Part 2: What If One Conversation Could Change Your Friendships?

YouTube: The Friendship Experiment

Turns out the magic isn't in asking more questions… it's asking better ones.

In part two of The Friendship Experiment we're diving into the next 12 questions from the famous study designed to fast-track intimacy.

From the memories that shaped you to what you'd do if you only had one year left to live (ooft) these are the conversations that take you way beyond small talk.

✨ If you're loving this series come hang with us on YouTube and hit subscribe

🎨 Need better tools, not another bill? AMAKA Grants are giving two creative businesses every month up to $500 towards software like Canva or HubSpot plus expert mentoring and creator credits to help you grow.

💦 The water bottle wars have a new winner. Stanley had its moment, Owala stole the spotlight, HydroJug is taking over proving the brands that win aren't always the ones with the best product: they're the ones that build the strongest community.

🌟 Want your brand in front of ambitious professionals? Simply Success is looking for sponsors, gift bag partners and media collaborators for its Orlando conference connecting entrepreneurs, executives and creators: pitch Philomena right here.

@_patriciawalker_ via Threads

💖 Glossier's biggest product was never makeup. Its real magic was making customers feel like insiders and now the beauty industry is racing to copy the community-first playbook that changed marketing forever.

🌡️ The menopause market is worth billions... but women still aren't getting the care they need. Shock. Investors are pouring $$$ into menopause startups yet huge gaps remain between flashy products and treatments that actually improve our lives.

💋 Beauty dupes just levelled up. Brands are entering their "superdupe" era using the exact same manufacturers, expired patents and even original formulas to create luxury-quality products without the luxury price tag. Eesh.

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🎙️ Women building the next big CPG brand: this one's for you. Enthuse Foundation's Pitch Competition is opening applications with cash, prizes and the chance to pitch live in NYC in front of industry leaders.

🚀 No startup idea? No problem. Entrepreneurs First backs exceptional people before they even have a company helping future founders find co-founders, secure funding and build their startup from scratch.

🎖️ Women veterans: this one's for you. The Melissa Washington Small Business Award is offering up to $5K plus coaching, business support and an all-expenses-paid trip to its national conference for three finalists.

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🙌 Revolve just promoted the woman who's been quietly building the brand for 13 years. Raissa is stepping into a brand-new president role to lead partnerships, storytelling and whatever Revolve does next.

🎲 Women are entering their gambling era; and everyone is talking about it. Major outlets are sounding the alarm after this campaign grew its female user base by 106% turning prediction markets into one of the fastest-growing habits for women.

💰 The gender pay gap is getting worse... not better. Women earned just 81 cents for every dollar men made in 2024 marking the second year in a row the gap has widened and turning pay equity into a biz problem we can no longer ignore.

Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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Last week you found your real cash number and this week we’re making it a system so you're never guessing again.

Hi again! It’s Candice, your finance chick at FSC. This one's the single most useful spreadsheet I've ever handed a founder. It's not complicated and it's not an accounting exercise. It's 12 columns and real numbers.

My 12-week Cash Flow Forecast Template

The 12-Week Cash Flow Forecast, in 5 rules

Mapping it to your business

Ecomm Founders: map every cost stream separately: inventory production, ads, wholesale, partnerships. If a wholesale order is placed in June on 30-day terms, the cash doesn't land until July. That gap is super important and it’s what this forecast catches. Same thing with production, map out when you need to pay your deposits and final invoices as production takes place.

My 12-week Cash Flow Forecast - Willow & Co (DTC skincare example)

SaaS: map subscription revenue to the date it actually lands (for example around the 20th of the month, not the 1st), and separate it from one-off or annual-paid-monthly revenue. If you lump categories together founders lose visibility.

My 12-week Cash Flow Forecast - Relay HQ (B2B SaaS example)

One tactic that applies to both: paying suppliers immediately because it feels cleaner or easier is costing you cash flexibility. Ask for 45-day terms instead of paying on the spot. Most suppliers will say yes if you simply ask. Even 30 days makes a real difference to your weekly position. (This is exactly how Michael Dell built his first computers with no capital. He collected payment upfront, then used the timing of cash as his growth engine)

Build your first draft in the next 15 minutes

1. Open a blank spreadsheet. Create 13 columns (first one for descriptions), labelled by week

2. In week 1, enter today's real cash balance (from last week's exercise)

3. List every income and cost stream or contact name on its own row, don't lump them. Estimate which week the cash actually lands or leaves, not when it's earned or billed.

