Five Reasons to Attend The Virtual Wave Tour 2020

Why should you attend The Wave Tour? Now, more than ever, is the time to grow your entrepreneurial skill set, perfect pitch decks, and strengthen your network. This year we have all been deeply affected by COVID-19, the civil unrest across the United States, and a volatile election cycle, but we also know that unpredictable times create an opportunity to change the tides in new, creative, and unexpected ways.

To best support women founders as they pivot and adjust to these new circumstances and business environment, we redesigned The Wave Tour from a series of in-person events across the U.S. to a fully virtual — and fully engaging — international event on November 12th, 2020. We’ve met the challenge head on and have structured our programs and The Wave to bring real, actionable value to you and your business in a format that is highly interactive, engaging, and offers more flexibility to best fit your schedule.

Here are just a few of the reasons you don’t want to miss this event:

1. Exclusive Access to 1:1 Meetings with Investors and Experts

For one full day, gain access to our exclusive 1:1 Office Hours that allow attendees to book time with high profile female investors, lawyers, thought leaders, and allies. The chaos of a physical event can lead to missed opportunities due to overlapping sessions and large crowds. At The Wave, get curated investor introductions and reserve time to get the expertise, mentorship and advice you need.

Simply register for The Wave Tour and immediately start connecting with investors, speakers, and industry experts who can provide personalized, actionable feedback on your business, your pitch deck, and answer your industry-specific questions.

This is your chance to grow your investor network with top female funders and allies from around the world, make connections and gain invaluable insight for your business.

Meet with experts including:

Nancy Hayes, Angel Investor, NKH Group

Nancy Hayes has been an active angel investor since 2014 and has a portfolio of more than 25 companies with female founders. She serves as a mentor to entrepreneurs by providing feedback on strategy, advising them on presenting to investors and providing introductions where appropriate. Nancy is a frequent guest speaker, panelist and judge at pitch events.

Areas of expertise: fundraising for startups; presenting to investors; strategy; leadership; management

Terri Hanson Mead, Angel Investor, Class Bravo Ventures

Terri Hanson Mead is the multi-award winning author of Piloting Your Life, President of Solutions2Projects, LLC, Managing Partner of Class Bravo Ventures, and an advocate for women through all of her platforms including her YouTube channel and blog. As an angel investor, Terri invests in startups that have products or services that expand the power and influence of women.

Amy Belt Raimundo, Managing Director, Kaiser Permanente Ventures

Amy Belt Raimundo joined Kaiser Permanente Ventures as managing director. Amy brings over 20 years of experience in healthcare investing, start-up and corporate operations and hospital system consulting. Immediately prior to joining Kaiser, Amy was the Chief Business Officer of digital health start-up Evidation Health founded by GE Ventures and Stanford Healthcare where she led all commercial and business development activities. Previously, Amy spent close to a decade in venture capital focused on healthcare technology as a Vice President at Covidien Ventures and Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV).

Lally Rementilla, Managing Partner, BDC Capital

Lally Rementilla is Managing Partner, Intellectual Property-Backed Financing. She oversees and provides strategic guidance to a national team that helps companies accelerate their growth or the commercialization of their innovation.

Following nearly two decades of experience as a financial executive in the technology sector (Lucent Technologies, Lavalife and Nulogy Corporation), Lally moved into investment, becoming Chief Financial Officer and then President & Chief Executive Officer of commercial lender Quantius. Lally is an Associate Fellow at Creative Destruction Lab and a member of Grand Challenges Canada’s investment committee. She previously served on several other boards, including Pique Ventures Investments, the Information Technology Association of Canada, nextMEDIA and Canadian Women in Communications, as well as the former Canada Lead for the Billion Dollar Fund for Women.

Areas of expertise: Financial management and fundraising, intellectual property strategy

Grant Lawrence, Founder Valhalla Private Capital, President Valhalla Angels Vancouver & Kelowna

Grant has participated in an IPO, experienced a buyout and the integration challenges that go with this; he is an active Angel investor is a Founder of Valhalla Private Capital and as President of Valhalla Angels Kelowna and Valhalla Angels Vancouver. Grant contributes to building the tech community. He also mentors and guides startups through business operations and sales.

Grant has over 22+ successful years in the software industry both in startups and established companies; holding a number of different senior positions in sales and marketing and proven track record in building and managing teams in the areas of strategic alliances, indirect and direct sales channels in complex B2B environments domestically and internationally throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Areas of expertise: provide consulting and advisory services for B2B enterprise sales; operations; growth and raising capital

Hila Cohen, Associate, Morrison & Foerster LLP

Hila Cohen is an associate in the firm’s Corporate Department. She advises companies, including startups, growth stage and public companies, and investors on corporate transactions and securities matters, including formation of venture capital and private equity funds, venture capital financings and corporate governance.

