The first Female Founders Pitch Summit will take San Diego by storm when it opens on May 21, 2021 because it will not be the same old funding investment opportunity. Although several organizations are trying to help women get funding for their companies, the Female Founders Pitch Summit is doing more for the women, which will, in the long run, create a movement for change. For example, the organizers of the Female Founders Pitch Summit have decided not to take an equity position.
Today, in the venture capital world, the organizers of an event usually take an equity stake in the participants’ companies, but Rose Vitale, organizer of the FFPS, decided against this approach. Taking equity will not help more women get funding, she said.
“Normally, organizers of an event take a stake. That is how they pay for the event. People make a good deal of money by charging the founders an equity, but this is wrong,” Vitale said. “How are women supposed to expand if they are giving away a portion of their funding to the organizers whose only job was to bring people together. I didn’t want that kind of event. Instead, I have pledged my own money to ensure this summit takes place. I truly want to help women succeed. I don’t want to make money just by organizing this event.”
When Vitale was at a point where she needed to expand, she tried to get capital from investors. She showed revenues of more than $5 million and hired an attorney who specialized in Securities and Exchange Commission. She also discussed options with business advisors. Despite all the good things about her company, Vitale could not get funding. The FFPS is personal for her. She wants more women to get funding to succeed unlike where she was without funding.
The sad truth is that 2.9 percent of women business owners get the funding they need to grow. But 40 percent of businesses are started by women. This is a terrible statistic, Vitale said. One she wants to change. The FFPS is poised to create real change in the venture capital industry. By not accepting equity, it will go a long way toward the change that Vitale says is necessary to happen. She is doing everything she can to make change happen and to get more women funded.
“We are doing more than having a summit,” she said. “We are creating a movement for change. We will succeed because we have great people who see our vision and mission. The summit is just the beginning.”
Founders who attend this event will be able to get real funding without having to give Vitale a cent. That is what is important.
