😷 Masks are back, asking for help, seed round trends, 400+ resources for female founders, funding, and more
A bi-weekly newsletter of curated actionable resources for underestimated founders, funders, and friends.
Welcome to Lolita’s Newsletter! We share curated actionable resources for underestimated founders, funders, and friends. We are at 9,872 members. To give or get access to exclusive founder content, office hours, our Slack community, and get your pitch deck reviewed become an annual subscriber.
New York City now requires vaccination proof for indoor activities and Los Angeles is requiring everyone to wear masks indoors again. AARP published a mask requirement by state guide. Rich people have a new headache: even more rich people 😂 and apparently some of them are leaving the US. My favorite find: this company plans to help dogs live longer.
Speaking of living longer, we need to remember that we’re human and admit to ourselves that self-care is a strength - and not a weakness. So take Simone’s lead.
“We’re human […]. So, we have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do.” - Simone Biles
BTW, since the last issue, I’ve been working on addressing my limiting belief of not asking for help due to a fear of robbing others of things they (and their families) need. And I made progress thanks to Elizabeth, who pointed out that by not asking, I’m robbing people of the joy of helping me. I definitely do not want to rob anyone of joy. So, although the thought of it makes me uncomfortable, I welcome your support.
Speaking of support, I want to publicly thank Irshad for teaching Josh, new friends, and me how to create a safe space for diversity without division by encouraging courageous and honest conversations about polarizing topics, such as DEI (who knew?), religion, and politics. You reminded us of how important it is to listen to opposing views, respect them, and speak without self-censorship (which too many of us do for fear of retribution) to build bridges that bring us all forward.
Cheers to making progress together.
ICYMI: Join my AMA with Jason Calacanis's Inside team on 8/18. Featured in the More Equity podcast. Quoted in Fortune, TechCrunch, and TecNoticias. Startup-Investor Matching Tool's intros have led to 32 checks ($4+ total value).
Congrats
Rihanna became a billionaire. Reese Witherspoon sold Hello Sunshine for nearly a billion. Constance Freedman and Liza Benson raised $200M for Moderne Ventures. Jessica Lin and Jonathan Lehr raised $100M for Work Bench’s third fund. Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon raised $60M for Squire Technologies. Samir Kaji and Hana Yang raised $5M for Allocate. Feras Jalbout raised $4M for Baraka. Alex Marshall joined Silicon Valley Bank as an LP Director. Tonna Obaze joined Harlem Capital as a Chief of Staff and Investor.
SPONSORED Founders, get started with a free 14-day trial of Salesforce Essentials, the small business solution brought to you by the World’s #1 CRM. When you’re ready to buy, you’ll receive 50% off an annual subscription for up to 10 users upon checkout - a savings of up to $1,500!
Funders
HBCUvc | Aspiring underestimated VCs: apply for the HBCUvc Fellowship by 8/22
Rachel ten Brink | VCs: learn about investing in underrepresented founders
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | VCs: receive thesis-aligned customized deal flow
🌈 Are you an LP who wants to meet underrepresented GPs? Learn more about the GP-LP Matching Tool and sign-up to get intros.
SPONSORED Enterprise founders: don’t let SOC 2 block deals. Secureframe streamlines SOC 2 compliance & gets you ready in weeks rather than months. We monitor 40+ services including AWS, GCP, and Azure and can save you 50% on your audit costs and hundreds of hours of time.
Founders
Asking for a founder | Discover the best ways to identify KPIs for your startup
Asking for a founder | Learn how to reapproach investors who intially passed
All Raise | Women and non-binary founders: get your FREE fundraising masterclass
📚 Want more resources? Here are courses + services for you.
Money
The Guild | Female founders: here’s a spreadsheet of 70+ investors & 400+ resources
SoGal Foundation | Black female founders: apply for $5-$10K in grants
Asking for a founder | BIPOC founders: find several grant programs for BIPOC
iFundWomen | Female entertainment founders: apply for $10K grants
Lightship Capital | Founders: apply to Twitch Pitch for $5K and Amazon credits
1863 Ventures | Black founders: apply to get a 3Rs $5K grant
Non-dilutive capital | Create a profile to find non-dilutive capital
Equity Crowdfunding | Raise up to $5 million
👋🏽 Want investor intros? Sign-up for The Startup-Investor Matching Tool and, if you founded a community-driven co, submit to The Community Fund.
Jobs
Avala | Sr. Software Engineer, Full Stack > San Francisco, CA & Remote
Handsome App | Community Manager/Social Strategist > Austin, TX
Newark Venture Partners | Associate > Newark, NJ & Remote
💥 See all open roles here. 💥
💼 Want to post OR find a job? Visit Lolita Jobs, a board for jobs at companies founded & led by underestimated founders, here.
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