Kauffman Foundation, Uber launch grant contest for women-led startups
September 13, 2016 | Meghan LeVota
Female entrepreneurs in Kansas City may not have the luxury of riding a “glass escalator,” but on Oct. 26 they can take an Uber ride for a chance at $120,000.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation on Tuesday announced UberPITCH, a nationwide pitch competition in partnership with Uber and business accelerator The Refinery. Women-led startups will have a chance to win up to $120,000 in grants and will gain feedback from investors.
Competitors will deliver a 10- to 15-minute pitch to an investor while riding in an Uber. Finalists will be invited to present their companies at the “Fueling the Growth” showcase in Stamford, Conn., on Nov. 16, where finalists will compete for the funds.
“Women-led startups received less than 2.7 percent of venture capital in 2011 – 2013, so a competition like this helps connect women entrepreneurs and investors in a dynamic, fun and innovative way,” Refinery co-founder Janis Collins said in a release. “But this competition is about more than prize money; it’s about giving the founders valuable access to investors and input on their businesses.”
The competition is open to those in Providence R.I., Baltimore Md., New Haven, Conn., Stamford, Conn., Washington D.C., and Kansas City, Mo. In order to apply, startups must have at least one woman in a leadership role, be able to demonstrate scalability, and utilize technology in their business model.
Full guidelines and applications are available here. Entrepreneurs must apply by Oct. 20.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
With traction in tow, Super Dispatch is a model ‘lean startup’
Super Dispatch began like every tech startup: with a good idea. But as founder Bek Abdullayev will tell you, it takes more than that to be successful. In 2013, Abdullayev founded Super Dispatch, a software-as-a-service platform for the trucking industry intended to eliminate paperwork. Super Dispatch streamlines the communication of documents between truckers and their…
‘Makerspace in the ‘Hood’ wants to smother poverty and crime with creativity
Every successful entrepreneur is born with a seed of opportunity. It is impossible for one person to be successful on their own; whether you extend gratitude to your family for their support, your university for its resources, or the angel investor who believed in you when nobody else did. Now imagine you grew up in…
Pipeline Entrepreneurs accepting applicants for 2017 fellowship
Ahead of its first adventure abroad, Pipeline Entrepreneurs is accepting applications for its fellowship program that not only affords entrepreneurial education but also a network of powerful business leaders. The 2017 class will mark the organization’s 11th-annual program in which Pipeline accepts at least 10 entrepreneurs from the around the region to participate in a…
KC-made card game Mixtape makes a ‘soundtrack for your life’
If your life was a movie, what song would you play in the background? A fast paced techno montage? A jazzy love story? Perhaps a dreary ballad? Regardless of the tune, music is intimately connected with the special moments in life, according to Joel Johnson, who’s set out to prove that with Mixtape, a board…