Companies to Watch - March 15, 2019

Five Female-Founded Companies to Watch

March 15, 2019 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Five Female-Founded Companies to Watch

Happy Women’s History Month! We’re so glad to be a part of a community with so much to celebrate: NYC’s WE Venture initiative announced $35 million in

for women entrepreneurs; Human Ventures CEO Heather Hartnett announced a $50 million

; Reshma Saujani’s new book

is already hitting bestseller lists; Amanda Eilian’s fund for women entrepreneurs announced the

; and women.nyc is erecting

honoring women visionaries across NYC.

All of this is welcome news where there is still lots of work to be done—last year, female founders received

of the $130 billion invested by venture capitalists. We’re glad to be working with so many of our tech leaders and policymakers to really invest in women-led businesses and foster a culture that reflects our community and city at large.

With that, we’re excited to team up with our friends at WeWork to spotlight five women-founded Companies to Watch working out of their spaces across the city. Get a taste of their accomplishments below, and

for the full post.

P.S. Know an outstanding woman entrepreneur more people should hear about? Nominate them to the Crain’s Notable Women in Tech list

by March 22.

Healthy Bytes

What does your company do?Healthy Bytes founder and CEO Amy Roberts: We help dietitians get set up with and paid by medical insurance.Unlike many industries, women dominate the nutrition profession. Has this helped alleviate some of the friction associated with being a female founder?AR: Unfortunately, no. If anything, the friction is magnified. We’ve helped hundreds of women start their first private practice. However, our clients aren’t always taken seriously by investors and others outside the field. Nutrition as a whole is often overlooked. It’s viewed almost like a hobby, despite being a huge market that directly impacts one of the biggest drivers of our economy: healthcare. Our dietitians are dedicated business owners and professionals, and we take them seriously by providing tools for them to grow and deliver care to their patients.Hopscotch

What does your company do?Hopscotch co-founder Jocelyn Leavitt: Hopscotch is a kid's programming app. It’s a simple programming tool that kids can go on, and within a few minutes, build a game. It’s an open-ended tool with embedded video tutorials, so they can publish and share what they build within a community of other kids also sharing games and software projects they’ve made.Before founding Hopscotch, you spent a few years as a history teacher, and then more than five in the real estate finance world. What about teaching drew you back when it was time to found a company?JL: I've always been very interested in education—how you get good ideas out and give people the right tools for thinking about the world. And I think you can do that in a lot of different ways. You can do that as a teacher in a classroom; you can do that as be creating popular consumer software. They both come from the same instinct for me. 

Oculogica

What does your company do?Oculogica president and CEO Rosina Samadani: Oculogica builds non-invasive, FDA-authorized diagnostics that have never been built before!Before launching your companies, you worked at McKinsey as a leader in the healthcare practice. How essential do you think breadth of experience is for someone looking to start a company?RS: It’s important, but there are other things that really help also. McKinsey gave me a phenomenal network. I was there for seven years, and even last week former colleagues of mine were providing introductions. It also gives you an instant credibility that you carry with you forever. It can help get you in a door.  And sometimes inexperience is actually a good thing! If you knew all the hurdles you might not actually start something! 

HelloAva

What does your company do?HelloAva co-founder and CEO Siqi Mou: HelloAva is the first tech-enabled personalization beauty experience to disrupt the $200bn+ beauty industry worldwide, combining AI and expert dermatology expertise.

HelloAva combines artificial intelligence with what you call “the human element.” As AI and machine learning continue to evolve, what do you think the appropriate human vs. machine balance is?SM: For beauty purchases, it is quite aspirational and emotional so machine learning should never completely replace the human element to build emotional connections. That being said, AI works a lot better in leading customers to the right sets of products and it’s much more accurate and efficient than human recommendations. It takes out all the trails and errors and can solve the problem of “not knowing what fits me”. We couple this with the human expertise to make the experience both scientifically accurate and emotionally nourishing so that customers feel supported, understood, and cared for. When we started we are around 50/50 (50% AI and 50% human), and now we’ve improved to automation to close to 80%.  

What does your company do?Blingby founder and CEO Marcia Favale: Blingby makes digital content from video, live stream, ad tech, and more interactives, increasing engagement through a sense of discovery. We create a shoppable hub of products, ideas and experiences.You’ve spent over a decade in another realm of the corporate world, as a board member of various financial institutions. How does serving as a director support your work in the C-suite?MF: There is no substitute for experience. The experience you gain from being a board member is of paramount importance because execution is key. As a board member, I have been able to delve into the inner workings of management, analyze the same, and construct frameworks for success. I take this experience and directly apply the insight and discipline to the C-suite.Join Us

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