Olga L.’s Post

From Swirls to Awake Teams: A Night of Innovation in Palo Alto Last week, founders gathered for an unforgettable evening at EchoHer’s Women Founders Pitch Night, where swirling ideas transformed into fully awake, actionable solutions. Hosted by the amazing Qianwen Chen, the event showcased innovation, resilience, and the power of community and much sense of belonging and inclusion. Pitches That Inspired Change Ten trailblazing women founders took the stage, presenting groundbreaking ideas—from cutting-edge AI solutions to sustainable technologies. The event was honored to have three incredible judges who shared their expertise: • Mala Ramakrishnan: Visionary founder of Progressive Ventures and Cuvo, driving the next wave of AI innovation. • Vincent Mao: Early-stage investment leader empowering transformative startups in AI, Climate Tech, and more. • Brian Zhan: data and AI expert helping pioneering startups scale through his work at CRV. A huge thank you to Qianwen for hosting with such grace and energy and bringing community together! Love seeing women support other women! 🚀 #WomenFounders #PitchNight #EchoHer #Innovation #SiliconValley

🚨🚨The deadline for entries to the Tech South West Awards has been extended! You now have until Wednesday 31 July to get those awesome entries in: https://lnkd.in/dFGzUSx7 Here's a selection of the 25 categories up for grabs: 🌱 Best Startup Disruptive startups are the fuel to the tech sector’s engine. If you company is less than three years old since incorporation, let's shine a light on your success. ⚙️ Supporting the Sector For the organisations that help the sector to thrive - including tech hubs, professional services, accelerators, science parks and investors. You're the grease that keeps the tech cogs turning, and we think that's worth celebrating. 👩💻 Women in Tech This one celebrates the women and girls doing great things in the sector. Enough said. 🌍 Sustainability There is no Planet B. This one is for the companies using technology to look after the one we've got. 🌟 Commitment to Talent An award for the teams supporting the development of tech talent in the region. 💡 Innovation If you're not moving forwards, you're standing still. Let's celebrate the companies pushing the sector forward with new ideas. 🤖 Best Application of AI For the companies using Artificial Intelligence to enact positive change in the world. 🌈 Commitment to Diversity This one's for the companies going the extra mile to ensure people from all walks of life, experiences and backgrounds have access to great opportunities in the tech sector. 🚀 Space & Aviation Satellites, earth observation, space navigation and flight... for the companies reaching for the skies with great technology. Other categories include MarineTech, Tech Leadership, Workplace Culture, HealthTech, CreaTech and more. Judging takes place during the summer, with shortlists announced shortly afterwards. The winners will be revealed at a glistening ceremony in November - venue to be revealed! Enter for free at https://lnkd.in/dFGzUSx7 #TechFromTheCuttingEdge Niki Davies Lucy P. Anthony Story Paul Bird Todd Gifford Pippa Clarke Neil Morris Nick Gompertz Emily Hill Ben Masheder Edward Tellwright Robert Stevens Ruth Farenga Holly Patton Wo King

Honoured to be hosting a roundtable at the Sifted Summit on 3rd Oct on Diversifying #deeptech: where are we going wrong for female founders? 🙄 Right now, only 15% of European deeptech startups are led by women. Compound that with the mere 2% of VC funding heading towards female founders in general to see that, consciously or not, investors are seriously limiting their access to outstanding #techentrepreneurs. 🏈 So what are the steps to plugging this gap? Which ideas have legs to get the ball rolling for female founders in deeptech and beyond? EURO_GENDEX #EIC Justyna Tisserand Martina Longo Stephanie von Behr Sophie Webber Andrea Siviero Brendan Rowan Isis Diaz IoT Tribe 👉 More details and registration here: https://lnkd.in/gmWfPvMv

🚀 Deep tech is booming, but are we missing out on the full potential? At #Sifted Summit, we’re hosting a roundtable on ‘Diversifying #deeptech: Where are we going wrong for female founders?’ led by Tanya Suarez Ph.D. from GENDEX. If you're a deep tech investor who’s passionate about driving change, this is your chance to join the conversation. Let’s explore how diversity can fuel innovation—and how you can partner with us as we prepare to launch a game-changing tool for measuring diversity in funds. 🚀 💡 Catch us at Sifted Summit and let's chat! #DeepTech #DiversityInTech #Investment #FemaleFounders #GENDEX Sophie Webber Stephanie von Behr Founderland Samantha Kidjo Alina Bassi European Commission #EiC #Brendan Rowan Isis Diaz Martina Longo Andrea Siviero Claudette Boa