💎 Today's gem: you now have the actual method, not just the idea, for seeing 12 weeks into your own cash position. This is the exact forecast I build with my clients and is the single most important spreadsheet you can have in your business. 

- Candice, FSC’s Finance Chick

Know Your Numbers is a weekly feature from Founded To Be Counted, helping female founders build real confidence with their business finances.

If you found this helpful, let us know by answering the poll below:

PS: If you’ve done your cashflow spreadsheet and you’re feeling proud or worried or have a question for Candice, hit reply and email us a screenshot!

Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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We’re Lonely: 36 Questions That Create Deep Female Friendships

We're lonelier than ever… 

Despite being more connected than any generation before us, loneliness is now being called the epidemic of our lifetime. Coupled with the fact that making friends in your 30s is tricky and the world is telling us AI solves everything (lol) we’re in a pickle.

There’s a famous study from the 90’s by psychologist Arthur Aron, exploring whether intimacy could be accelerated between strangers using just 36 questions..

Now we've taken his experiment and tweaked it: what happens when you apply it to female friendship? Be part of the experiment by joining us here ✨

📍 Ecomm Founders in:
Sydney | NYC | LA | Austin

ICYMI!! We’re hosting our first events this August & September in Sydney | NYC | LA | Austin (and mayyyybe San Fran). To get your invite, join our FSC fangirls 🪭 group chat here

✨ Building a startup that's good for people and the planet? The Women Entrepreneurs for Good accelerator offers coaching, investor access and the chance to pitch at the Women's Forum in Paris.

🌍 Building something that changes the world? Mama Cash is funding feminist movements with flexible long-term grants that let women, trans and intersex activists decide where the money's needed most.

💝 Christmas in July is officially a thing: Posh Lifestyle & Beauty Blog is now accepting products for its 2026 Holiday Gift Guide (aka a chance to get your brand in front of holiday shoppers): pitch Carla Snuggs right here.

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🧴 Versed has a new home. Katherine Power's affordable skincare brand has been acquired by Belle Brands joining a beauty portfolio that already includes JVN Hair, Pipette and KVD Beauty.

🌼 Gen Z women aren't chasing the "girlboss" dream anymore. They're redefining ambition on their own terms prioritising stability, flexibility and purpose over burnout and climbing the corporate ladder.

🧬 Bryan Johnson's anti-ageing obsession has a female counterpart. Blueprint XX is adapting his viral longevity protocol for women's bodies with customised supplements, biomarker tracking and a whole new audience.

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That's the fear a lot of founders live with when they’re heading into an investor chat: I don't actually know what my numbers are, and I'm scared someone will ask.

Sound familiar?

Hi! I'm Candice, your weekly finance chick taking over FSC’s newsletter each week. 

I'm a Global CFO, I've helped raise over $2 billion for startups, and have more than 20 years experience in the world of numbers.

Every week I’ll be in your inbox to hand you one thing about your numbers that you can actually use (no jargon or shame!) and when we’re done you won’t need to pretend you know your numbers because you’ll understand them inside and out. 

Candice Tait,
FSC’s Finance Chick

The investor test you don’t know about (yet!)

Are you planning to raise in the next 12 months?

When an investor says “walk me through your financials” they’re not just asking you to read out the numbers. They’re testing whether you truly understand how your business works, how revenue turns into profit, how cash moves through the business, and how the balance sheet reflects the health of the company (yes, it’s a test). 

Remember my client above, the one who was ashamed of her numbers? This is what happened once she started forecasting her cash:

In the end it comes down to knowing your numbers well enough that they naturally weave into the story of your business.

If you’re planning to raise in the next 12 months, this is one of the first questions I ask my clients:

→ Do you know exactly how much cash you have today, and how long it'll last?

If you hesitate, keep reading. I’m going to help you get to your answer….

