Springboard knows that when one woman succeeds, we all do. Springboard is a trusted global network of entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors accelerating the success of accomplished, entrepreneurial women leading technology and life sciences companies.
We are a 501c3 not for profit organization with the mission to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurial companies led by women through access to essential resources and a global community of experts. What’s more, Springboard’s specialized accelerator programs enable women to build the strategic infrastructure their business needs to break out and break through.
There is no boundary or limit to the opportunities that come when we invest in women. Join us as we build a future where every woman entrepreneur has what she needs to lead and succeed.
When one woman succeeds, we all do. We’re exclusively focused on providing women-led companies an equal opportunity for funding, resources and the network required to take their companies to the next level.
A community that helps build companies. Our trusted community of specialized advisors, investors and industry leaders help women entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses.
Break out and break through. Our accelerator programs combine high-value live events and a ‘personal advisory team,’ providing the relevant expertise and connections to support women transforming industries.
Helping women raise and rise. Our Dolphin Tank® pitch events offer entrepreneurs actionable insights and resources from knowledgeable people in the community. It’s not about sharks or piranhas but rather, “How can we help?”
Springboard Programs
Specialized programs for promising technology and life sciences companies that serve as the entry point into Springboard’s community of world-class entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders.
Springboard’s events are special events where we share, support, celebrate and showcase women-led companies driving technology innovation and shaping our global future. Join us at an upcoming event near you!
Springboard’s Healthcare & Technology Innovation Program combines high-value events and workshops with an impactful community. Selected participants are matched with a personal advisory team who provide relevant expertise and connections in support of women transforming the healthcare industry.
Springboard’s retail technology program is in partnership with the New York Fashion Tech Lab. This program facilitates relationships between growth-stage tech companies and global retailers. Advisors and experts partner with women-led companies at the intersection of tech, fashion and retail.
Springboard’s Dolphin Tank pitch events offer entrepreneurs actionable insights and resources from industry experts and investors. The Dolphin Tank focuses on one thing: “How can we help?” The objective is to provide connections and advice to enable entrepreneurs to overcome their challenges and capitalize on their opportunities.
Springboard’s Women’s Health Innovation Program is for women-led companies with a primary focus on advancing innovations in women’s health. Companies selected for this program are coupled with experts and advisors who are charged with providing guidance and positive impact on the business’ next stage of growth.
SBE Australia is a program for early-stage women-led technology companies headquartered in Australia with global market aspirations. Companies selected for the program are selected from a wide range of backgrounds and industries.
Special events where we share, support, celebrate and showcase women-led companies driving technology innovation and shaping our global future.
Canva Co-Founder & CEO, Melanie Perkins is an Alumna of Springboard’s SBE Australia 2013 Innovation cohort. Perkins’s vision to develop an online design and publishing tool positions her as one of the youngest female CEOs of a tech start-up valued at over $1 billion. Canva is armed with a mission to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere. The easy-to-use platform is used across global companies and startups alike. Based in Sydney, Australia Canva has 60+ million monthly active users in 190 countries.
In 2021, Canva raised $200 million at a $40 billion valuation, making it the world’s fifth-most valuable private startup.
Springboard is proud to call Melanie an Alumna of Springboard because of her continued vision to empower the world of design.
Melanie Perkins
Co-Founder & CEO
Canva
Robin Chase is the Founder and CEO of Zipcar, the largest car sharing company in the world. Robin is an Alumna of Springboard’s New England Innovation cohort in 2000.
Robin co-founded Zipcar in 2000 and co-wrote its first business plan after hearing about a car-sharing venture in Europe. Zipcar disrupted the transportation industry by allowing customers to book cars on demand by the hour or day. Zipcar went public in 2011 and was later acquired by Avis Budget Group in 2013.
We are proud of Robin’s continued dedication to transportation innovation and her thought leadership across transportation, entrepreneurship, and technology innovation.
Robin Chase
Founder & CEO
Zipcar
Gail Goodman is the former Chairman, President, and CEO of Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT), and is a prestigious Alumna from Springboard’s 2000 New England Innovation cohort. Gail startedConstant Contact (then Roving Software) which enables users to engage email marketing campaigns and nurture customer relationships.
In her 16-year tenure as CEO, Gail led the company to a successful IPO in 2007. She left the company shortly after its acquisition by Endurance in 2016 for $1.1 billion. She continues to be an innovator and we are proud of Gail’s continued commitment to making a better world through inclusive entrepreneurship.
Gail Goodman
Chairman, President & CEO
Constant Contact
E-Commerce pioneer, Julie Wainwright is the founder and CEO of The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL). Julie is an Alumna of Springboard’s All Things Media 2008 Innovation Cohort and the recepient of Springboard’s 2016 Northstar Award. The Real Real is an online marketplace for authenticated, consigned luxury goods. The company uses a rigorous authentication process to provide a safe and reliable platform for consumers to buy and sell their luxury items.
As a sustainable company, The RealReal gives new life to pieces by brands such as Gucci to Cartier by providing accessible consignment to shoppers 60 countries across the globe. The RealReal went public in 2019 with a $2.3 billion valuation.
