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On Thursday, July 18, 2024, HearstLab held their second annual virtual Pitch HearstLab U event specifically for female founders in the university ecosystem. Of the four finalists, one startup was named the winner and is now an automatic finalist in HearstLab’s next U.S.-based $100K pitch competition which will be held in Atlanta on November 12. To date, HearstLab has hosted 8 pitch events worldwide and deployed nearly $4 million through these events alone.
The finalists represented industry verticals ranging from AI-powered supply chain and inventory management to healthcare tech to long-term financial and estate planning. Each founder pitched to a panel of expert judges, including Lisa Burton, HearstLab Vice President, Iynna Halilou, General Partner of The MBA Fund, and Christina Dalton, VP of Marketing for Hearst Magazines. The event was MC’ed by HearstLab Venture Director, Eastin Rossell.
While the judges deliberated, attendees were invited to an insightful panel discussion with Laura Rippy, Managing Partner and Board Member of Alumni Ventures and Beth Devin, HearstLab Co-Lead and Investor. Laura recently launched Alumni Ventures’ newest fund that invests, like HearstLab, exclusively in women founded and led startups. The discussion was moderated by HearstLab Senior Director, Katie Bailey.
The event’s winner was: Materri, co-founded by Kira Erickson. Materri is an AI-native demand forecasting and inventory planning platform for CPG brands to avoid stockouts and reduce inventory to boost a company's profitability and sustainability.
"We're honored that Materri was selected as the top startup in this year's HeartLab U competition. The HearstLab team has been a joy to work with and we can't wait to continue growing our partnership. We'll see you in Atlanta!" said Kira Erickson, co-founder and CEO of Materri.
“We’re so thrilled to build upon the success of our first Pitch HearstLab U competition a year ago with yesterday’s event. The goal was always to bring recognition to the incredible talent and innovation emerging out of the university ecosystem – as a testament to that, choosing a winner from the finalists was extremely difficult. Materri, led by Kira Erikson, stood out for the team’s expertise, traction, and vision to transform the CPG supply chain from billions in waste to zero,” said Eastin Rossell, HearstLab Venture Director.
Kira is now an automatic finalist in HearstLab’s next $100K pitch competition in Atlanta on November 12. Applications are now open until August 7 and female founders can apply here.
Outside of pitch events, female founders can apply for investment from HearstLab (up to $1 million) at any time throughout the year. To date, HearstLab has invested in 70+ women-led startups, currently valued at over $2.5 billion collectively. Its mission is to help closing the funding gap in venture capital funding for women.
For more information, visit the HearstLab website, follow HearstLab on LinkedIn, and subscribe to their Newsletter.
About HearstLab
HearstLab provides cash investments and support services to early-stage, women-led technology start-ups innovating across fintech, data analytics, health, transportation, enterprise technology, and media. Its mission is to close the gender gap in venture funding by helping female founders build sustainable and highly scalable businesses. With access to Hearst resources across more than 360 businesses, HearstLab’s breadth of services includes assistance with privacy and security, software development, legal services, business development, financial analysis, operations, marketing, and more.
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