The competition was a success in supporting HearstLab's mission to close the gender gap in venture capital funding.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, November 16, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Startups audvice, Quan, and Tradesnest were the big winners of yesterday’s "HearstLab Europe 100K Pitch Day" event — focused on women-led startups — which was held in Amsterdam as HearstLab’s first-ever European pitch event.

The 3 startups each go home with the coveted grand prize of €100,000 in growth capital, which will fuel their grow and development, as well as access to support from Hearst Corporation's diverse business network, including technology, data, consumer media and fintech. After a thrilling final round, the expert jury surprised all the finalists and attendees by designating not 1 winner, but 3.

Out of nearly 150 entries — primarily Dutch, but also Belgian, German and Scandinavian — 5 finalist startups were chosen by HearstLab Scouts and a professional jury, consisting of Eve Burton (Executive Vice President Hearst Corporation & Chairwoman of HearstLab, Tamara Obradov (Managing Partner at investment fund Tablomonto Ventures and co-organizer of the 100K Pitch Day), Eva de Mol (Managing Partner at investment fund CapitalT and Warner Philips (Managing Partner at investment fund Rubio). The finalists pitched their proposition one last time in front of the expert jury and an audience of 80 entrepreneurs and 30 investors.

The pitches were interspersed with 2 discussion panels, hosted by Aimee Nisbet (Head of Legal, Hearst Europe and HearstLab Scout):

1. "Different paths to successful entrepreneurship" with entrepreneurs Esther Leloux (WeAreEves), Joyce Caradonna (SightCorp), Nienke van der Leer (CreativeLab) and Lonneke Gordijn (Studio Drift).
2. "Investing through the growth phases" with experienced investors Anke Huiskes and Michiel Kotting.

Hearst Netherlands brands Quote and Harper's Bazaar were media partners of the annual European pitch event, which was hosted by Editors-in-Chief Miluska van ’t Lam and Paul van Riessen.

The winners (in alphabetical order):

1) audvice - Sophie Bolzer
Your company's audio knowledge base that helps your employees find time to get onboarded, trained & updated.

2) Quan - Arosha Brouwer
An end-to-end platform to improve wellbeing and team performance.

3) Tradesnest - Nancy Shenouda
A B2B platform simplifying innovative brands' access to global markets.

Quotes:

Eve Burton, Executive Vice President Hearst Corporation & Chairwoman of HearstLab: "A clear gender gap in funding opportunities for female led tech startups has persisted in the venture capital ecosystem for too long. HearstLab’s mission is to address these inequities and empower women-led businesses. We are so pleased with the overwhelming response to this event and the fantastic women who have participated and succeeded today."

Kenan Packman, General Manager, HearstLab Europe: “I am so excited to lead HearstLab’s re-launch in Europe beginning with today’s event in Amsterdam. We are hugely impressed with the quality and number of applicants we had for the program and cannot wait to work with today’s winners. The support and enthusiasm we received from the local investment community in the Netherlands has been outstanding, and we are clearly addressing a funding need for women-led businesses in this market."

Marscha Krouwel, CEO, Hearst Netherlands: “I am extremely proud that we were able to organize this first European pitch event in Amsterdam. The number of applications from the Netherlands and Europe was overwhelming and the quality of the startups that applied was high. Over the past period there has been intensive collaboration between HearstLab Europe and Hearst Netherlands and its brands. As a result, tonight's winners can be funded and we have been able to give more exposure to startups founded by women, again narrowing the investment gap with male-led startups."

Tamara Obradov, Managing Partner at investment fund Tablomonto Ventures, co-organizer and juror: "Investors tend to wait for proven success before investing in women-led startups. However, almost no one is willing to take a chance in the very beginning. A missed opportunity. And that's exactly what this event is about: creating a broader deal flow for women-led ventures toward the future."

About HearstLab
More than 90% of all investment money in the Netherlands still goes to male-led startups, while research shows that startups led by women — especially if they have diverse teams — perform significantly better. HearstLab's mission is to bridge the investment gap between male-led startups and female-led startups. HearstLab is an initiative of its chairwoman, Eve Burton (Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer of Hearst International). In 2019, Marscha Krouwel (CEO Hearst Netherlands) established HearstLab in the Netherlands, the first country outside the US. This year also saw the launch of HearstLab Europe, led by Kenan Packman (General Manager, HearstLab Europe). Find out more at HearstLab.com.

About Hearst Netherlands
Hearst Netherlands has 170 passionate employees who, together with an external network of content creators, influencers, photographers and digital specialists, work every day on and for top brands such as ELLE, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Quote, National Geographic, Quest, Men's Health and Runner's World. For these brands, we create leading and high-quality meaningful (branded) content that inspires and moves people. We innovate, inform and inspire and believe in guts, fun, optimism and the need for positive change. Hearst Netherlands is part of the global Hearst Corporation, with more than 360 companies and 20,000 employees active in 150 countries. Hearst Corporation is one of the two largest publishers in the world with such well-known magazine titles as Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's BAZAAR, Men's Health, Popular Mechanics and Runner's World. Intensive cooperation takes place in areas such as knowledge, data and international partnerships.

François Engelhart
Hearst Netherlands
+31 20 535 3600
email us here

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