Areas of expertise: Company and investor counsel in connection with venture financings; counsel to fund managers and institutional investors in private fund formations.

Katherine Suzuki, Associate, Morrison & Foerster LLP

Katherine Suzuki is an associate in the firm’s Corporate Department. She advises companies, including startups and growth stage companies, and investors on corporate transactions and securities matters, including venture capital financings and corporate governance.

Areas of expertise: reach out if you are looking to launch a company and want to understand more about types of corporate formations; learn what to expect when negotiating with investor; the key legal mistakes to avoid and address in the early stages of your startup; founders agreements; equity compensation; exiting the startup; selling the startup.

Steven Lease, Investing with Impact Director, Morgan Stanley

Let us help you to understand your investment choices so that you can align your money with your goals and values. There are several options for both personal and business investments. Ask us for an overview and we will help you to make an impact.

Areas of expertise: provide consulting and advisory services for B2B enterprise sales; operations; growth and raising capital

Get your ticket and don’t miss out on these personalized investor introductions, available only on November 12th.

2. Truly Actionable Content for Female Founders and Business Owners

With over 30 interactive sessions and workshops from powerhouse investors, founders, executives and business owners, here’s what to expect:

• Entrepreneurs at idea, development, beta test, and initial deployment stages can receive pitch deck feedback and clear expectations for their upcoming capital raises
• Privately held business owners will get information about growth and operating capital options
• All entrepreneurs will be able to meet highly skilled people seeking to be co-founders in or become supporters of early stage companies of all kinds

The focus of this event is to provide actionable ways for female founders and entrepreneurs to thrive in an uncertain, changing global landscape. There will be real-time networking opportunities and individual 1:1 investor meetings, allowing attendees from anywhere in the world to grow their investor network, make connections and gain invaluable insight from top female leaders.

Attendees will also experience keynotes and working sessions from groundbreaking womxn including:

• Arlan Hamilton, Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBTQ+?. Arlan Hamilton is a remarkable entrepreneur who built a venture capital fund from the ground up and entered the venture investing world from an unconventional path.
• Dr. Dana Kanze, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. Her research applies behavioural insights to understand sources of labour market inequality, spanning the areas of judgement and decision making, ethics, motivation science and entrepreneurship. Her foundational research on how women are asked different questions than men and how that can lead to reduced funding (unless you learn how to spot these questions), will inspire you to action. Her work impacts entrepreneurs and investors alike.
• Christina Stembel, Founder & CEO or Farmgirl Flowers. Christina started Farmgirl Flowers in 2010 from her dining room in her San Francisco apartment. Over the past ten years she has bootstrapped the company to over 140 team members doing a projected $60M in annual revenue in 2020. The once one-woman operation now spans six distribution centers between Ecuador, California, and Florida. Christina will be speaking about bootstrapping her company, and how this allowed her to quickly pivot and save her company during the COVID pandemic.
• Kate Brodock, CEO of Women 2.0, a global brand focused on gender, representation and inclusion in the tech and startup spaces, and Founding Partner of W Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in women- and diverse-led tech startups.
• Terri Mead, author, angel investor, and entrepreneur, Class Bravo Ventures. Terri is the multi-award winning author of Piloting Your Life, President of Solutions2Projects, LLC, Managing Partner of Class Bravo Ventures, and an advocate for women through all of her platforms including her YouTube channel and blog. As an angel investor, Terri invests in startups that have products or services that expand the power and influence of women.

See the full line up of inspiring female speakers and take note of the sessions you’ll definitely won’t want to miss.

3. Network & Improve Your Professional Development Before, During, and After the Event

At physical events, attendees can attend live sessions and mingle with other business leaders. At this virtual event, all of this is still available in addition to some great perks and the ability to personalize your experience.

Whova is our virtual platform for The Wave Tour, and allows for networking before, during and after the event. Meet[O2] an investor you want to stay in contact with or attend a session and want to find out more? An attendee directory, including the ability to reach out to other event attendees, is available so you can network with each other at any time — not just at the event. This event is available to founders and investors from any corner of the world (no travel restrictions or jet lag!) and you can network and exchange ideas across borders and time zones.

Don’t miss out on this action-packed day of content with morning, afternoon and evening keynotes and three tracks of sessions, customized for your entrepreneurial journey[O3] . Attend sessions throughout the day from a range of topics such as pivoting your business, what female founders need to know before starting a company, and how womxn can claim their power to change the world.