🌍 TECH TALKS: Empowering Developers to Build, Co-Create, Network, and Scale 🚀 In today’s world, tech unites us—and the potential to create solutions that bridge divides is limitless! At the last #africatalking event, we were excited to focus on empowering developers globally to build, co-create, network, and scale using the Africa's Talking Platform. But this event is more than just tech. It’s about humanhood. We all carry an unconscious bias, and in a world where polarization and division are profitable, we must not let that define us or our innovations. Together, we can rewrite the narrative and ensure that tech is used for good, not division. We encourage audacity—the courage to dream big and break free from the invisible cages that limit our potential. It’s time to ask yourself: Do you want to live within the invisible boundaries imposed by society or step out and build something that changes the world? 💡 This is especially true for women daring to dream. Your voice, your vision, and your courage to do something different can redefine the future of tech. Join us as we support a developer community that’s not only focused on creating and scaling great businesses but also on reshaping the future in ways that unite, not divide. #EmpoweringDevelopers #AfricaTalking #YouthInTech #TechForGood #UnconsciousBias #CourageToDream #WomenInTech #Audacity #GlobalCommunity African Women In Technology Kevin K. Africa Data Centres Association EkkoSense AI Assetspire | Accurate Asset Management Solutions Women in Tech South Africa Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct Sinethemba Mtshali Danny Naidoo AUKO Designs Metaverse Academy Project The Green-Co GCX Cresco

Celebrating some of our favourite women in emerging tech from the UNTAM3D today for #internationalwomensday #iwd. Check out the list below and let us know who else you would include! #womensupportingwomen

GENDEX will be hosting a roundtable at the Sifted Summit tomorrow, October 3, on an issue we’re deeply passionate about: Diversifying #deeptech: Where are we going wrong for female founders? 💡 Join us as we dive into the challenges women face in leading deeptech #startups and explore how we can change the narrative. With only 15% of European deeptech startups led by women and just 2% of VC funding going to female founders overall, it’s clear the industry is missing out on incredible talent.

🌍 TECH TALKS: Empowering Developers to Build, Co-Create, Network, and Scale 🚀 In today’s world, tech unites us—and the potential to create solutions that bridge divides is limitless! At the last #africastalking event, we were excited to focus on empowering developers globally to build, co-create, network, and scale using the Africa's Talking Platform. But this event is more than just tech. It’s about humanhood. We all carry an unconscious bias, and in a world where polarization and division are profitable, we must not let that define us or our innovations. Together, we can rewrite the narrative and ensure that tech is used for good, not division. We encourage audacity—the courage to dream big and break free from the invisible cages that limit our potential. It’s time to ask yourself: Do you want to live within the invisible boundaries imposed by society or step out and build something that changes the world? 💡 This is especially true for women daring to dream. Your voice, your vision, and your courage to do something different can redefine the future of tech. Join us as we support a developer community that’s not only focused on creating and scaling great businesses but also on reshaping the future in ways that unite, not divide. #EmpoweringDevelopers #AfricaTalking #YouthInTech #TechForGood #UnconsciousBias #CourageToDream #WomenInTech #Audacity #GlobalCommunity African Women In Technology Kevin K. Africa Data Centres Association EkkoSense AI Assetspire | Accurate Asset Management Solutions Women in Tech South Africa Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct Sinethemba Mtshali Danny Naidoo AUKO Designs Metaverse Academy Project The Green-Co GCX Cresco Global Technology Sustainable Solutions - GTSS

This week has been a roller-coaster 🎢 First, it was an honor to be featured in WIRED as one of Amsterdam's hottest startups 🔥 This recognition is a reminder of the work we are doing at 10x.Team, where we have taken it as our mission to redefine the future of work. And that's not only done through pushing boundaries and disrupting the status quo by finding and connecting fractional top-tier talent on-demand with visionary companies. But it is also done by embracing new tech that can give your company an edge. So, it takes me back to the Female Exchange Dinner, where I had the honor of being the keynote speaker a few days ago. 💡 Besides exchanging great insights with other amazing women, one of the biggest questions I posed was: Is AI a genius sidekick or a dark overlord? During my keynote, I dove deep into AI—the opportunities, the threats, and what’s holding many businesses back from fully embracing it. The discussion? What do you think your company could have done by now with AI, and why has it not happened yet? Thank you, Laela Vastrick and Aurora Live Business Network, for having me. What an incredible night it was! And a massive thank you to all the awesome women who shared the stage and the energy that night. Let’s keep pushing boundaries, breaking barriers, and embracing the future together, without forgetting to jump sometimes and embrace new tech. #AI #FemaleFounders #TechInnovation #KeynoteSpeaker https://lnkd.in/gBQd-_hU

Research by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and SISTA have apparently concluded that women entrepreneurs got only 2% of European investor funds between 2020 and 2022. TechCrunch says that the US's 2022 number was slightly worse at 1.9%. This despite women startups being 10% of total startups. A small part of that disproportion between the number of companies and funding may perhaps be explained by different business models, a focus on different business areas, etc. But this absurdly large funding gap is so enormous and has remained this low for so long that nothing short of structural bias can explain it. The women's startups that I saw at Women in Tech Global Summit were genuinely innovative and had obviously solid business cases. Why shouldn't they be welcomed and funded fairly on the basis of their merit ? What are they be stuck in that 1.9-2.0%? And why is fixing this such a stubborn, long-time problem? If we can create Gen AI, and solve so many difficult tech problems, why can't we find ways to slowly but surely solve this?