300 meetings, 80 female founders, 30 mentors, 23 funds. Cocoon Capital brings to you the 2nd Edition of Female Founders Mentoring Hours!
We are thrilled to launch the second edition of Female Founders Mentoring Hours (FFMH) following the success of Cocoon Capital’s first edition of FFMH on 21 July!
When we opened for applications in July, we didn’t expect the overwhelming interest – we were oversubscribed by an incredible 300%! Each application was as good as the next, and we wanted to give each founder the same opportunity. As such, to accommodate the remaining founders, we have now brought forward the next edition, bringing in even more mentors from the top venture capital firms all across Southeast Asia!
Held across two remote sessions on August 26 and 27, each of the 80 female founders will have the rare opportunity to meet 1-on-1 with 4 investors during the one-hour session. During each session, founders will have the chance to discuss their tech business ideas, ask for advice, and/or simply pitch for investment.
Supported by Enterprise Singapore and Amazon Web Services (AWS), we could not have done this without the commitment and dedication of our mentors as well. Reiterating our findings from the earlier posts, the venture industry has long acknowledged that there is still a huge funding gap between male and female founders. A large part of a successful fundraise is in building relationships with investors over time. Based on the success of our first event, where a majority of investors are continuing conversations with founders they have met, we believe that FFMH will give female founders a good starting point, with the chance to cultivate relationships with the best of the best early on.
The FFMH initiative is an adaptation of Playfair Capital’s Female Founders Office Hours in the UK. The investment fund has so far worked with over 300 female founders and has made the initiative permanent.
Cocoon Capital will host the online sessions on Zoom and allocate investors and founders to separate breakout rooms.
A huge thank you to all the investors who have supported us so far and to all the female founders who have already applied.
Full list of participating VC mentors
Tips and tricks for making the most of mentoring sessions
Set your goal of what you want to get out of the mentoring beforehand
Just as you set goals for every other aspect of your business, you should decide beforehand what outcomes you desire from each meeting. If you’re in fundraising mode, be succinct, capture the investor’s attention and don’t forget to ask for a 30–60 minute follow-up meeting with the investor. If you would like to get advice, make sure you have at least five questions prepared in advance.
Get to the point quickly
15 minutes is not a long time and there is surely a lot to discuss, so keep introductions to a minimum and focus on your goal. The investors would have reviewed your company profile and pitch decks beforehand, so it is important that you show confidence and clarity when speaking to the investors.
Know your audience
You are speaking to early-stage investors so understand the economies of a VC, research the investors beforehand and be confident about what you are pitching or asking. Ensure you can answer questions about your market, about you and about your vision.
For more details and guidance, check out A Guide to Getting to What You Want written by Alexandra Baranowski from Playfair Capital.
How to register
Registration for this edition of FFMH has now closed. FFMH will be held every 4 months – please follow our LinkedIn and Facebook pages and blog for updatates!
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You can follow the Cocoon team on LinkedIn, Facebook and through our newsletter. If you’re a male founder and would still like to pitch us, please submit your application for funding on our portal here.