Sessions include:

• Alternative Financing Strategies: Opportunities Beyond Traditional Venture Capital (Kate Brodock, CEO of Women 2.0 & Founding Partner of the W Fund)
• How to Increase Your Chances of Raising VC Capital (Pre-seed, Seed & Series A) (Suzanne Fletcher, General Partner with Prime Movers Lab & Fund Manager at StartX, Stanford University)
• What Angel Investors, VC’s and Family Offices Look for in the Pitch Deck and Due Diligence (Xandra Laskowski, Founder and CEO OSEA Angel Investors & startup advisor)
• Why Smart Women Are Crowdfunding (Kate Anderson, co-founder and Operations Director of IFundWomen)
• The Impostor Breakthrough: From Anxiety to Resiliency (Kate Purmal, Board Director at ABD Insurance and Financial Services)
• Top 12 Things You Need to Know Before Starting Your Company (Hillary Sinclair, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, Onthemuv)
• Piloting to Power: Claiming Our Power as Women to Change the World (Keynote Speaker Terri Hanson Mead, Author of Piloting Your Life & Angel Investor and Entrepreneur, Class Bravo Ventures)

View the full action-packed agenda. Get your ticket now to hear from a powerful line up of womxn industry leaders on November 12th.

4. An Evening Cocktail Reception Focused on Why the Future Is Female and Your Role in the Future

Join Jennifer LeBlanc, founder of the Changing Tides Movement, Gillian Muessig, Managing Partner, Mastersfund™, for an evening keynote on why investing in women is the key to higher ROI and 30 minutes of evening entertainment with Jackie Huba, aka Lady Trinity, focused on building up your confidence and becoming fiercely you.

Gillian will be hosting a keynote, The Key to Higher ROI: Investing in Women and presenting highlights from the Pitch Showcase. Join Gillian for a session on why more than a quarter of a century worth of data indicates that women led, diverse teams return the highest ROI to investors in both public and private markets. It IS possible to do well by doing good. Learn how to find the winners and engage with them in ways that increase value to entrepreneurs, investors, and the communities in which they operate.

Jackie’s keynote is based on her latest book, Fiercely You: Be Fabulous and Confidence by Thinking Like a Drag Queen. The RuPaul-endorsed book is a creative, playful approach to the serious problems that women face regarding confidence and risk-taking. Drawing on her own experiences doing drag and interviews with the world’s top drag queens, Jackie will share lessons from drag queens that will help you ignore criticism and live life more fearlessly. Grab your tiara, bling and most fabulous make up for an hour focused on becoming fiercely you.

Drag out your bling, grab your boa, your tiara, and get into your most fabulous make up for The Wave’s evening cocktail reception. During this evening cocktail reception, we will be holding a photo contest where every attendee can show off their fierce and fabulous looks. You won’t want to miss this keynote focused on becoming the most fierce and fabulous version of you.

5. The Wave Tour Changes the Tides at Scale

We all know the numbers and the problem we’re facing in the founder and VC space: less than 2% of venture funding goes to women and we only account for 13% of VC partners. Yet more and more research shows that companies with female leaders and board members outperform all-male companies. Recognizing the gap in representation and access to funding led to the creation of the Changing Tides Movement. As we expand our programming and connect more women founders and funders, we are truly creating opportunity and making a positive impact for women starting and growing businesses. Let’s get these powerful products out into the world where they can grow, do good, and build economic power.

The Wave Tour is designed as a space to continue your networking efforts and professional development while we pivot to thrive in a fully virtual landscape. Get your ticket now for a chance to meet top investors, receive actionable pitch deck feedback and meet highly skilled people seeking to be co-founders in or become supporters of early stage companies of all kinds.

The purpose of this event is to create a space for womxn to exchange and challenge ideas, strengthen our concepts and broaden our perspectives. Female founders generate more than twice the revenue per investment dollar than male founders do. The best way to create an ecosystem of female leaders that succeed is to prepare ourselves for the obstacles we are going to face.

Join us!

Exclusive offer: use the promo code JOINME when purchasing your VIP ticket (get unlimited access to recordings of all sessions, workshops, and keynotes) to save $20%! Pay What you Can tickets are now available (does not include recordings).

What opportunities are waiting for you at The Wave Tour? Register for the event and get ready to expand your network and walk away with actionable ways to improve your founder journey.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at The Wave Tour? Submit your application to the Changing Tides team and join us in our efforts to change the tides for womxn founders, entrepreneurs and business owners.