3 words founders use like they're interchangeable (but they're not)

Cash is the only thing that’s going to keep your business alive. It's not revenue or profit or your customers. It's always cash.

Why this hits ecommerce and SaaS founders differently

🛍️ Ecommerce: You’re going to pay for inventory, manufacturing, shipping and advertising (sometimes months) before the customer ever pays you. That means an amazing sales month can still be your toughest cash month until you cover all the cash you spent on production.

💻 SaaS: Recurring revenue can create a false sense of security. MRR may look predictable, but it isn’t the same as cash collected. Annual contracts paid monthly, payment processing delays, the loss of clients, and the gap between “signed” and “paid” can mean your revenue dashboard and your bank account tell two very different stories.

Do this in the next 10 minutes:

1️⃣ Open your bank account/s
→ Write down today's balance
→ In Xero use the ‘’Bank Summary’’ report for a quick summary of all your bank accounts

2️⃣ List every payment due in the next 2 weeks:
→ inventory
→ ads
→ payroll
→ subscriptions

3️⃣ Subtract it

That number is closer to the truth than anything on your P&L. It's uncomfortable the first time but iIt gets easier every time after that (I promise!).

Next week, we're turning this from a once-off gut-check into a repeatable system.

- Candice, FSC’s Finance Chick

Know Your Numbers is a weekly feature from Founded To Be Counted, helping female founders build real confidence with their business finances.

If you found this helpful, let us know by answering the poll below:

Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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Brought to you by our friends at Omnisend 💁‍♀️

🤱 Calling all baby, wellness and family brands! The Mom Club is looking for partners, sponsors and gift bag goodies for its upcoming NYC, Miami and Greenwich events for pregnant and new mums: pitch Sharon right here.

🌱 Got a NYC-based business that's making your neighbourhood better? CitizensNYC is handing out up to $5K to small businesses creating positive impact in their local communities; applications close tonight (July 27).

🎖️ Women veterans: this one's for you. The Melissa Washington Small Business Award is offering up to $5K plus coaching, business support and an all-expenses-paid trip to its national conference for three finalists.

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🦄 Canva's Melanie Perkins is taking her feedback obsession beyond design. Her next big project? A platform asking millions of people one simple question: "What do you want to see achieved in your lifetime?" to help shape community priorities.

🎀 Olivia Rodrigo just made festival merch cool again. Instead of mass-producing hoodies she teamed up with 10 women-owned Etsy businesses to create handmade customisable pieces fans can treasure.

🤖 AI-generated humans are officially getting labels. Amazon now requires sellers to disclose when product photos feature AI people as transparency around fake-but-real-looking content becomes the new normal.

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🏆 Forbes is looking for the next generation of media stars. Nominations are officially open for the 2027 Under 30 list so if you know a founder / creator / storyteller doing incredible work, now's the time to put their name forward.

🤍 The You Are My Angel Maternal Wellness Event is looking for brand partners: Sponsors, exhibitors and gift bag contributors can put their products in front of families, advocates and women's health leaders: pitch Adrienne right here to get involved.

💰 A $1M+ prize pool is up for grabs. CoCreate Pitch is back giving global founders the chance to pitch in front of heavyweight judges like Daymond John, Lori Greiner and Everette Taylor with up to $200K available for winners.

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💸 Two women just closed one of the biggest first-time private equity funds in years. Citation Capital raised a massive $1.2B to back "AI-proof" family businesses proving women are still writing giant cheques even in a brutal fundraising market.

👀 We've spent 60 years tracking women in leadership... and one stat got worse. This research found 90% of women leaders say they're judged more harshly than men while most male executives still don't see the same bias. Awkward.

💗 Glossier is officially in its comeback era. After layoffs, store closures and a $45M cash injection the cult beauty brand is betting big on fresh marketing, hero products & a return to the community magic that first made everyone obsessed.

Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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🌟 Want your product in the hands of Gen Z's biggest creators? The Haunted Ball is looking for brands to feature in its VIP gift bags putting products in front of 300 creators with a combined 74M+ followers: pitch Jennifer right here.

💸 Need a quick cash injection? The Hustle Grant is giving one founder $1,000 to invest in their business idea (it's a small grant but sometimes that's all you need to get the ball rolling!).

