Darya Allen-Attar, the founder and CEO of Women Founders Network and an Amplifying Her Voice speaker, is dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs succeed as they launch and build scalable large businesses.
In 2013 she created WFN, a virtual accelerator that holds annual fast pitch competitions and free networking events, to do just that. The network connects women entrepreneurs to capital and mentors, helping launch their businesses and increase their visibility.
Since then, the network and its members have awarded and directly invested $1.5 million in women-founded companies, and alumni of its fast pitch event have gone on to raise over $100 million.
Allen-Attar believes it’s the best path toward increasing the visibility of women entrepreneurs overall—helping them reach their highest potential, growing their influence, and empowering them to go on to help even more women in business.
“The keys are education and mentorship and connections to women leaders, angels, investors and other founders,” she says. “We are also forming a WFN alumni network for the women to tap into.”
Winners of fast pitch competitions aren’t the only ones benefiting. Courses like the upcoming “Marketing in Times of Uncertainty with Laurel Mintz,” with the CEO and founder of Elevate My Brand, help teach women at all stages about budgets, branding, entrepreneurship, and more. And the core focus of WFN is making connections to help close the gender gap in business.
“We showcase founders and allow them to connect with women leaders who can help build their access and path to success,” she says.
Allen-Attar also believes that an entrepreneurial spirit starts early—very early.
WFN focuses on planting the seeds of entrepreneurial thinking for young women with its Junior Judges program, which teaches girls in sixth through 12 grade about venture capital and venture investing.
It’s an initiative to help girls understand “the critical role that money plays in helping businesses grow,” she says. “We’re teaching girls that that role of providing the money is just as important or even more important than the process of starting businesses.”
The flagship program coincides with WFN Fast Pitch, promoting Junior Judges to “venture capitalists for a day,” a role that places them beside seasoned venture capitalists as they listen to pitches and ask questions to determine which entrepreneur to invest in. Allen-Attar says getting girls involved meaningfully helps them to understand much more and to think big earlier—and they ask some of the best questions.
The State of Women Institute and Women Investing in Women Digital partnered with the Women Founders Network and the Women Founders Foundation to specially produce “Show Her the Money,” a five-episode podcast series highlighting diverse women in venture capital as they discuss their passion for investing in female founders. The podcast is featured on the SHEQONOMI mobile app on Android, iOS, and KaiOS.
The voices on the show are notable for their passion, expertise, and devotion to investing in women—and also for their differing perspectives.
“Women in venture are few, and in order to get the capital to women founders we need more women in venture,” Allen-Attar points out. “Of course they have different points of view.”
“Show Her the Money” features interviews from women with background and experience in social and economic equity in finance, investing in technology, business law, and more. Guests discuss everything from their path to venture investing to making a meaningful impact with investing dollars.
As different as they are, the focus is on helping women—all women—succeed in business.
“We are focused on gender equity,” she says. WFN tackles systemic issues that impede women’s success or diminish their chances of progress compared to men.
Fundamental inequalities persist, she says—and part of it is the disparity in investment from women.
“Women get 2% of venture funds—but women control nearly $30 trillion in the USA. Women are not investing in women. If they were, we would have gender equity.”
WFN continues to grow and adapt to the needs of women in business; including honoring Black and Latina entrepreneurs and introducing more virtual options as everything moved online during the pandemic shutdown.
“We were fully live and went fully virtual. In the future we will be hybrid. But it was a challenge,” she says, stressing the need for sponsorships to support their efforts.
Whatever the format, Allen-Attar is passionate about the mission to connect up-and-coming women in business with powerful women who can invest money—as well as time, tools, and information—to help make their visions into realities.
“The moment has turned into a movement and now must go mainstream. Women must invest in women.”
Learn more about the Women Founders Network and the Women Founders Foundation, and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.
