Mindset Moves: Journal Prompt

Education & Networking

Feb 13th: 

🌴 Pitch & Walk: Early-Stage B2B SaaS Founders & Funders | LA  

🔗 Register HERE 

💬 Meet fellow early-stage founders and VCs in the B2B SaaS space with Forum Ventures.

📱 Building a Sticky, Scalable Product | Virtual

🔗 Register HERE 

💬 Join CTO Nelly Yusupova to learn the skills and processes needed to de-risk time and money, and accelerate success by building a PMF flywheel.

Feb 15th: 

📈 How to Create Business Growth in the New Year | Virtual 

🔗 Register HERE 

💬 Fine-tune your marketing strategy and identifying growth opportunities.

💄 The Consumer Council: CPG Breakfast | NYC 

🔗 Register HERE 

💬 For CPG founders, investors, and operators. Hosted by Zehra Naqvi.

👏🏽 Founder x Investor Matchmaking | SF  

🔗 Register HERE 

💬 Curated early-stage startups connect with diverse investors from different verticals.

Feb 16th: 

🏃🏽‍♀️ Pitch and Run | NYC

🔗 Register HERE 

💬 Community for founders, investors, & operators to connect via walking.

Feb 17th: 

🌺 Female Founders & Investors Mixer | SF 

🔗 Register HERE 

💬 Influential female founders and insightful investors share, connect, and inspire.

Feb 20th: 

🥞 Consumer Founders & Investors Breakfast | NYC 

🔗 Register HERE 

💬 For CPG founders and investors. Hosted by Zehra Naqvi.

Insider Tips

Understanding the VC Mindset Behind the “Too Early” Label by Gale Wilkinson

Have VCs rejected your pitch for being 'too early' to invest? Gale, a GP at Vitalize VC, explains why this happens and offers advice for future approaches.

Funding & Resources Opportunities

Grant:

🏦 Google for Startups Black Founders Fund 

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: $150,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏷️ Criteria: Black founder, tech-enabled, Pre-Seed-Series A, seeking institutional funding.

💡 Provides funding, Google Cloud credits, mentorship, and support to early-stage founders.

💥 AT&T + Hispanic Heritage Foundation: Grow Your Chispa Program 

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: $10,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏙️ Location: Dallas, Miami, LA, Houston, Phoenix.

🏷️ Criteria: For Hispanic entrepreneurs directly impacting their communities.

💡 Grant to alleviate immediate financial challenges.

🏦 Flourish Media Business Grant

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: $1,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏷️ Criteria: Executive summary, a 90-day plan, and a 30-second video.

💡 Supporting the next generation of business women.

🔓 Open AI Superalignment Fast Grants

📅 Due Date: Feb 18

💰 Amount: $100,000-$2,000,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏷️ Criteria: AI

💡 Supporting technical research towards ensuring safe superhuman AI systems.

💁🏻‍♀️ The BOSS Network x Sage: Invest in Progress Grant

📅 Due Date: Feb 23

💰 Amount: $10,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

💡 Providing small and medium businesses with visibility, flexibility, and efficiency, including 1-year mentorship through the BOSS Business University.

Pitch Competition:

📣 Forum x Brex: Live Pitch Competition 

📅 Due Date: Feb 14

💰 Amount: $100,000 (Equity)

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏙️ City: New York

🌐 Industry: B2B SaaS

🏷️ Criteria: Raised <$1M, Pre-Seed, Tech-Enabled, MVP

💡 Pitch competition with the winners receiving investment, acceptance into Forum Ventures’ Accelerator Program, and the top two runner-up companies will also receive entrance into Founder Institute.

👑 Sacramento Kings - Capitalize: Technology Contest 

📅 Due Date: Feb 15

💰 Amount: $10,000

🔗 Apply HERE

🏙️ Location: Sacramento

💡 Showcase local tech entrepreneurs. Winner also receives 3-year access to Dialpad communication services.

🍔 SNAC Tank Pitch Competition 

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: $10,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🌐 Industry: Food

💡 Finalists pitch live, gaining connections and visibility in the food industry.

