Women’s Venture Summit returns to San Diego with new capital pathways for founders

Women’s Venture Summit will convene in La Jolla, San Diego, from Nov. 2-5 with seven Women’s Fast Pitch finalists and new funding tracks through Wefunder, Kiva and Women in Cloud. The 13th annual event aims to help women founders convert investor attention into capital at a time when women-led startups still receive less than 2% of venture funding.

Why it matters: - Women’s Venture Summit is pushing beyond networking and pitch events to create direct routes to funding for women founders. - The 13th annual summit comes as women-led startups still receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, despite growing investor interest in women entrepreneurs. - Organizers say the event has helped activate more than $200 million in capital for women entrepreneurs over the past decade. - The summit is trying to turn visibility, investor connections and education into actual financing outcomes for founders.

What happened: - Women’s Venture Summit returns Nov. 2-5 at the Cooley campus in La Jolla, San Diego. - The event is themed “Rise & Fund: Women Continuing the Charge.” - The summit will feature seven Women’s Fast Pitch finalists competing for a growth package valued at more than $45,000, with the winner receiving a package worth more than $55,000. - The summit is adding new capital pathways through Wefunder, Kiva and Women in Cloud. - Ahead of the summit, Women’s Venture Summit will host a virtual Angel Academy on Oct. 29 with Investing 101 and 102 sessions.

The details: - The Women’s Fast Pitch competition drew 282 applicants, narrowed to 31 semifinalists and then 13 regional finalists after an Oct. 1 national virtual pitch event. - Seven founders advanced to the in-person finals: Rachell Dumas of HEARD; Meghan Wood of Raya Power; Jane Lim of Thallus Foods; Juliana Di Simone of Forela Health; Elizabeth Tomon of LOO; Katerina Boukin of Flood Dynamics; and Cleo Escarez of Redyoos. - The winning package includes $25,000 in legal services from Cooley, at least $10,000 in investment from two female angel investors, $10,000 in marketing support, $10,000 in advisory services and a company spotlight through Marble Collective. - Lex Lewis of Here We Rise and Dr. Silvia Mah of She Invests Capital each plan to commit at least $5,000 to this year’s winner, according to Lewis. - Through Wefunder, finalists can pursue equity crowdfunding campaigns that could raise $10,000 each, for more than $70,000 managed by the WVS syndicate. - Women in Cloud will host “Frontier Tech Meets Capital” on Tuesday, Nov. 3, featuring women-led deep-tech companies in AI, robotics, energy, health and blockchain. - The companies featured in that session are Flite AI, Symphony Space, BulletTrain.ai, Book with Eva, Dionysus Healthcare and Invi Grid Inc. - One company from the Women in Cloud session will advance to Wednesday’s competition for additional investor exposure. - Kiva crowdfunding activations will give San Diego entrepreneurs Regina King, founder of Soul Scent, and Maria-Nicole Marino, founder of Panic Panties, a chance to pursue crowdfunded loans. - The summit will also include keynote conversations, workshops, panel discussions and networking for founders, emerging angel investors and capital providers. - Featured speakers include Lolita Taub, Miki Agrawal, Geri Stengel, Cheryl K. Goodman, Lucy Postins, Sarah Davis, Ariana Ramsey, Ali Wyatt and Amy Reischauer of the SEC. - Supporting organizations include Here We Rise, She Invests, Women in Cloud, GCWC and the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership. - Sponsors include The Impact Seat Foundation, Cooley, San Diego Imperial County Small Business Development Center, Holland & Knight, First Citizens Bank, Bennett Thrasher CPA, Tidal River Fund, Marble Collective, Edward Jones, Nordstrom, Events.com, Rose Bowlus Law, Red Admiral Ventures, Snell & Wilmer, Foley Hoag, HVM Communications, Knobbe Martens, EyePop.ai, Halogen Ventures, Rising Tide Partners and Kieretsu Forum Socal. - Registration, agenda details and more information are available at the summit website.

Between the lines: - The summit is broadening its model from a single competition into a multi-channel capital platform. - That shift reflects a practical read on the funding gap: many women founders need different kinds of capital at different stages, from microloans to equity investment to investor education. - The emphasis on investor readiness, syndicates and crowdfunding suggests the summit wants to move attendees from inspiration to transactions. - By combining a pitch competition with educational programming for investors, the event is trying to grow both sides of the capital equation.

What's next: - The virtual Angel Academy will run Oct. 29 ahead of the main event. - Women in Cloud’s investor session will take place Nov. 3, with one company advancing to Wednesday’s competition. - The main summit runs Nov. 2-5 in La Jolla, with the Fast Pitch winner selected during the event. - Organizers expect the new funding channels to extend investor engagement beyond the four-day summit. - The longer-term goal is to convert summit visibility into follow-on capital for women-led businesses.