Hi, fintech fam! 💜

This week, we dropped the agenda for the first-ever Leadership Summit, which will showcase a remarkable lineup of female experts in the field.

Gone are the days of 'manels' and token diversity panels. I, for one, am over it.

From day one, women have been instrumental in shaping the foundations of our financial and technology systems. We deserve an event celebrating and sharing our contributions as innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Today's newsletter sprinkles more details about the event and how to get involved.

But first, let’s get into 3 news stories that prove just how powerful women in fintech are in shaping the future of our economy.

YOU’RE INVITED

Heading to New York Fintech Week? Join me at Rise by Barclays in New York City on April 8th for Fintech Is Femme’s first-ever leadership summit! Tickets are almost sold out, and your name needs to be on the list.

Experience curated networking opportunities with the industry’s most influential women, listen to transformative live panels and fireside chats that will change how you approach your career in fintech, and get exclusive access to personal performance coaches at my leadership summit!

The speaker faculty includes 20+ women in fintech who have been where you are. Women who understand your specific career struggles and know how to navigate them successfully.

Listen to, network with, and learn from industry experts like super angel investor Asya Bradley, Executive Director of The Blockchain Foundation Cleve Mesidor, and TruStage’s Director of Product Management and Innovation, Danielle Sesko.

The next phase of your fintech career starts here. Are you ready?! 🤑

#TRENDING

What’s Up In Fintech

Every Thursday, I share news stories and trending pieces I follow. Think of it as a way to quickly find the most important news in the fintech world.

#1 Sallie Krawcheck Leads Ellevest to Landmark $2B In AUM

Women-led fintech companies are making significant strides this year, with Ellevest leading the charge this week.

Founded by Sallie Krawcheck, a former Wall Street powerhouse turned fintech entrepreneur, Ellevest announced on Wednesday that its wealth tech platform has reached $2 billion in assets under management.

"We're entering into a newfound phase of economic power that we're calling 'the Feminization of Wealth,'" Ellevest founder and CEO Krawcheck said in a statement.

"Because we know that money is never just money: It's the power to live the lives we want. That's why this milestone is so much more than a number. It's about our clients investing toward their goals at all ages and stages of their lives — from their first dollar through to multiple millions."

The milestone comes almost two years after its last — when Ellevest raised its $53 million Series B funding round, including investments from Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures.

Additionally, 90% of Ellevest’s Series B investors are women and underrepresented, contributing to 68% of total funds. 

This is a massive milestone given that women-founded companies receiving first-round funding from female VCs are 2x less likely to raise additional funding. 

At the end of September 2022, Ellevest officially shuttered its banking product to focus resources and its team’s energy on what its community wants most from Ellevest: investing services and financial guidance. 

“It’s where we believe we deliver the most value to them,” Sallie told me at the time. “So it just made sense to sharpen our focus on this.”

That shift has clearly been the right move for Ellevest as it reaches the $2B AUM milestone.

Why It Matters:

In a world where the male experience is often treated as the default, bias, and discrimination are ingrained in our systems, especially in finance.

Ellevest exemplifies what happens when a system is intentionally designed for women. This impact extends beyond its user base to the fintech industry.

While the industry average for female representation on leadership teams is 23%, Ellevest boasts an 84% representation. Additionally, while only 11% of industry teams are comprised of people of color, Ellevest's team is 50% POC. Moreover, in an industry where only 20% of board members are women on average, Ellevest's board comprises 83% women.

Ellevest's authenticity and commitment to diversity are reflected in its product, fostering trust among its community of 3 million users.

As someone who has covered Ellevest since 2020, I’ve observed several strategies have contributed to their success:

1. They lead with their founder. Sallie consistently shares articles, blogs, and LinkedIn posts expressing her thoughts on the industry, money, and recent events. This helps audiences feel connected to the fintech company's leader, especially when she is open and vulnerable about her journey — the highs and lows (which she has been, even on the Fintech Is Femme stage).

2. They shifted their focus to what they do best and built on that. Instead of persisting with a banking product that wasn't working, they closed it off when necessary and doubled down on building their private wealth management, investing, and financial education services.

3. They have actually established a company with a strong female leadership presence. I often see situations where there is a female founder, but her leadership team or board consists entirely of men. To me, this indicates that she is not actively working to uplift women if she does not include them in her c-suite. To truly make an impact and intentionally promote gender diversity, it is important to surround yourself with like-minded women and deliberately prioritize women in leadership positions.

