Girls Into VC at Berkeley Newsletter #2
She Writes the Checks
With only 2% of VC funding directed at female founders, we believe it’s time for change—and it starts here. Our mission? Empowering more female VCs to invest in female founders.
This newsletter will help you master key VC concepts, explore the journeys of bold female founders and investors, stay updated on industry trends, and find curated VC opportunities.
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VC Toolkit: Due Diligence
Before you write a check, you investigate. Due diligence is how VCs protect themselves from hype and surface-level charm. It’s where great startups prove they’re more than just a pitch—and weak ones fall apart under scrutiny.
1. People First: Evaluating the Founding Team
You can change a product or a business model, but you can’t change a startup’s founding team!
Look for:
Deep industry knowledge
Realistic self-awareness of strengths/weaknesses
Bias towards action
Openness to feedback and iteration
Strong team dynamics and complementary skill sets
🚩 Red flags? Defensive attitudes, co-founder tension, buzzword-heavy pitches, or denying any competition.
💡 Would you want to have dinner with them? Would you trust them in a crisis?
2. Traction & Validation
Early stage startups don’t need to be profitable—but they do need proof they’re on the right track.
Look for:
Consistent revenue growth
Expanding user base and strong retention
Key partnerships, LOIs, or pilot programs
Expert endorsements
📊 Numbers matter—but context matters more! Always compare to industry benchmarks and stage norms.
3. Market & Timing
The best product in a tiny market? Still a no.
The best founders in a collapsing sector? Not ideal.
You want:
A massive and accessible TAM (> $1B)
Clear SOM for early traction
Product-market fit backed by actual user feedback
Strong market timing: tech trends, regulatory shifts, or consumer behavior lining up in your favor
🎯 Niche entry + expansion plan = smart go-to-market strategy
4. Legal & Regulatory Compliance
This isn’t glamorous—but skipping it can be fatal.
Check:
Clear cap table, incorporation docs, founder agreements
Valid contracts with customers, suppliers, and employees
Intellectual property protection (patents, trademarks, trade secrets)
Data privacy compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA)
Sector-specific regulations (e.g., FDA for Biotech, SEC/AML for FinTech)
🧠 Bonus points if they’ve proactively flagged risks or litigation
5. Moat & Competitive Advantage
How will they survive when the copycats come? 🛡
Look for:
Proprietary tech or unique IP
Brand power or founder reputation
Network effects or switching costs
Economies of scale
6. Financials & Business Model
Track:
Revenue growth (MoM or YoY)
Gross margins (compared to industry norms)
Burn rate + runway
MRR/ARR (for SaaS)
LTV/CAC ratio (aim for >3:1)
7. Exit Strategy
You’re not just investing in a startup—you’re betting on an 10X+ exit.
Options include:
Acquisition (by a larger player)
IPO (if market conditions align)
Merger
Management buyout
📅 Remember: VCs have a 10-year fund lifecycle. No viable exit = no returns.
Due diligence isn’t about being skeptical—it’s about being thorough. The best founders welcome hard questions. The best VCs know what to ask. Do your homework. 📝
Written by: Justine Juillard, President of Girls Into VC at Berkeley
She Builds: Stories from Female Entrepreneurs
Tessa Brown, who previously taught Writing and Social Media Studies at Stanford University, is now the CEO and co-founder of Germ Network, a social platform focused on giving users more control over their privacy. In her journey from academia to founding, she shares some key insights:
Know Your Commitment
Understanding the core motivation behind creating a startup is essential for a founder. Whether it’s solving a specific problem, achieving a financial goal, or driving social impact, founders need to be clear about their "why." Keeping focus on working towards a goal secures consistent motivation
For Tessa, it was solving the problem of the lack of control her and her students had over their presence online. "I started to understand that it would take a new business to build me and my students the kind of tools that would give us the control over our lives that technology could provide."
Do Things That Don’t Scale (At First)
Building the first 1,000 users required hands-on effort. Tessa got started by hosting events like pizza parties with her students at Stanford, Twitter spaces online, and traveling to events in San Francisco, asking connections to try the app personally. The focus wasn’t on scaling—it was about building relationships with her consumers.Trust Yourself & Your Gut
"Trust yourself and trust your gut, the same gut that you use when you're at a party—use it in business. Do not enter committed business relationships with people that you do not trust."
