innovate springfield
Women in Startups and Investment
Ever wondered what it's like to invest in a startup company? Are you a founder interested in hearing about growing companies and raising money? Or do you just want to network with other women who are on their own startup journeys? Join us for a Women in Startups and Investment reception from 4:00 – 5:30 PM on Monday, November 20th at Innovate Springfield.
We're hosting a facilitated conversation with women who have started, scaled, sold, and invested in companies. You'll hear about their experiences as founders and investors. Plus, we want to hear from you about how we as a community can do more to support female-founded and owned companies AND female-led investment opportunities here in Springfield. You bring the ideas, we'll bring the complimentary beers from female-founded Rolling Meadows Brewery and appetizers + wine from female-founded caterer Artisan and Company.
Our guests of honor will share their start-up journeys and lead a discussion about investment in female-founded companies.
Guests of Honor
Anna Palmer
Co-Founder & CEO, Wondermile
Investment Partner, XFactor Ventures
Anna is currently launching Wondermile, a marketing and discovery platform that drives in-store sales by connecting the products inside of a store with the people nearby looking to purchase. Before founding Wondermile, Anna was co-founder and CEO of Fashion Project, where she scaled the company to millions in revenue, led national brand partnerships and raised multiple rounds of venture funding. With the sale of Fashion Project in 2016, Anna took over as SVP of marketing and then COO. Anna also serves as co-founder and Investing Partner of XFactor Ventures, a seed fund for the next wave of billion dollar female founders, where she focuses on retail and consumer goods innovation and marketplace businesses. She holds a J.D from Harvard Law School.
Danielle Davis
Director of Operations: Spoon University
Danielle is the Director of Operations at Spoon University, a food media company. She was involved in its first iteration in college and returned after business school and working at Google to serve as the Director of Operations at Spoon. She worked on a team of three managing Spoon's acquisition by Scripps Networks Interactive -owner of the Food Network- and continues to serve as Director of Operations in New York City. She holds an M.S. in Management Studies from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.
This event is made possible through a grant from the Communityworks fund at the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln and the generous support of Sikich.
