Women’s Venture Summit Returns to San Diego with Expanded Opportunities for Women Founders to Access Capital

Women’s Venture Summit returns to San Diego Nov. 2-5 with seven Women’s Fast Pitch finalists and new paths to capital through Wefunder, Kiva and Women in Cloud.

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The 13th annual gathering introduces new pathways to investment through Wefunder, Kiva and Women in Cloud, alongside seven Women’s Fast Pitch finalists competing for a $45,000+ growth package.

Under the theme Rise & Fund: Women Continuing the Charge, this year’s Summit is placing an even greater emphasis on turning investor connections into funding opportunities. WVS brings together women founders, investors and industry leaders for four days of programming focused on expanding access to capital and accelerating the growth of women-led businesses. Through a reimagined Women’s Fast Pitch competition, a Wefunder-supported investment syndicate, Kiva crowdfunding opportunities and a technology-focused pitch competition, WVS is expanding the ways women entrepreneurs can connect with capital.

“We are determined. Women founders do not need another room full of applause. They need true advocates and investors ready to take action,” says Dr. Silvia Mah, founder of Women’s Venture Summit & Professor at Biola University. “For over a decade, Women’s Venture Summit has helped activate more than $200 million in capital for women entrepreneurs, yet women-founded startups still receive less than 2% of venture capital funding. Our work is far from done. This year, we’re launching the WVS investment syndicate, mobilizing investors around seven equity crowdfunding deals and turning a moment into a movement. We are committed to catalyzing the human, relational and financial capital women founders need to flourish.”

Seven Women Founders Advance to Women’s Fast Pitch Finals

A centerpiece of this year’s Summit is the national Women’s Fast Pitch (WFP) competition, which has evolved to provide founders with opportunities extending beyond the competition stage.

From an initial pool of 282 applicants, 31 semifinalists were selected and an October 1 national virtual pitch event picked 13 regional finalists. After rigorous judging deliberations, seven founders advanced to present their businesses in person at WVS:

1. Rachell Dumas, HEARD — Southeast
2. Meghan Wood, Raya Power — Wild Card
3. Jane Lim, Thallus Foods — Southwest
4. Juliana Di Simone, Forela Health — Southwest
5. Elizabeth Tomon, LOO — Midwest
6. Katerina Boukin, Flood Dynamics — Northeast
7. Cleo Escarez, Redyoos — Northwest

The 2026 Women’s Fast Pitch champion will receive a growth package valued at more than $55,000, including $25,000 in legal services from Cooley, at least $10K investment by two female angel investors, Lex Lewis from Here We Rise & Dr. Silvia Mah of She Invests Capital, $10,000 in marketing support from Maresa Friedman, $10,000 in advisory services from Dr. Silvia Mah, and a company spotlight through Marble Collective.

“After years of attending, speaking, and advocating for the Women’s Venture Summit, I knew 2026 was the year to go all in as co-host and fiscal sponsor through Here We Rise. With women projected to control $34 trillion in U.S. investable assets by 2030, we have an extraordinary opportunity to turn wealth into meaningful investment and impact. Having invested in past Women’s Venture Summit founders, I’m proud to join my longtime co-investor, Dr. Silvia Mah, in each committing at least $5,000 to this year’s winner. We’re putting capital to work and creating a ripple effect for generations to come.” -Lex Lewis, Angel Investor and Founder, Here We Rise

Through Wefunder, the finalists will also have opportunities to pursue equity crowdfunding campaigns, potentially raising $10,000 each for a total of $70,000+ managed by the WVS syndicate. The initiative is designed to extend investor engagement beyond the competition and help founders build relationships with potential financial backers.

Creating More Pathways to Capital

In addition to Women’s Fast Pitch, the Summit is introducing multiple opportunities for entrepreneurs to access funding and connect with investors.
Women in Cloud, founded by Chaitra Vedullapalli, will also host Frontier Tech Meets Capital, an investor presentation featuring women entrepreneurs building deep-tech companies at the intersection of AI, robotics, energy, health and blockchain. Investors go beyond the pitch to examine each company’s technology, enterprise opportunity, risks and mitigation strategies, leadership, go-to-market approach and investor readiness, gaining more confidence to invest. The presentations take place Tuesday, November 3, and one company will be selected to advance to Wednesday’s competition for additional investor exposure. Companies that will be showcased: Flite AI, Symphony Space, BulletTrain.ai, Book with Eva, Dionysus Healthcare, and Invi Grid Inc.

Through a Kiva crowdfunding activation, two San Diego entrepreneurs, Regina King, founder of Soul Scent, and Maria-Nicole Marino, founder of Panic Panties, will have opportunities to pursue crowdfunded loans.

