When HAYVN first opened, founder and Chief Collaborator Felicia Rubinstein had a dream to create a woman-centric co-working space and support female entrepreneurs. Through a robust calendar of community events, programs and amenities, HAYVN enables female entrepreneurs the opportunity to connect, create and get stuff done. HAYVN HATCH is one of HAYVN’s signature events that happens several times a year and brings together over 100 people from the Tri-State area. At HAYVN HATCH you will hear five female founders boldly pitch their companies’ vision to a diverse audience made up of angel investors, VCs, educators and fans that could potentially help them with funding, marketing, and ideas to grow their business.
Where Are They Now?
Leading up to our next HAYVN HATCH event on January 24th, 2022, we wanted to check in with previous winners to see how HAYVN HATCH helped them grow as a business owner and what they are up to today!
Susan White, CEO/Founder of Turq — Winner of HAYVN HATCH, November 2019
Susan, the founder and CEO of Turq, a line of performance underwear made for movement, was the first place Judges award winner in November 2019. Susan wowed the judges with her presentation and preparedness and was also the audience’s #1 pick as well. Since winning HATCH in 2019, Susan shares, “Turq has been on a roll. We engaged an outside marketing firm to create a more robust website and ramp up our digital marketing effort. We saw a 400% increase in our direct-to-consumer sales. We’ve introduced a new Paradise Pouch® Collection which has been very well received.”
Photo courtesy of @turqsport on Instagram.
One of the biggest hurdles for many entrepreneurs is pitching to investors. Getting prepared for HAYVN HATCH requires a lot of focus and planning. Our presenters have to boil down their business plan and brand vision into a few PowerPoint slides and be ready to pitch it in less than five minutes. When a presenter is preparing to pitch to an audience, they learn a lot about themselves and grow as an entrepreneur. And there is no better feeling than having the audience align with their vision. “The most valuable takeaway from the pitch competition was having our vision validated, which fueled our confidence, and gave us the courage to take the risks required of an entrepreneur.” says Susan.
Susan’s advice for other female founders? “It’s cliché but follow your gut. Actively seek out support, advice, and guidance. Listen well to everyone, but only follow advice that is aligned with your vision for your brand.”
Veena Giridhar Gopal, CEO of Salesbeat — Winner of HAYVN HATCH, October 2020
Veena, the CEO of Salesbeat, an AI driven sales intelligence platform, was the Judge’s winner of HAYVN HATCH in October 2020. Salesbeat was also nominated as the “Most Investable Business” by our audience. Since winning HATCH, Veena shares that Salesbeat has raised a small pre-seed round of $312K. .and was oversubscribed. They also signed on three more pilot clients and relaunched their software.
“Our primary benefit we saw from HAYVN HATCH was awareness and added credibility.” Since Salesbeat is based out of the UK, the awareness they received from winning HATCH allowed them to expand their reach in the US market. Getting press and awareness is an integral part of growing a business, but it can be something that many start-ups struggle with. The benefit of pitching during HAYVN HATCH is that the presenters get to share your company with 100+ attendees. Even if they aren’t a first-place winner, getting in front of that many people can automatically expand their reach!
Veena’s tips for female entrepreneurs? “Ask for help when you need it. Build your investor and customer networks side by side. The best time to reach out to investors is when you are not raising!”
Katherine Saunders, M.D., Co-Founder of Intellihealth — Winner of HAYVN HATCH, April 2021
Dr. Katherine Saunders is the co-founder of Intellihealth, a company that is working to transform the perception and treatment of obesity at scale. Katherine was the Judge’s pick winner of our April 2021 HAYVN HATCH as well as the winner of our audience pick for “Most Investable Business”. Intellihealth was at a point in their business where they were looking for advice on scaling and Katherine captivated the judges and audience with her presentation.
What has happened since winning HATCH? Katherine shares, “We’ve made great progress on our mission to scale and democratize access to obesity treatment. We’ve expanded with our current customers, signed on new customers and built out our software. We’ve launched a remote patient monitoring platform and we’re launching our app shortly. We also started a podcast called Weight Matters that will air next month. Our software program will be part of a PCORI-funded implementation trial at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Finally, we’re closing a round of funding that we’ll announce soon.”
As a winner of HAYVN HATCH, one gains access to the HAYVN community support system – whether it is advice on your business plan from a HAYVN Maven or a feature on our HAYVN Hubcast podcast. “We’re extremely grateful to the supportive group of women associated with HAYVN. HAYVN HATCH was great exposure for us — it helped us publicize our mission and it introduced us to many potential collaborators and investors including the State of Connecticut Innovation Fund and Tidal River. I’d like to highlight Felicia Rubinstein for her support, Holly Hurd for featuring us on her VentureMom blog and Nancy Sheed for inviting me to be a guest on HAYVN Hubcast (episode coming soon!).”
Whether a HAYVN member, a HATCH presenter or an attendee, being a part of the HAYVN community has the potential to help expand business and personal connections. Katherine’s advice for other female entrepreneurs is to make the most of being in the HAYVN community, “There are many women entrepreneurs and communities like HAYVN that can offer support and connections!” she shares.
Join us at the next HAYVN HATCH
Our next HAYVN HATCH event is happening LIVE, in-person at HAYVN, on Monday, January 24th 2022 at 5:30pm. Get your tickets now to come meet the amazing founders and teams behind the five incredible new businesses that will be pitching live. As a part of our audience, you 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. Learn more here.
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.
