A 60-second video pitch wins a three-year-old nonprofit $10,000 to help build the largest talent pipeline of Black women in STEM fields in Africa and beyond.
SEATTLE, April 6, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Voodle, a video messaging platform for the workplace, announced the winner of its first-ever founder grant, the Voodle Visionaries Grant Contest. Diana Wilson, founder and CEO of Yielding Accomplished African Women (YaaW), prevailed over almost 300 applicants and 10 finalists to receive the $10,000 grant, announced at a GeekWire Studios Virtual Event. Two other finalists, Allison Breininger with The Negative Space and Sharen Eddings with Virtual Spy Room, were surprised with $2,500 grants.
"A lot of us are talking about inclusion and belonging, and at Voodle we're building a product to equip everyone to genuinely be seen and heard, but this is so much bigger than any single organization or any one product," said Rachel Lanham, chief customer officer at Voodle. "We need a diverse and thriving ecosystem of startups that are creating the solutions of the future. Last year, only 2% of funding went to solely women-led start-ups and only 1.2% to Black founders. The Voodle Visionaries Grant is our small way of creating change."
The Voodle Visionaries Grant Contest was open to all female, non-binary, or BIPOC founders who submitted a 60-second video pitch (or "voodle") about how their company is changing the future of work. The top 10 vote-getting voodles moved to the judging round. The winner was announced during an online event that featured the finalists' 60-second pitch videos and a lively panel discussion on equity in funding. Event hosts included Nancy Poznoff, Kingston Marketing Group founder and CEO, Priyanka Mitra, Principal at M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, Maria Gilfoyle, Investor at Madrona Venture Group, and AJ Yawn, ByteCheck founder and CEO.
"Diana is helping to create the future of work by working to build the largest talent pipeline and online community of African women in STEM," said Priyanka Mitra, competition judge. "The panel is thrilled to recognize her organization with this grant and support its vital mission. All Voodle Visionaries Grant participants are doing amazing work to nurture a more inclusive future. Hearing their unique stories in their voices was a powerful and authentic way to connect with each entrant."
"I founded Yielding Accomplished African Women with an ambitious mission to invest in the uninvested: Black college women in STEM fields," said Wilson. "Creating a voodle was not only fun but ignited our interest in sharing our story via short video format. Voodle has inspired us to create a new marketing strategy, sharpen our pitch and hone in on our unique value proposition! We are beyond grateful for this grant and this opportunity. Voodle has catapulted our impact through their implicit and explicit support! This means so much to our community, our vision, and our hope for a more diverse future of work."
Yielding Accomplished African Women is a nonprofit organization building the largest online career community and talent pipeline of Black college women in STEM, and a place where hundreds of young women are building their careers. Founded three years ago, the organization has quickly gained traction, training over 2000+ women in 16 countries and expanding its online reach to more than 9k+ followers.
The Voodle Visionary Grant was co-sponsored with funding from Kingston Marketing Group. View the contest entries here: https://voodle.com/grant.
About Voodle
Voodle is the relationship-based video messaging platform that connects you with the candidates, clients, colleagues, and collaborators who keep your business moving forward. Purpose built for the future of work, Voodle's short asynchronous video chats and posts can bring the baseline level of trust, empathy, and context that we enjoy in many of our social communications, to our work. Voodle is backed by Madrona Venture Group, Vulcan Ventures, Raine Ventures, and the corporate venture groups from Microsoft, Cisco, and Hearst. Learn more at https://voodle.com.
About Kingston Marketing Group
Kingston Marketing Group is an integrated marketing and communications consulting agency for brands with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our deep in-house experience and thoughtfully curated teams help companies bring their vision to life. We use an integrated and data-driven approach to build enduring brands and drive measurable business results. Kingston Marketing Group was founded by former corporate executives Katie Curnutte and Nancy Poznoff. Learn more at https://www.kingstonmarketing.group.
Media Contact
JZ Rigney, Voodle, 1 5103347328, [email protected]
SOURCE Voodle
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