2018 has been a remarkable year for NYU Female Founders. Female led student startups took the win on every major startup competition on NYU’s campus, earning over $325K in grants, while other student female founders raised venture capital, including from NYU’s own Innovation Venture Fund.
In September 2018, Forbes released an article on the Top 10 Universities With The Most VC-Backed Female Entrepreneurs, citing “New York University emerges as as the school with potentially the most female-friendly culture.” While we still have more work to turn this potential into reality, at the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute we want to celebrate our female founders every day of the year:
January
The NYU Entrepreneurial Institute hosts its first annual January Term Startup Sprint accelerator; 60% of participants are female founders across 13 teams.
February
The 7th Annual NYU Entrepreneurs Festival featured 39 startup founder speakers, including 20 female speakers.
March
The NYU Leslie eLab celebrated 100,000 visits since opening in 2014, with women making up 51% of historic visitors.
April
The first ever NYU Female Founder Symposium attracted over 200 NYU female students and allies in this pan-university conference.
May
The five teams who took first place in all of NYU’s major startup competitions were led by Female CEOs, where female founders took home a combined 325K in awards!
June
The NYU Summer Launchpad, NYU’s marquee 9-week long accelerator program, kicks off. 8 out of 11 teams have female founders (6 female CEOs), with 55% female participants overall.
July
During the 4th Annual NYU-Yale pitch competition, female founders represented all three NYU teams presenting. One winner, Health Huddle, took home the audience choice award.
August
At the first annual Faculty Startup Sprint, 53% of participating teams were female faculty founders.
September
NYU held it first annual Startup Demo Day, featuring 12 teams, 7 of which were led by female CEOs.
October
At the 4th Annual NYU Healthcare Makerthon weekend, 50% of participants and winners across 18 NYU schools were women.
November
The NYU Innovation Venture Fund made its 19th investment in Pepper, started by Stern ‘19 MBA Lia Winograd. To date 53% of teams in the fund have female founders.
December
What’s in store for 2019 for female founders? While we can’t predict the future, we know it will be filled with continued opportunities and accolades for our amazing NYU female founder community.
Want to get involved in the NYU Female Founders community? Visit the #NYUFemaleFounders website to learn more about programs, events and opportunities for women.
