Boston–TiE Boston today announced $25,000 multi-year support from Subu Kota Foundation, the biggest ever support received for the TiE Boston Women Program. This sponsorship will go towards supporting the TiE Boston Women’s Pitch Competition over the next three years (2023, 2024, and 2025).
Subu Kota, who is also the Founder and CEO of The Boston Group, is a highly successful
serial entrepreneur and angel investor. Mr. Kota has been a long term supporter of events
and programs that support women and he recently committed to invest $100k in women
founded companies in Brazil, at the TiE Global Retreat in Rio.
On the occasion, Subu Kota, Chair of the Foundation said, “I have always been passionate
about making a difference in our community and providing opportunities and resources to
women. I am excited to partner with TiE Boston towards multi-year support of this program
and to make a meaningful impact by levelling the playing field for woman-owned small
businesses in our New England region.”
Yash Shah, President of TiE Boston, said “We are thrilled and very grateful to the Subu Kota
Foundation for this multi-year grant. Through this pitch competition, we look forward to
offering two critical supports women-owned businesses often struggle to find or ask for:
mentorship and capital. The multi-year grant enables us to actualize our mission of fostering entrepreneurship for women.”
The TiE Boston Women’s Program is also supported by a partnership with PTC, who will host the final pitch competition at the PTC Headquarters in Seaport, Boston on August 30th, 2023. The competition will be followed by a tour of the PTC Labs and a networking
reception. The event’s grand finale will be the announcement of the Boston Winner and two
Runners Up.
Sangeeta Moorjani, Chair of the 2023 TiE Boston Women’s Program said, “We are delighted
to join forces with PTC for this inspiring pitch contest. The Women’s Pitch Competition
serves as a platform to connect an extensive network of women-owned companies with
successful entrepreneurs in New England who are part of the TiE Boston eco-system. Our
mission extends beyond deciding the competition winner; we are committed to offering
comprehensive support as these women-led companies navigate their journey forward. We
firmly believe that when women-owned companies thrive, they become catalysts for job
creation and become integral players in fostering robust local economic growth.”
TiE Boston’s 2023 Women Pitch Competition announced the shortlisted companies last
week. The original applicants were narrowed down to six finalists by 11 highly competent
screeners. The finalists will pitch to a live audience on Aug 30th, and a panel of judges will
select the winner who will represent TiE Boston at the TiE Women Global Finals in
Singapore. The finalists will also gain visibility and exposure to leading early-stage venture
capitalists, angel investors and business executives who are judging the event.
Rakesh Kamdar, Vice Chair of the TiE Global Board of Trustees and Treasurer for TiE Boston,
said “The TiE Women Global Pitch Competition is on a mission to advocate, connect, and
empower women entrepreneurs to thrive through the power of collaboration and
mentorship. It creates new pathways for women entrepreneurs by exposing participants to
the hard-to-find details needed to successfully establish sourcing, analyze data, enter into
markets, raise capital and close investment deals. I am personally delighted that the Boston Chapter has been able to forge support from the Subu Kota Foundation and from PTC, as this will enable the participants to get global visibility.”
The finalists, who seek to address a host of issues with innovative solutions to make our
lives easier, happier, healthier, and more productive, include:
Joanne Mercaldi, Co-Founder of Bloom
Leila Daneshmandi, Co-Founder and COO of Encapsulate
Dr Ruchi Chauhan, Co-Founder and COO of NonExomics Inc
Lori Sylvia, Founder and CEO of Rally
Nathalya Mamane, Founder and CTO of RT MicroDx
Andrea Crewe, Founder and CEO of Vitaliti
The First Place Winner will represent TiE Boston at the TiE Women Global Pitch
Competition in Singapore and compete for $50K of equity-free money and $1m in
investments.