As a female founder, there’s often external pressure to second-guess decisions. Tessa emphasizes the importance of trusting instincts when it comes to partnerships, co-founders, or business decisions. If trust isn’t there, it’s best to simply move on—building a business is about finding the right people who share your vision and respect your expertise.Own Your Successes
Many women struggle with recognizing and celebrating their accomplishments. Women need to own their successes—whether finding success in raising a pre-seed round or building a great team.Be Selective with Partners
Partnerships in a startup are like a marriage—be mindful of who you’re committing to! Founders should never settle for relationships that don’t feel right, especially when it comes to co-founders or investors. Respect, trust, and shared vision are non-negotiable.
"You deserve the best. You deserve working with partners that you trust and who trust you, and who see your own brilliance."
What’s next? To further Germ Network’s mission, Germ is integrating with the AT Protocol, an open-source framework developed by Bluesky for building decentralized social applications. By adopting the AT Protocol, Germ is furthering their mission to empower users with greater autonomy over their data and interactions.
Tessa’s journey highlights that commitment, trust, and owning one’s achievements are the keys to startup success. Especially for female founders, it’s also about confidence in your abilities and choosing the right partners to build with.
Written by: Emile Shah, External Director of Girls into VC at Berkeley
She Invests: Stories from Female VCs
Anastasiia Brovkina on Startups, Corporations, and Venture Capital
Anastasiia Brovkina is a Managing Partner at Plug and Play, where she helps bridge the gap between cutting-edge startups and some of the world’s most influential corporations. Her journey into venture capital was fueled by a desire to work with startups, paired with a curiosity about the inner workings of large corporations.
Plug and Play offered the perfect balance of innovation: startup agility meets corporate scale. In her role, Anastasiia works closely with travel and hospitality leaders (airlines, airports, OTAs), helping them adopt startup solutions that align with their strategic goals.
Startups vs Corporations: Speed of Innovation
“For some partners, it only takes two or three months to run a pilot with a startup. For others, it can take over a year.”
One of the clearest contrasts Anastasiia sees is in the speed of innovation. Startups are eager to get their products into the hands of real users as quickly as possible, while corporations often move at a slower pace.
Startups are eager to test their solutions, and corporations want innovation. Plug and Play makes that connection smoother.
Global Reach = Smarter Innovation
One of Plug and Play's biggest advantages is its international presence, which gives it access to a diverse range of startup ecosystems. This global reach informs smarter investment decisions and allows for more tailored solutions—especially in markets where U.S.-based startups might not be the best fit.
What Makes a Successful VC
Beyond having a sharp instinct, Anastasiia notes that success in VC is about hard work and an open mind. Results often aren’t immediate but pay off over time. Anastasiia explains the significance of staying open to new ideas: “ideas that we can not imagine right now could be the next Tesla or OpenAI in 10 years.”
She also emphasizes communication and long-term relationship-building. In the VC world, a conversation you have today could open up a new opportunity five years from now.
Relationship-Building in the VC World
“In the VC world, everyone’s connected.”
There’s a friendly competition: the number of startups discovered, the number of unicorns built. But in the end, firms complement each other. Plug and Play often makes shared investments with firms like Sequoia Capital and JetBlue Ventures.
Plug and Play’s biannual summit, which attracts over 3,000 attendees, is a prime example of this collaborative spirit. VCs and startups are invited to co-invest and collaborate.
Advice to Female Founders and VCs
Visibility and community are key. The more women we see succeeding, the more we’ll feel empowered to start and lead.
Female founders and investors share powerful traits: diligence, responsibility, and persistence.
Remain resilient. Success may not come immediately, but keep pushing forward.
Advice to Her Younger Self
Reflecting on her journey so far, Anastasiia has one message to her younger self: believe.
“What I was dreaming about two years ago was nothing compared to what I have now.”
Believe in yourself, keep moving forward, and the results will follow.
