BCLA proudly hosted a screening of an award-winning documentary She Started It at the USC main campus on October 20th. The film followed journeys of several female entrepreneurs as they established and expanded their businesses in the tech startup industry. Attendees had the chance to learn inspiring firsthand stories of how ideas became products, how a perfect pitch is important to win investors and how failure and reinvention can eventually lead to success.
The screening was followed by a fireside chat moderated by Huixuan Liang and led by Anna Skaya, CEO & Co-Founder of Basepaws, and Marie Rippen, Ph.D., CEO of LabLaunch. Anna and Marie mentioned that in addition to challenges like raising money and pitching to venture capitalists, women entrepreneurs sometimes face unconscious gender bias. Also, to find the right business partner, Marie emphasizes trust is a must, and Anna prefers people with a complementary skill set. Anna stressed the importance of female entrepreneurs networking groups for sharing experiences, finding support and mentorship.
