Announcing the Largest Global Pitch Competition for Women & Diverse Founders
Women, people of color, immigrants, veterans, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, apply to pitch!
We are constantly inundated with overwhelming statistics proving the importance of diversity and inclusion in entrepreneurship. Only 2.2% of venture capital funding went to women in 2018, less than .1% of funding has been allocated to black women since 2009, and only about 1% of venture-backed companies have a black founder or Latinx founder. These statistics are over-quoted but underacted upon.
This gender and diversity inequality significantly hinders economic growth, since 85% of all consumer purchases are controlled by women, and startups with higher ethnic diversity tend to produce financial returns above their industry norm. The data is clearly leading to one direction: investing in women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, veterans, immigrants, and other minority groups in entrepreneurship leads to higher revenue and better business results.
The SoGal Foundation community is the live version of these statistics — a true representation of this untapped potential. Throughout our 40 chapters spanning across five continents, every single #SoGalBoss founder and funder are success stories in the making. We are focused on one goal: to close the diversity gap in entrepreneurship and venture capital within our generation.
This is why we are thrilled to announce the launch of SoGal Global Pitch Competition for women and diverse founders worldwide.
Hosted in 25+ cities around the world, and culminating in a global final competition and 3-day immersive educational bootcamp in Silicon Valley, this is an unprecedented pitch opportunity for women and diverse entrepreneurs worldwide.
Startups that are pre-Series A (raised less than $3M) with at least one woman or diverse founder, apply here! The top teams selected from each regional round will join our final global pitch competition and bootcamp in Silicon Valley, for guaranteed face time with top VCs and angel investors, curated educational programming, unparalleled 1:1 mentorship, top tier press exposure, and a chance to win investment capital. Over half a million (and counting) investment dollars have already been allocated to the final competition from our friends at SoGal Ventures and Draper U.
Our mantra: we are the change we’ve been waiting for. Diverse founders are creating billion-dollar businesses at an unprecedented speed. We’re done waiting for these statistics to change; we’re taking action to point investment capital toward these diverse-led startups. With the right resources and equitable allocation of capital, we will change the future of entrepreneurship.
Apply here to pitch, and join us to redefine the next generation of diverse founders and funders!✨
If you’re an investor or potential partner interested in getting involved, please reach out.
SoGal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and the largest global platform for diverse founders and funders in 40+ chapters across 5 continents; our mission is to close the diversity gap in entrepreneurship. SoGal Foundation’s global startup competition represents the first and largest opportunity for women and diverse entrepreneurs and investors to connect worldwide.
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