Written by: Wendy Zeng, Director of Events of Girls Into VC at Berkeley & Jana Krahforst, Associate Member of Girls Into VC at Berkeley
VC Ecosystem Updates
Poppi Gets Acquired by Pepsi
Poppi. With its slightly springy, fun name, has made waves this week with its $1.95 billion acquisition by PepsiCo. What started as a kitchen experiment by husband and wife duo Allison and Stephen Ellsworth has grown into a market-disrupting powerhouse that has reshaped the soda industry. Their journey began with a simple but revolutionary idea: to create a healthier, gut-friendly alternative to traditional sodas. By infusing apple cider vinegar into their beverages, Poppi became not just a drink, but a wellness product that consumers could feel good about.
Poppi’s success can be attributed to its unique branding and marketing strategies. While most sodas are traditionally associated with sugar and empty calories, Poppi has positioned itself as a refreshing, health-conscious choice. The colorful, playful packaging is designed to appeal to a younger audience, making the brand instantly recognizable and drawing in millennials and Gen Z consumers. Its aesthetic is fun and vibrant, reflecting the wellness-driven ethos of the product. This strategic appeal has helped Poppi carve out its niche in the competitive beverage market, giving it a distinct edge over soda giants.
The brand’s marketing efforts have also included strategic collaborations with major influencers, particularly from TikTok. Figures like Alix Earle and other prominent creators have not only become vocal supporters of Poppi but also investors, adding credibility and authenticity to the brand. These influencer partnerships have helped Poppi go viral, especially among the younger demographic who trust their favorite personalities' endorsements. Moreover, the company’s recent Super Bowl commercial—one of the most-watched ads of the year—further solidified its presence, reaching millions of viewers and catapulting it to mainstream recognition.
At the heart of Poppi’s appeal is its gut-friendly formula, which has resonated with health-conscious consumers looking for beverages that contribute to their wellness. By offering a refreshing drink that is both delicious and beneficial for digestion, Poppi has positioned itself as a healthier alternative in the soda category. Its focus on clean ingredients, wellness, and gut health has made it a favorite among those seeking a better-for-you option without sacrificing flavor.
With its recent acquisition by PepsiCo, Poppi’s future is looking even brighter. This $1.95 billion deal marks a significant step in Poppi’s evolution, signaling that the brand has not only disrupted the soda industry but has also become a force to be reckoned with in the broader wellness space. As Poppi continues to grow and innovate, it’s clear that Poppi has become a long-term player within the beverage market.
Written by: Sariyya Mammadzada, Vice President of Girls into VC at Berkeley
Save The Date
On April 16, SCET is hosting the AI Summit: I-House X SCET IIR, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and industry leaders to explore the future of Artificial Intelligence and its real-world applications.
The Association of Asian American Investment Managers is hosting the AAAIM Venture Capital Summit 2025, featuring speakers like Garry Tan (Y Combinator) and Tracy Fong (General Catalyst), on Thursday, Apr 17, from 1pm - 7:30pm. Buy tickets here.
SF Climate Week is hosting a Female Founders & Funders Gathering on Wednesday, April 23, from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. Register here.
Jobs, Internships, Fellowships & More
Nido Ventures is looking for current college students who want to gain firsthand experience in venture capital (VC) across Mexico and the United States to participate in their Summer Fellowship. Apply here.
.406 Ventures is looking for new fellows to join their 2-year long Student Fellowship for founders. Click here for the application form.
What We’re Reading, Listening To, & Using
Short videos: In one of our recent meetings, we took a dive into Y Combinator’s “Startup School” Youtube series, and found many helpful tips for founders looking to grow their startups. Some seemed counterintuitive — like releasing an imperfect, incomplete product to test initially — yet highly valuable.
Podcasts:
Shares the success stories of founders who do not fit the stereotypical “Silicon Valley hustler” mold. Listen to how founders earn 7-figure salaries and sell your company!
The Strictly VC Download podcast discovers new trends in the startup ecosystem, discusses emerging industries (such as longevity!), and catches you up on all the entrepreneurial news you need to catch up on. From talking about platforms such as Nextdoor, to foreign investments in Europe, each 30-minute episode of this podcast will leave you more infomed, and more in tune with the fast-paced, buzzy VC sphere.