💰 Not sure which funding option actually fits your business? This free Funding Finder tool helps women founders figure out what kind of capital makes sense for where they are right now without the jargon or guesswork.

🤑 One of the few solo women VCs just raised another $25M fund. Ashley Smith's firm is doubling down on AI, cybersecurity and developer tools proving there's plenty of room to build your own lane in venture.

🤖 Bobbie's new AI won't try to replace your village. The baby formula brand just launched an AI feeding assistant designed to answer questions... then tell parents when it's time to close the app and talk to a real human.

💖 Wellness is entering its anti-tracking era. A growing movement is ditching sleep scores, glucose monitors and optimisation culture in favour of something radical: trusting how your own body actually feels.

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FSC fangirls 🪭 are joining the group chat…

If you listen to the pod and wanna be part of our weekly discussion chats → here’s your invite to join 🪭

(yes we made fan cards, come claim yours before we stop making them)

🎤 DYK NFL players, Swifties and women's sports fans all have one thing in common? They're proving that community is the most valuable currency on the internet.

👋👋 On this FSC podcast 👋👋 Alexy Posner (sports agent, brand strategist and founder of the Swiftie Liftie Club) breaks down why follower count means less than you think, the simple question that stops founders from chasing every shiny trend & how the Caitlin Clark effect is changing the biz of women's sports forever →

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✨ Want the words for what makes your brand you? This free Brand Lore quiz promises to uncover the emotional core and mythology behind your business and founders are apparently crying over the results.

🏆 Building the next great home for women's sports? Stanley and TOGETHXR are giving five founders $20K each to create community-driven spaces where women's sports take centre stage think cafés, bars and gathering spots.

🇬🇷 Got a product perfect for a girls' getaway? Creator Shallon Lester is looking for brands to include in the gift bags for her luxury women's retreat in Greece with products featured across socials: pitch Shallon here to get involved.

🧃 The investors behind Poppi and Goodles are betting on… powdered drink mix: Fave just raised $1M to reinvent one of the most overlooked grocery aisles with better-for-you ingredients and nostalgic flavours.

💁‍♀️ BÉIS turned TikTok hate comments into product development: the cult luggage brand combed through every complaint about its bestselling Weekender bag and used the criticism as a blueprint for its redesign.

💸 Salary transparency really does help close the gender pay gap (but it doesn't completely fix it): new research found that when everyone has the same pay information women do ask for more money but…

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🌈 BIPOC LGBTQ+ founders in the Upper Midwest: PFund is offering $10K in grant funding over two years plus mentorship, networking and an LGBTQ+ business community to grow alongside.

💼 Ready to turn your side hustle into a real business? Here is a free webinar on everything founders wish they knew sooner from LLCs and protecting your privacy to looking legit from day one.

🌞 Got a product perfect for summer hosting or travel? Lizz Spano is filling the final spots in her Summer Gifting guide, putting standout brands in front of 200K+ monthly viewers and thousands of email subscribers: pitch Lizz right here.

@thatgirlevia via Threads

👀 The startup backed by Bill Gates' daughter is facing some very online drama. Shopping app Phia has been accused of "cookie stuffing" a controversial tactic that lets companies take credit for sales they didn't actually drive.

🍩 Krispy Kreme and Girl Scouts just created the ultimate nostalgia bait. Thin Mints, Lemon-Ups and Samoas are getting the doughnut treatment and honestly... our wallets never stood a chance.

🥂 The next social network might not live on your phone... it might get you off it. August founder & friend of the show Nadya Okamoto just became CMO of meetup app Pie betting that the future of social media is IRL friendships and community.

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Dear FSC FANGIRL!!!

Big news today, strap in gf.

This year marks 7 freaking years of FSC (and 700something episodes 🫨) still can’t believe that. If you’ve been around our neck of the internet woods for a hot minute, you know there’s been a lot of bumpy ups and downs! Aka burnout on repeat, bestie breakup, ADHD, health stuff/house stuff.