👏🏽 SBA: Growth Accelerator Fund Competition 

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: $50,000-$200,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🌐 Industry: National and Economic Security, Domestic Manufacturing and Production, and Sustainability and Biotechnology.

💡 National innovation support ecosystem advancing small business R&D.

👵🏾 Empire Startups: Everything FinTech 

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: $10,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🌐 Industry: FinTech for Senior Citizens.

🏷️ Criteria: <$1M in annual revenue, raised <$15M.

💡 Pitch competition with curated meetings, opportunities at the Empire FinTech Conference 2024.

🤠 Midwest House ‘24 SXSW Midwest Madness Startup Competition

📅 Due Date: Feb 17

💰 Amount: $10,000

🔗 Apply HERE

💡 Bringing together early-stage startups for a pitch competition at SXSW.

👩🏻‍🔧 WMNtech Pitch Competition

📅 Due Date: Feb 18

💰 Amount: $30,000 (Cash and Equity)

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏷️ Criteria: Pre-Seed-Seed, deep understanding of problem, effective GTM strategy, traction.

💡 For early-stage founders to get funding and support, including $20,000 in development credits from Aloa and 6-month membership to 1871.

Program:

👗 SHEIN x Challenge 2024 

📅 Due Date: Feb 15

💰 Amount: $3,000-$10,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🌐 Industry: Fashion

💡 Aspiring designers submit three complete Spring-Summer 2024 women’s looks. Top 20 advance to showcase in London and launch in SHEIN.

🌤️ Larta Institute x Wells Fargo: Venture Fellows Program 

📅 Due Date: Feb 15

💰 Amount: $25,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏙️ Location: LA and Miami

🌐 Industry: ClimateTech, Sustainability

🏷️ Criteria: Idea-stage

💡 9-month program offering support to turn ideas into scalable startups for impact on local communities.

🦾 Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First 

📅 Due Date: Feb 15

💰 Amount: None; Other Resources Offered

🔗 Apply HERE 

🌐 Industry: AI, ML

🏷️ Criteria: Traction, Seed-Series A, scalable, commitment from CTO.

💡 10-week program providing mentorship, technical support, and access to AI tools.

🆙 LadderUp Accelerator by Shipt 

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: $5,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🌐 Industry: Brick & Mortar in Grocery/Beverage, Floral & Gifts, or Health & Beauty.

🏙️ Location: Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis, or Tampa.

💡 8-week program to help retail store owners grow.

⏭️ Next 1B by McKinsey & Company

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: None; Other Resources Offered

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏷️ Criteria: 1+ years since founding.

💡 2 programs: Founders and Scalers. Founders is an 8-12 week program for smaller Black-owned brands ($250K-$5M in annual revenue). Scalers offer support for larger Black-owned brands ($10M in annual revenue).

🤖 Character Labs

📅 Due Date: Feb 18

💰 Amount: $125,000 (Equity)

🔗 Apply HERE 

🌐 Industry: AI

🏷️ Criteria: Pre-Seed

💡 A 4-week program helping founders reach product-market fit, providing access to a network of portfolio founders, advisors, and co-investors.

🤳🏽 The BOMESI Accelerator

📅 Due Date: Feb 22

💰 Amount: $25,000

🔗 Apply HERE 

🏷️ Criteria: Media

💡 A 12-week program focused on business fundamentals, monetization strategies, and audience growth for media platforms.

Other:

🐣 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest 

📅 Due Date: Feb 16

💰 Amount: $100,000

🔗 Apply HERE

🏙️ Location: Detroit

🏷️ Criteria: viable and sustainable business, fills a retail gap in the city, positive impact on community.

💡 For entrepreneurs opening their first brick-and-mortar storefront in Detroit.

News Watch

• SUMA Wealth grabs $2.2M as its financial platforms reach 1M users

• How to Uplift the Next Generation of Fund Managers

• Culture as Capital: What Peso Pluma Can Teach Us About The Latino Investable Opportunity