Delivers the most recent VC news in technology, AI, and entrepreneurship, in conversational form. Entertaining, informative, and enticing, the Equity podcast consistently puts out episodes delivering recent news in the booming tech industry.
GIVC at Berkeley Recap
Last weekend, we hosted the first Girls into VC Summit on the West Coast! We began by hosting an opening keynote by the founder of Daxe, Erika Bahr. She discussed the challenges of raising VC funding while starting her own family and the balancing act between motherhood and building impactful companies.
After our amazing speakers hosted fireside chats and roundtable discussions on different sides of the startup ecosystem—from investing to founding—we closed the event with a closing keynote from Liz Wessel at First Round Capital, who discussed the transition from being a founder to a venture partner.
Finally, we wrapped up with an exciting startup pitch competition, where five of our finalist teams took the stage! A huge thank you to our incredible judges, Krupa Adusumilli, Summer Hua, Anastasiia Brovkina, and Capella Kerst, who had the tough task of selecting the winner and runner-up to take home the $5,000 prize. Your insights and feedback were invaluable to all the teams!
A huge congratulations to our winner, Naomi Rajput, the founder of Eden, who is creating automated tools for hospitals and medical services, allowing doctors to focus on what truly matters—treating their patients. Your innovative approach will make a significant impact in healthcare, and we’re excited to see where Eden goes! See below for some tips from Naomi!
Thank you to all those who participated who helped make the summit a success. In attendance were amazing female leaders from First Round Capital, Leonis Capital, Venturous Counsel, and more. We look forward to hosting more events empowering female founders, investors, and students!
Written by: Emile Shah, External Director of Girls into VC at Berkeley
GIVC Summit Spotlight: Naomi Rajput, founder of Eden
Naomi Rajput always knew she wanted to make an impact in healthcare—so when she identified a gap in the system, she seized the opportunity to fill it.
Naomi is the founder of Eden, a startup that tackles key processes such as patient scheduling, intake, registration, and insurance verification—taking care of time-consuming tasks so that healthcare providers can focus on what truly matters: patient care.
Before founding Eden, Naomi worked at another startup where she helped design a groundbreaking protocol for asthma patients. The protocol helped patients receive faster care and preventative treatment, reducing ER visits and saving lives. After seeing the impact of her protocol, Naomi realized that she could utilize her knowledge for something even more impactful. She realized she could use her knowledge and impact to create something that could be ten times more impactful. This experience, combined with her research background, laid the foundation for Eden.
Eden was born from Naomi's personal experience as a front-office administrator. After countless conversations with her manager, she recognized a need for a healthcare system that focused more on patient care and less on paperwork. Initially, she and her co-founder worked on a different concept, but after reflecting on its viability, Naomi realized it wasn’t the right path. She told him, “I think we should do something else, a bigger fish in the sea.” That’s when Eden took shape.
Eden is targeting both B2B and B2B2C pipelines. “Using our student status, I think, was our biggest advantage,” she said. The initial traction came through Naomi’s personal and clinical networks, and she notes how so many resources were at her disposal simply because of her student status. The startup is now focusing on leveraging referral models and diversifying its sales channels. By focusing on multiple potential sales pipelines, Eden is expanding to mobile health clinics and non-physician clinical practices, ensuring they build the foundation for a steady revenue stream with primary care practices.
“I think the key here is to with any businesses to diversify your target customer as much as possible,” says Naomi, “so that you're not relying on just one.”
Naomi also spoke about the challenges she faces as a young female founder, particularly in STEM. One key challenge she highlighted is how women often undersell themselves, both personally and professionally. While scaling, networking, and looking for funding, she noticed that she was often asked many more risk-averse questions compared to her male co-founder.
For female student founders who may be in a similar position, her advice is this: “Don't underestimate the power of your impact. Don't underestimate the power of your idea. And don't underestimate the power of your contribution.”
Written by: Emile Shah, External Director of Girls into VC at Berkeley
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