HAYVN HATCH meets HAYVN LAUNCH for a Women Founder Pitch Night in Fairfield County, CT

Join fellow entrepreneurs, funders and growth partners on July 19th for our ninth HAYVN HATCH — a unique women-centric pitch night in Darien, CT, designed to support women founders and women-owned businesses in Fairfield County. Here’s how you can join us!

HAYVN HATCH pitch night, which occurs four times a year, is always a fun and inspirational event. This year, for the first time, the members of HAYVN LAUNCH’s small business incubator program will be featured at the HATCH event. HAYVN’s incubator course, one of our signature programs, is designed for women founders and women founders of color to help make the next big idea a reality, develop skills and pursue funding.

One of the things that makes this HATCH event so special is that the stakes are higher for presenters with the winner’s award increased to $5,000 cash. In addition, audience members can also “invest” in these companies as “angel investors” through a multiple-option ticket purchase structure that allows attendees to contribute additional dollars to founders and companies that impress them.

“At HAYVN, when women entrepreneurs come together, magic happens in all aspects of their lives. It can be lonely being an entrepreneur, isolation can be a dreamkiller, but when you are around other women, who are also changing the world with their work, you thrive. It is so important to support more female founders in our communities. Now, we’re ready to welcome the Fairfield County community – and beyond – back into our HAYVN coworking space to support our newest batch of women-led startups,” noted HAYVN Founder and Chief Collaborator, Felicia Rubinstein.

Meet our Presenters

Why Is HAYVN HATCH Important?

The kind of exposure HAYVN HATCH offers women founders is instrumental in the development of new women-owned small businesses. There is clearly an underserved market, one only needs to look at the numbers.

From here to Silicon Valley, female entrepreneurs’ share of venture capital comprises less than 3% of the total money invested in businesses. Minority women entrepreneurs’ share is even less, only 1%. Accelerators, incubators, pitch events and even social platform’s like Clubhouse are changing this for women with a business idea.

HATCH’s program is organized by VentureMom.com, Realist Ventures, P Garyn Productions, and HAYVN Coworking with the support of Christine Sullivan from CTSBDC and CTNEXT. What do the organizers have in common? HAYVN has provided them a platform for their vision. They are all women-founded ventures that share a vision of helping other women business owners in Fairfield County – and beyond – with funding, marketing, exposure, and growth.

Based in part on their collaborative vision, HAVYN has been a hub of resilient activity for members and coworkers throughout the lockdown. The HAYVN network more than doubled this past year.

Felicia, said of the event, “This next HAYVN HATCH will be an extra-special evening because it’s our first live pitch event at our female-focused coworking space since Spring of 2020.”

The first several HATCH events were held in-person at HAYVN, but organizers had to pivot to virtual events for safety reasons as the COVID pandemic took hold. Despite the format change, the last four HAYVN HATCH pitch nights were a massive success — they were well attended online and attracted a much larger audience including a significant international presence.

HAYVN HATCH events include some food and refreshments which enhances the experience of coming together again (especially after COVID shutdowns).

Our food and beverage sponsors are local businesses in our community. We thank them for their sponsorship and are proud to share their exciting offerings to the HAYVN HATCH audience and participants.

Some of our sponsors are also past presenters at HATCH, further extending our connection to the community.  

How Does HAYVN HATCH Support Women Founders?

HAYVN is a Certified B Corporation™ and believes when women entrepreneurs and small business owners come together, great things happen grow out of that special collaboration. The women founders presenting from the initial HAYVN LAUNCH incubator program are just one example of how HATCH supports female founders.

“In the beginning of 2021, we asked for women to apply to be part of the initial incubator which we called HAYVN LAUNCH.  From a strong applicant pool, we chose 6 businesses founded and run by women. 30% of our first cohort were businesses founded by women of color,” Rubinstein adds.

All the presenters will pitch for a chance to win prizes and exposure for their female-founded businesses. They will compete for access to venture capital, marketing assistance, and introductions to other pitch competitions.

The first-place winner of the this HAYVN HATCH will receive:

• Funding: Besides the prize money above, the audience also has the opportunity to invest in these founders as HAYVN’s own angel investors through several ticket purchase options.
• Exposure: HAYVN HATCH presenters pitch in front of an audience of more than 100 people which includes VC’s, angel investors, friends of HAYVN, and HAYVN members.
• Growth: The HAYVN LAUNCH founding team will be making introductions to other pitch opportunities. Finalists also can have opportunities to network with other funders.

A Startup Incubator Can Make a Real Difference

HAYVN LAUNCH, the incubator, and the HATCH competition together demonstrate a commitment to helping female founders grow with a thoughtful prize package featuring professional guidance and support from a range of specialists. Members receive:

• Office Space: A one-month BRANCH membership provided by HAYVN founder Felicia Rubinstein
• Funding Strategy: Strategic growth strategy guided by Marie Rocha, founder of Realist Ventures
• Video Strategy: A one-hour session with Kendra, founder of P Garyn Productions
• Press: A feature in the com blog and a half-hour consultation courtesy of founder Holly Hurd
• Strategy and Finance: Strategic goal setting with Christine Sullivan, Business Advisor with the Connecticut Small Business Development Center
• More prizes to build and grow a business

More about HAYVN LAUNCH Incubator for Women-Led Businesses in Fairfield County

HAYVN LAUNCH’s goal started with a desire to help women secure growth capital by providing education, mentorship, a women-focused coworking space, an investor network, and resources and tools to take their businesses to the next level with a practical and hands-on approach to building the deliverables investors expect.

Felicia added, “…also important were the confidence-building workshops. We had experts share presentation skills strategies, as well as how to handle investor questions and challenging situations during the capital raise process.”

HAYVN has received rave reviews from the women who participated in HAYVN LAUNCH …..and some have already made progress in raising capital. In fact, two companies are in due diligence with CT Innovations to build their proof of concepts and one is being reviewed for an SBIR grant.

During the ten week course, LAUNCH participants learn how to develop pitch decks and create financial projections. Topics include:

• Elevator pitch
• Business model canvas
• Problem statement
• Market analysis
• Competitive assessment
• Business model
• Go-to-market strategy
• Customer acquisition plan
• Financial projections
• Valuation & deal terms
• Confidence and presentation skills
• Presentation resources

The next HAYVN HATCH pitch night on July 19th begins at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m. Join us for a night of support for women founders.

HAYVN Coworking

Founded in 2018, HAYVN is a flexible workspace for enterprising women (and men) to connect, create and grow. Along with a vibrant & engaged coworking community of entrepreneurs and business professionals, HAYVN is a business HUB, offering short- and long-term office space leases, meeting rooms rentals, and events to support local businesses. HAYVN is proud to be a Certified B Corporation™ and a CTNext partner. We believe in using the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy and have met the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. HAYVN’s workshops and signature programs encourage women of all colors and ages and acts as an incubator for developing skills and pursuing funding. HAYVN Launch incubator is a 2021 winner of the SBA's Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC), and the only 2021 winner in Connecticut. 

Visit our beautiful safe ‘HAYVN’ in Fairfield County, CT  at 320 Boston Post Road, Darien, CT, 06820.  Arrange a private tour today, or to learn more about our health and safety response, read through our detailed guidelines here.