TiE DC SEPTEMBER 2023 Newsletter and Updates!

SEPTEMBER 2023

TiE DC 2023 GOVCON GROW

News update by GovCon 2023 C0-chair Sumeet Luthra

Hello TiE DC Members and supporters!

I am Sumeet Luthra, TiE DC board member, GovCon committee co-chair, and President and CEO for Constellation. This year, I am excited to be a part of robust programming effort that your own TiE DC chapter board has created for you. Building on the success of the GovCon launch event that we hosted in May 2023, I am happy to announce that the registration for the GovCon Grow event, scheduled for October 24, 2023 is now open! We have already seen significant early interest with

registrations flowing in quickly, so sign up before all the seats are gone!

This year, Dr. Donna Peebles Associate Administration of the Office of Business Development at the SBA will kick off the event setting the stage for a larger business development discussion throughout the morning, involving panels with business development experts and successful entrepreneurs. In the morning SBA panel, we will discuss the impacts the Ultima case is having on the broader 8(a) certification process and the potential impacts to the current and on-going contracts awarded under the

8(a) program. We will simultaneously host SBA clinic, where companies may obtain guidance directly from SBA personnel on the status of their applications.

Our afternoon keynote fireside will feature Dr. Richard Verma, the current Deputy secretary of state for management and resources, COO of the DoS and former Ambassador to India. Dr. Verma will address administration’s initiatives and efforts to deliver more equitable opportunities for small and disadvantage businesses and how contractors may participate in the administration modernization efforts, including organization, structure, and technology.

In the latter part of the day, our industry leading panelists will guide conversations with senior government officials from DoD and DHS. Topics include the impacts technology startups may have on the ability of government departments to effectively serve their missions. Technologies featured will include Generative AI, Blockchain, Cybersecurity and Cloud. We have built adequate networking opportunities that small businesses may leverage to foster relationships amongst each other and with large businesses.

For those who are not yet charter members of the TiE DC chapter, we are running a special promotion so don’t miss out on the opportunity to enhance your membership benefits. Take advantage of this opportunity on the TiE DC website. And as always, we love your feedback. Please provide all ideas and comments to us so we may continue to build this GovCon programming better for you!

Sincerely,

Sumeet Luthra

TiE DC 2023 GovCon Committee Co-Chair

TiE DC Women 2023

Several surveys have shown that women founders represent approx. 25% of pre-seed start-ups funding in the investor community. Furthermore, nearly half of female founders interviewed said they have had to face gender bias during fundraising, with over half reporting difficulties in finding a mentor. To help ease an women founder’s entrepreneurial journey and create a more inclusive and diverse founder ecosystem, TiE Global runs its flagship TiE Women program.

This vision of this program is to embrace, engage, and empower women entrepreneurs across the globe, inclusive of all stages of an enterprise, origin, standing, or background. Through the Global Pitch Competition - a pitch competition for women-led early and late-stage startups with a chance of winning equity free cash prize, over 250+ women led startups have been accelerated, 100+ mentors and industry experts engaged, active learning sessions organized, apart from which women entrepreneurs get access to investors across the globe.

This year’s winners of the TiE DC’s Women Pitch competition (selected by a panel of three esteemed judges Amy Millman- StageNext LLC, Jennifer O'Daniel - Virginia Venture Partners, and Dawn Batts - Tech Anthropology) are as follows:

Winner: Shavini Fernando, Founder of OXIWEAR - the first ear-wearable pulse oximeter for continuous oxygen monitoring and real-time low oxygen.

1^st Runner Up: Aishwarya Tare, Founder of Meridian Health - An AI and machine learning platform that predicts risks for young adults.

2^nd Runner Up: Meena Augustus, Founder and CEO of SHREIS - US-based innovative medical device and renewable energy company.

This program will culminate in a pitch competition at the TiE Women Global Finals in Singapore in November 2023 where winners from TiE chapters worldwide will pitch to a global audience. In preparation for this competition winners from all TiE chapters are being mentored with several workshops/master classes that cover: Build Your Lean Canvas, Product Market Fit, Building an Investor Worthy Pitch-Deckm, Design Thinking, Fundraising and Business Evaluation, and Master Your Pitch.