An AI-powered beauty matchmaking app, a medtech startup combating fluid buildup in lungs, and the world’s first-ever mochi gummy company were among the dozens of companies represented at Princeton’s third annual FemaleFounded Conference on Saturday.
Inspired by an entrepreneurship class at Princeton, Alison Lee ’24 began the FemaleFounded Conference in 2023. This year, over 100 female-identifying students, founders, executives, and investors from around the world convened for featured keynotes, seminars, networking sessions, and a startup pitch fair. Seminars ranged in topics from women’s health to snack testing.
Centered on the theme “Innovating Care: Digital Health, Human Impact,” the day-long event explored the intersection of technology and healthcare innovation and drew in the highest number of participants in all three years of the conference.
“There is only two percent of venture capital [investment] that actually goes towards women,” Susan Chen ’27, the co-director of the conference, told The Daily Princetonian, citing a statistic for companies solely started by women (the proportion of venture capital funding going to companies jointly founded by pairs or groups of women and men has increased by 37 percentage points since 2008).
“We really wanted to change this narrative and bring together a group of women who could really share their stories, connect with each other, and provide this network for female undergraduate startups.”
Many students felt the event was a valuable opportunity to network with female business leaders and provided insight into the start-up world.
“I liked the idea of spending a day surrounded by female entrepreneurs, regardless of what field they’re in,” Rayyan Rami ’29 told the ‘Prince.’
Marlee Tepper, a junior at Brock University representing the Menstrual Equity Initiative, told the ‘Prince’ that her favorite part of the event was the seminars, highlighting Mika Shino’s talk on founding Issei Mochi Gummies following a career in diplomacy.
Arushi Patel, a student at Johns Hopkins University, shared that one of her favorite moments of the conference was the fireside chat with Florence D. Hudson ’80, a talk she called “super inspirational.”
Hudson, who has worked at NASA and IBM and is currently the CEO of technology consulting firm FDHint, discussed challenges in the startup space as a woman.
Patel told the ‘Prince’ she particularly enjoyed Hudson’s advice that “sometimes, you’re your biggest enemy, and you need to be able to push yourself further, especially when other people are telling you no.”
The conference also featured an 80-minute startup pitch fair featuring over a dozen female-run startups, many of them run by student entrepreneurs. Among them were Mira, an AI-powered beauty matchmaker providing live consultations; Mycs Foods, which aims to reimagine the cracker using nutrient-dense, fermented ingredients; and Aperis, which handed out prototypes of internal catheters that help with fluid buildup in lungs.
Northwestern University seniors Lily Walters and Alessandra Magdaleno flew in for the conference to learn from seasoned executives who have succeeded in medical innovation and to give exposure to their nonprofit ProjectMED. Through mentorship programs and workshops, ProjectMED educates underserved high schoolers in the Chicago area about healthcare careers and higher education in the medical field.
“We definitely heard stories from people in our network and from high schoolers about how women are so undervalued … and we wanted to have a chance to learn more about how we can help,” Walters told the ‘Prince.’
“We are here to network, gain an understanding of what it’s like to be a nonprofit, and get our foot in the door,” Magdaleno added.
Attendees left with a strong sense of community and with connections to a diverse group of individuals working across all phases of the startup pipeline. “I’ve had fantastic discussions with investors [and] from students who were attending,” Pavana Rotti, the founder and CEO of the med-tech start-up Nervoid, told the ‘Prince.’
“Building a community — the executives talking to each other and also connecting with our attendees — is something I’m truly proud of,” Chen said. “We want to continue this legacy.”
Sena Chang is a senior News writer and Features contributor for the ‘Prince.’ She typically covers town topics and campus unions. She can be reached at sc3046[at]princeton.edu.
Lulu Mangriotis is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’ She is from New York City.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
This Week in History: A Warning for the Eating Clubs before the Res Colleges
Katharine SheaIn the fall of 1956, the University announced plans for a possible drastic change to the Princeton dormitory system. A precursor to the current residential college system, the initial proposal to include dining and social facilities in dormitories arose as a University-run alternative to the Eating Clubs. In the pages of the ‘Prince,’ a writer raised concerns about the effects such a system might have on the University’s social scene.
In the fall of 1956, the University announced plans for a possible drastic change to the Princeton dormitory system. A precursor to the current residential college system, the initial proposal to include dining and social facilities in dormitories arose as a University-run alternative to the Eating Clubs. In the pages of the ‘Prince,’ a writer raised concerns about the effects such a system might have on the University’s social scene.
Women’s basketball falls to undefeated Maryland, 84–68
Andrew KangPrinceton women’s basketball received its first loss against the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday.
Princeton women’s basketball received its first loss against the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday.
Author Rutger Bregman encourages students to rethink success as ‘moral ambition’
Katelynn LeeThe event inaugurated the pilot program of the Princeton chapter for The School for Moral Ambition’s College Network, where students work with New Jersey legislators to impact policy.
The event inaugurated the pilot program of the Princeton chapter for The School for Moral Ambition’s College Network, where students work with New Jersey legislators to impact policy.