We are proud of the work Julie is doing to disrupt the fashion industry through the continued innovation at The RealReal.
Julie Wainwright
Founder & CEO
The RealReal
Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ: AURA) founder Elisabet de los Pinos, PhD is an Alumna of Springboard’s Life Sciences Innovation 2012 cohort. Her vision to develop a VDC technology platform to treat cancer tumors has positioned Aura as a market leader in the urologic and ocular oncology space.
Aura is working to establish a new standard of care through a new class of oncology targeted therapies that deliver meaningful therapeutic benefits to a range of cancer indications with high unmet need. They are driven by a passion and commitment to science and especially the patients battling cancer who are relying on these new therapies. Aura went public in 2021.
We are proud of our Springboard Alumna Elisabet de los Pinos and her courageous and innovative work.
Elisabet de los Pinos
Founder & CEO
Aura Biosciences
ArgaQuest founder and CEO, Pamela Marrone is an Alumna of Springboard’s Silicon Valley 2004 Innovation cohort. She founded ArgaQuest in 1995 with the purpose to develop environementally friendly products for pest management. heir green products control a broad spectrum of pests and diseases and offer farmers integrated pest management programs to minimize development of resistance and maximize crop yields.
In Pamela’s 11-year tenure as CEO, she raised over $60 million in venture capital. AgraQuest was sold to Bayer for $425 million plus $75 million in milestone payments in 2012.
We at Springboard champion Pamela’s continued innovation in the food & agriculture industry.
Pamela Marrone
Founder and CEO
Marrone Bio Innovations
Carolyn Cross is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ondine Biomedical Inc. (LON: OBI), a Vancouver-based medical devices company. Carolyn is an Alumna of Springboard’s Life Science innovation cohort where she presented Odine in 2017.
Ondine is a life sciences company that focuses on the development of photodisinfection-based therapies to provide solutions to drug-resistant infections. They are focused on developing and commercializing novel antimicrobial therapies that address significant patient needs, are environmentally safe, provide substantial public health benefits, are easy to deploy, and cost a fraction of the infections they target. Ondine made its debut on the London Stock Exchange in December 2021.
Springboard is proud to call Carolyn an Alumna for her continued work in women’s empowerment and innovation.
Carolyn Cross
Chairman & CEO
Ondine Biomedical
Julia Cheek is the Founder and CEO of EverlyWell and an Alumna of Springboard’s Tech Innovation Hub 2016 cohort.
EverlyWell is a digital health company poised to disrupt the 25 billion dollar lab testing industry by providing consumers with at-home lab tests that include insightful, easy-to-understand results. EverlyWell was founded in 2015 to provide consumers access to at-home lab tests that include insightful, easy-to-understand results. As of 2021, Everlywell had raised $325 million in funding, and has a post-money valuation in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion.
Julia continues to break barriers and we are proud to call her a Sprinboard Alumna.
Julia Cheek
Co-Founder & CEO
EverlyWell
Dr. Michelle Longmire is the Co-Founder and CEO of Medable and is a notable Alumna from Springboard’s Digital Health 2017 innovation cohort. She co-founded Medable with a vision to open research to the world through a decentralized clinical trial platform proven to help get effective therapies to patients faster.
Medable uses a cloud-based approach to making participation in clinical trials more consumer-friendly and more equitable. The company is privately held and based in Palo Alto, California. Medable has raised $521 million in funding with a $2.1 billion valuation.
Dr. Longmire’s passion for medicine and the human experience makes Springboard proud to call her an Alumna.
Michelle Longmire
Co-Founder & CEO
Medable
Kathleen Chien is an Alumna of Springboard’s Silicon Valley 2000 innovation cohort. She is the Co-Founder, COO, and Acting CFO of 51job (NASDAQ:JOBS) a leading human resource solutions provider in China.
51job was founded in 1998 and offers a broad array of services in recruitment solutions, training and assessment, and HR tools and outsourcing services. 51job serves hundreds of thousands of domestic and multinational corporate clients through 26 offices in Hong Kong and Mainland China. In September 2004, 51job successfully completed its IPO on NASDAQ and in 2022 51job became a privately held company after completing a merger with Garnet Faith Limited.
Kathleen is a pioneer and we are proud to call her an Alumna of Springboard.
Kathleen Chien
Co-Founder, COO, Acting CFO
51job
Sheila Mikhail, CEO & Co-Founder of AskBio, is an Alumna of Springboard’s New England 2004 innovation cohort and was a Northstar Honoree as part of Springboard’s 2019 Winners’ Circle Dinner. Sheila co-founded AskBio in 2001 with the unwavering belief that gene therapies could cure disease and change the world. AskBio’s therapeutic focus on neuromuscular, central nervous system, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases now has clinical trials underway for Pompe disease, Parkinson’s disease, and congestive heart failure. AskBio became a wholly-owned, independently operated, subsidiary of Bayer AG in late 2020 as a cornerstone of its newly formed Cell & Gene Therapy (CGT) platform. Sheila continues to set a high bar in gene therapy and Springboard is proud of her accomplishments and evolutionary changes in the healthcare industry.
Sheila Mikhail
Co-Founder & CEO
AskBio
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