100-day challenge to raise $1 million for female entrepreneurs in Vancouver

Raise Collective aims to increase financing for women business founders with 100-day challenge to raise $1 million for female entrepreneurs in Vancouver

Credit: Courtesy of The Raise Collective

Maggie Chan, community lead, Raise; Jill Earthy, co-founder Raise Collective, CGO of FrontFundr; Renee Safrata, WeRAISE, founder of Vivo Team; Angela Hamilton, WeRAISE, cofounder of Quupe; Sam Simonton, WeRAISE, founder of AMY Lifestyle; Merideth Schutter, WeRAISE, founder of PROtect App; Anna Heyd, WeRAISE, cofounder of Flax Sleep; Oana Papus, WeRAISE, cofounder of Flax Sleep; Vivian McCormick, WeRAISE, cofounder of Flax Sleep; Melanie Bradley, partner at Bordner Ladner Gervais and WeRAISE sponsor; Katrina Carroll-Foster, co-founder of Raise Collective and CEO of Kollectively

Raise Collective aims to increase financing for women business founders

A collective of female founders, entrepreneurs and investors is calling on Canadians to increase diversity in business by launching #WomenRAISE: a 100-day challenge to raise $1 million in capital for seven female-led companies. The campaign ends July 4.

The group works to provide easier access to capital for female entrepreneurs and to engage more women in investing in early-stage and growing companies. The #WomenRAISE initiative sets up investor meetings with female-led startups seeking investment and holds events to connect female founders and investors. Businesses spotlighted during #WomenRAISE are part of Raise Collective’s WeRAISE program for women-led ventures currently raising capital.

Entrepreneurs seeking investment include:
Angela Hamilton, co-founder and CEO of Quupe
Sarah Morgan, CEO of Nano-Lit
Sara Bartlett, founder of Parc Swimwear
Erin Millar, founder and CEO of Discourse Media

Discourse Media and Parc are opening up access to investment for all qualified individuals starting at $150. The following businesses are also starting to raise funds from a combination of debt and equity:

Merideth Schutter, founder of PROtect Smart Personal Safety
Samantha Simonton, founder and SheEOof Amy Lifestyle
Anna Heyd , Oana Papuc and Vivian McCormick, founders of Flax Sleep
Renée Safrata, CEO of Vivo Team Development

The Raise Collective was founded by: Jill Earthy, chief growth officer of FrontFundr; Katrina Carroll-Foster, CEO of Kollectively; Paulina Cameron, director, British Columbia and Yukon, Futurpreneur Canada, and author of Canada 150 Women; Sana Kapadia, chief impact officer at Spring Activator; Genevieve Pinto, partner at Renewal Funds; and Lauren Robinson, COO of Highline Beta.