#2 Artemis Fund Closes $36M To Back Diversity

Speaking of getting more money into the hands of women, The Artemis Fund, which invests in underrepresented founders, closed its second fund with $36 million in capital commitments, as reported in TechCrunch by Christine Hall.

Here’s a bit about the firm:

• Stephanie Campbell, Diana Murakhovskaya, and Leslie Goldman Tepper founded Artemis in 2019.

• The firm, which is based in Houston and New York, is named after the Greek goddess of the hunt and women's champion.

• Artemis focuses on seed rounds for diverse founders in fintech, commerce, and care.

• They have built a portfolio of over 20 companies, all led by female founders, with over 60% having Black, Latinx, or immigrant leadership.

• The second fund is supported by Bank of America, Bank of Montreal, TIAA Nuveen’s Churchill Asset Management, Texas Capital Bank, Amazon, The Rockwell Fund, and Ballentine Partners.

• Artemis aims to boost funding for female and diverse founders by leading their rounds, advocating for them, connecting them with national co-investors, and implementing early revenue growth discipline.

Plus, Artemis is one of the funds that focuses on supporting diverse founders and invests in technology to address the challenges faced by underrepresented US businesses, communities, and families.

Why It Matters:

VC-backed startups are still homogenous. According to data from Diversity VC, founding teams receiving VC financing are: 

• 89.3% men

• 71.6% white

• 35.3% based in Silicon Valley

• 13.7% Ivy League-educated 

This lack of diversity represents a missed opportunity, and Artemis does not plan to waste money.

World Economic Forum research shows that companies with above-average diversity scores drive 45% of average revenue from innovation. In comparison, companies with below-average diversity scores drive only 26%. 

Encouragingly, there's positive news on the horizon. Limited partners (LPs), the financial backers of VC funds, are increasingly concerned about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts within VC firms. Data from Venture Forward, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), and Deloitte reveals that in 2022, 47% of firms reported that LPs had inquired about their DEI initiatives within the past year.

However, gender diversity remains a challenge within the VC industry. 

In 2022, only 26% of investment professionals were women. Only 19% of the investment partners were female. Even more concerning is that 57% of firms had no female investment partners. This highlights the need for more gender diversity in VC firms, especially among decision-makers. 

To build fintech solutions that serve a wide range of user needs, particularly in marginalized communities.

For example, there’s a positive correlation between the number of females in leadership roles and a company’s ability to attract female customers, according to data from the World Economic Forum. 

Fintech companies with over 33% women leaders experience a 12% increase in their female customer base. This positive trend extends to product offerings, with a 30% increase in products designed to target female customers.

#3 UN CSW68: A Call to Action for Gender Equity

Right now, something big is happening: the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the United Nations' biggest event for gender equality, is in full swing.

Since 1947, this annual gathering in New York has brought thousands of leaders, activists, and experts together to discuss advancing the rights of women and girls worldwide.

This year, CSW68 is about "Accelerating gender equality and empowerment by tackling poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective." And let me tell you, it couldn't be more relevant to fintech.

We're at a crucial point in the fight for gender equality. Despite making strides, 10.3% of women worldwide live in extreme poverty today, way more than men. Closing this gap needs urgent action. According to the UN, we need to speed up progress by 26 times to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Getting there means investing. Studies say we need an extra $360 billion a year to achieve gender equality and empower women across different global goals. But it's not just about money; it's about investing in policies and programs that tackle gender inequalities and lift up women.

At the heart of CSW this year is a call for action and investment to end women's poverty and advance gender equality. Governments, organizations, experts, and activists are coming together to make real plans and commitments.

But why does this matter beyond conference rooms and papers?

Why It Matters:

On International Women's Day 2023, the UN warned us that achieving gender equity will take another 300 years. Fixing this isn't just about social and cultural issues; it's also about money.

According to UN Women:

• Over 100 million women and girls could be lifted out of poverty if governments prioritized education and family planning, fair and equal wages, and expanded social benefits.

• Almost 300 million jobs could be created by 2035 through investments in care services.

• Closing gender gaps in employment could boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita by 20% across all regions.

Creating products that turn these ideas into action is where the fintech industry comes in. Women have faced financial barriers for ages, from getting loans to climbing the career ladder. And guess what? Those barriers are still around today.