These initiatives reflect WVS’s commitment to meeting founders at different stages of growth and recognizing that access to capital requires more than a single funding model.

“Women-owned businesses face a $1.9 trillion financing gap, according to the International Finance Corporation. The Frontier Tech Meets Capital experience, part of Women in Cloud’s FoundHerWorld economic-access pathway, closes that gap with depth, not hype. Investors go beyond the pitch to understand each company’s competitive advantage, how leadership mitigates risk and commercial readiness, and they leave with the confidence to invest in women building the future of deep tech solutions.” -Chaitra Vedullapalli, Founder and President, Women in Cloud, and U.S. Delegate to the Women 20 (W20) for G20.

Connecting Women Founders, Investors and Industry Leaders

Beyond its capital-focused programming, WVS 2026 will feature keynote conversations, interactive workshops, panel discussions and curated networking opportunities for launching and scaling entrepreneurs, emerging angel investors and experienced capital providers. Featured speakers include Lolita Taub, General Partner at Ganas Ventures, who will explore the unwritten rules of startups, capital and entrepreneurship; Miki Agrawal, founder of THINX and TUSHY, who will share her playbook for building brands around taboo topics at scale; Geri Stengel, longtime Forbes contributor and women’s entrepreneurship expert, who will lead a fireside conversation on women in artificial intelligence; and Cheryl K. Goodman, Chief Strategy Officer at Events.com, who will present Seen by Humans, Read by Machines: The Future of the Internet and Commerce.

Additional speakers include Lucy Postins, founder of The Honest Kitchen; Sarah Davis, founder of Fashionphile; two-time Olympian and 7s rugby player Ariana Ramsey, who will share insights in Don’t Wait, Start Now; Ali Wyatt, co-founder of Female Founders Collective, who will lead an authentic conversation; and Amy Reischauer of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who will discuss the economic landscape and newly released data relevant to entrepreneurs and investors.

The Summit is supported by a coalition of organizations committed to advancing women in entrepreneurship and investment, including Here We Rise, She Invests, Women in Cloud, GCWC and the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL).

Ahead of the Summit, WVS will host a virtual Angel Academy on October 29, offering Investing 101 and 102 sessions for both aspiring and experienced investors. Supported by Tidal River Fund and She Invests and its nine-module educational curriculum, the program will feature Dr. Silvia Mah and Chris Gelnow.

Continuing the Charge for Women and Capital

With one in four women in the United States planning to start a business in 2026, according to Intuit QuickBooks research, the entrepreneurial momentum is undeniable, but the urgency to unlock capital, expand access to investment, and turn women’s ambitions into economic impact has never been greater. Now in its 13th year, WVS is building on the foundation of building capital bridges between entrepreneurs and the investors who fund them with a stronger emphasis on helping founders translate visibility, connections and investor interest into tangible opportunities for business growth.

The 2026 Women’s Venture Summit will take place November 2–5 at the Cooley campus in La Jolla, San Diego.

The Summit is sponsored by The Impact Seat Foundation, and Cooley, San Diego Imperial County Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Holland & Knight, First Citizens Bank, Bennett Thrasher CPA, Tidal River Fund, Bizz Bitch, SVAR Accounting & Consulting Solutions, Marble Collective, Edward Jones, Nordstrom, Events.com, Rose Bowlus Law, Red Admiral Ventures, Snell & Wilmer, Foley Hoag, HVM Communications, Knobbe Martens, EyePop.ai, Halogen Ventures, Rising Tide Partners, Kieretsu Forum Socal.

For registration, the full agenda and additional information, visit www.womensventuresummit.org.

About the Women’s Venture Summit

Founded in 2012, Women’s Venture Summit (WVS) is a mission-driven initiative dedicated to expanding access to capital for women-led startups and empowering more women to become confident, informed investors. Now in its 13th year, WVS has helped facilitate more than $200 million in fundraising by connecting founders with investors, education, and opportunities that accelerate business growth and wealth creation. WVS operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Here We Rise, a nonprofit organization committed to empowering women to build, own, and steward their wealth through financial education, investment literacy, and diversified, purpose-driven portfolios. Together, we envision a future where women are not only building innovative companies but also actively participating in investment decisions, capital allocation, and long-term wealth creation. Through meaningful relationships, hands-on investor education, and intentional dealmaking, WVS transforms access into opportunity and empowers women to activate capital for lasting economic impact.

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Press Contact:
Rachel Albert
rachel@h-vm.com
HVM Communications

Silvia Mah
Women’s Venture Summit
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