Female founders tip: Never judge an investor by his loud snore

By Dennis Clemente

NEW YORK– Female founders at the Orrick meetup last October 5  found out one thing: You can never judge investors by their snore volume or constant phone use.  Why? They invested in their startups.

The female founders of Wayup, F Cubed, Manicube, getringly and ELOQUII had those stories to share at the Orrick meetup.

“They probably just had a long day, or were just too busy,” two of the women said. An Duggal, Liz Wessel, Katina Mountanos and Mariah Chase were the panelists who shared their experience as a startup and how they have pitched, wooed and won over investors last October 5 at  Orrick’s offices.

Among the tips they shared with the audience in this law office at the CBS Building were:

• Nothing will happen unless you talk about it
  Prototype and make it better
  Hire senior as much as possible, not by seniority but those who doesn’t mind rolling down their sleeves to do the dirty work
  Give them two decks — one brief one via email and a comprehensive one, for VCs to use and share with their partners
  Prepare to paint a really audacious goal even if you want to be authentic
  Expect to have coffee meetings with them

WayUp (formerly Campus Job) is a startup that connects college students with local job opportunities. Launched last September 2014, it’s founded by Liz Wessel and JJ Fligelman. In April, the company raised a $7.8 million Series A round. It has reportedly signed up over 5,000 companies and thousands of student users.

The name change was crucial to the success of its business, because Campus Job sounded like it was offering jobs inside a campus only. The site is free for students.

The Female Founders Fund or F Cubed headed by Anu Duggal is a venture capital fund for women to address the paltry number of funds that startups with a female founder or CEO has received. A research study pointed out that only 2.7 percent of US companies receive venture capital funding from 2011 to 2013.

Katina Mountanous of Manicube talked about Manicube, her house call and even — get this — in-office manicure service (if your employer is okay with it) available in cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. She co-founded it with Liz Whitman.

Ringly is working on building the future of wearable technology and connected devices like jewelries.

ELOQII, headed by Chase, is a plus-size fashion brand with a difference. It offers sophisticated outfits for women who can’t find their size.