Here's how we can work together to do our part:

1. Community Support:

It's not just about having women in fintech; it's about creating a space where they can thrive together. Real collaboration and innovation happen when women can share ideas and experiences without judgment.

2. Questioning the Norm:

To tackle gender inequities, we've got to face the historical biases in our systems. It's not enough to invite women to the table; we need to rewrite the rules for inclusivity and fairness.

3. Diverse Perspectives Matter:

Fintech can only thrive with diverse voices. By having more women and people of color involved, we make our industry stronger and build products that work for everyone.

4. Active Support:

Being an ally means more than just saying you're on board. It means actively lifting up marginalized voices and pushing for change. That's how we build a more inclusive industry.

Ultimately, fintech allows us to speed up progress towards gender equity. Using technology to tackle economic disparities, we're making strides towards a greater global financial future.

_{WTF ELSE?}

• This Platform With $1.2 Billion In Investment Capital Helps Close The Latina Founder Investing Gap

• After Scaling Stax to Unicorn Status, Co-Founders Suneera Madhani and Sal Rehmetullah Unveil a New Mission-Driven Fintech Business

_{MARK YOUR CALENDARS}

Join us every Thursday to stay updated on the top fintech events each week! These events are a great way to network, learn, and connect with our fintech community. Let's fill our calendars with these awesome events - I would love to see you there! If you have an event to share, please inform me!

_{TUESDAY 3/19}

[VIRTUAL] Trailblazing Women In Fintech

I am thrilled to announce the speaker lineup for Fintech Is Femme's upcoming virtual event on March 19. The event will showcase insights from trailblazing women in fintech. 

Joining me in this engaging conversation are Betsy Cohen, Co-Founder and Chair, Cohen Circle; Samita Malik, Chief Insurance Officer, Arta Finance, and Tori Dunlap, founder of Her First $100k, bestselling author, and educator who has helped over four million women negotiate salary, pay off debt, build savings, and invest.

Through a series of thought-provoking 'hot seat' questions, we aim to provide valuable insights, debunk misconceptions about women in finance, and ignite you to own your power as a woman in the fintech industry.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and grow with the Fintech Is Femme community. Secure your virtual seat here.

I can't wait to see you next week!

_{MONDAY 4/8}

[NYC] Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit

This is Fintech Is Femme’s first-ever Leadership Summit, and it would mean the world to see you there!

Women aren’t just “future fintech leaders.” Women are already here. Women are already making companies more profitable in an industry that wasn’t designed for them.

This event is designed for you. I’ve curated this event intentionally to immediately change your career as soon as you leave the summit. Join us on April 8th for an unforgettable career experience.

(Check out this letter I wrote if you need help asking your boss to expense it!)

_{NY FINTECH WEEK}

Earlier this year, I asked my friend, Sam Reichstein, of Empire Startups, to write to the Fintech Is Femme community and share more about herself.

Here’s what she had to say.

_{WEDNESDAY 4/10}

[NYC] Empire Startups Fintech Conference

My attraction to FinTech can best be described as a blind date success story.

I graduated with a degree in journalism and knew I wanted to get to New York as fast as possible. After applying to countless jobs in the content and editorial space, a family friend reached out to me, letting me know the FinTech startup he was working at just raised a round and was looking to build out their marketing team.

I took the leap, and six years later, here we are!

Now in my second year behind the scenes for NY FinTech Week and the Empire FinTech Conference, I’m excited to see the blend of excitement, intrigue, and genuine connections come together once again for this high-traffic (and highly anticipated!) time.

It very much feels like a reunion within the FinTech community, as various organizers and thought leaders have the ability to join forces and truly thrive at what they do best.

Myself and the team have continued to brainstorm on how to make our conference both valuable and unique with content sessions that flip the standard panelist-and-moderator format on its head.

Get ready to see myself take the stage, hosting a brand new session this year: The FinTech Newlywed Game. The final countdown is on!

_FINTUNES

🎵 Ariana Grande - eternal sunshine

I can't get enough of her new album. I've loved her discography, but there's something about "Eternal Sunshine," where her lyrics reach a level of maturity that only comes with graceful aging. For me, Ari hits every mark. Her voice is extraordinary, her lyrics are thought-provoking and genuine, and she combines it all with music that makes you want to dance. What's not to love?

That’s all for now! Don’t forget to save your seat at my leadership summit on April 8th.

Stay safe, everyone. Hug your loved ones. See you Sunday!

Love,

Nicole

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