABC’s Good Morning America about Dr. Iman Abuzeid (WG13) – Co-Founder and CEO of Incredible Health. Dr. Abuzeid takes us inside her $1B startup focused on combating the national nursing shortage, and her journey as a woman of color in the entrepreneur space.

A HUGE shout-out to the incredible Harsha Ravindran (LPS23) who was recently featured on Prestige Malaysia’s 40 Under 40 List for most successful, innovative and influential young people in 2022 for her work with Ascendance and StartMyName. (Prestige is one of Asia’s most influential business publications and their 40 Under 40 is similar to the Forbes list). Read more about this amazing Wharton undergrad (!!!) in our interview with Harsha here.

Oh yeah!!! Did you know that Wharton tops the list for MBA Return on Investment???? Two years after graduation, Wharton alumni made a median salary of $169,200, net of federal student loans. That topped the list of more than 700 graduate programs in business administration, management, and operations analyzed by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, and is more than triple the median return among all MBAs

Earlier this month, WAFFA partnered with Beacon Networking for Life for a fascinating webinar with Dr. Ruth Shaber (Penn MD86). We know that less that 3 percent of venture capital is directed toward enterprises run by women. But what most investors don’t realize is that the data shows that when more women are involved in financial decision-making across all entities that make financial decisions, money is managed more efficiently and effectively, investments are more profitable, and companies and governments make better decisions that benefit individual investors and, ultimately, the overall economy. ICYMI, watch the webinar to understand the data and discover the power of The XX Edge. Check out Dr. Shaber’s new bookThe XX Edge: Unlocking Higher Returns and Lower Risk.