Which brings me to my every-once-in-a-while waffle … 

Rewind for quick context:

FSC started in 2019 because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I was still searching for that thing. I'd built a jewelry brand (RIP Kincs 💔) that I loved in a lot of ways: cute packaging, cute chicks, cute pop-ups ~um hi, Paris Fashion Week~ and the sparkle of it all… But I couldn't picture myself doing it long term. There was still a little somethin’ somethin’ missing.

So I put my intense vomit-level lack of self confidence aside and launched the pod, recording episodes on a gf’s bedroom floor with my phone and a crappy mic. Even though I was allergic to the idea of public speaking and interviewing people I didn’t know, the desire and drive to find my way was stronger than my fear of failure. 

I started asking smart, successful women I admired how they figured it out and thought that maybe if I understood how they built what they built, it would help me figure out the answer for myself. Spoiler: it very much did… FSC quite literally changed my life in more ways than I dreamed possible.

Somewhere along the way without even fully realizing it, we built something pretty special centred around connection, conversations and joy - and I accidentally found the thing I’d spent a decade searching for.

Fast forward to the world today:

Everyone I speak to lately is saying the same thing. The world feels…. crazy. It’s gotten SO noisy. Full of extreme, polarising views shouting at us in a million directions, engineered for an emotional, usually fear-based reaction. So serious. So AI-everything. It's hard to hear our own thoughts and perspectives.

Add on top of that the fact that we’re more addicted to living life through a screen + phone than ever (sooo guilty 🙋‍♀️), we’re bombarded with constant reminders that we suck - optimise more! for productivity! and business! and learning more! and doing more! We’re operating in this weird alternate universe online instead of the world around us.. feeling exhausted, burnt out, and forever behind.

When did everything become so serious?? Is it really the deal we have to make? It feels gross.

According to the pro’s, relationships are the single strongest predictor we have of how long, happy, and healthy we live. Stronger than wealth, genetics and IQ. It shapes almost everything else around us; from our creativity, our opportunities, our sense that life is actually going somewhere. Which feels like the opposite of the world (and screens) we’re living through right now.

So here's what I've been noodling on: Instead of just being content on a screen and some other thing to consume, what does FSC look like if it’s centred around connection, conversation, female friendship & JOY - not only online - but IRL too. 

Say hi to FSC 2.0 👋

We have 3 big changes to get excited about!

Our FSC fangirls 🪭 (you!) will shape where we go next… which cities we host in, which topics we dive into, and what we will ultimately get up to in this new era. 

You’re invitation:

From one fangirl to another!

And bc you know I love cute things, you better believe we made merch. Our first fangirls will be on the receiving end of some super cute fan mail from moi!

Seven years in and I think this might be the most excited I've been about this next chapter 🥹 thanks for being part of the ride.

🪭 Join the FSC fangirls group chat 🪭

Love from YOUR fangirl right back,
Doone

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Brought to you by our friends at Omnisend 💁‍♀️

💰 Got a big idea and a great pitch? WBENC is giving away $20K grants to women-owned businesses through its annual pitch competition plus training, exposure and serious networking opportunities along the way.

🚀 Dreaming of YC? Applications for Y Combinator's Fall 2026 batch close July 27 putting founders one application away from joining the accelerator behind Airbnb, Stripe, OpenAI and DoorDash.

🏡 Have a product perfect for someone starting over? A new housewarming guide inspired by rebuilding after a house fire is looking for practical, thoughtful products and essentials to feature: pitch Stephy Richards right here.

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🌟 Wall Street's new exit strategy? Becoming an influencer. A growing wave of women in finance are ditching trading floors for brand deals, newsletters and creator careers.

🚀 Elite students are skipping Goldman Sachs internships for hacker houses. As AI reshapes career paths ambitious college grads are spending their summers building startups in San Francisco instead of climbing the corporate ladder.

👀 The manosphere has left the group chat and entered the classroom. Women professors say online misogyny is increasingly showing up in real life with students treating lectures like comment sections and challenging women's authority.

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🏆 Know someone changing the world before 30? Forbes is officially accepting nominations for its 2027 Under 30 list: if you've built something special (or know someone who has) this is your sign to start nominating.

💸 $50K for your small business? AT&T's She's Connected contest is back offering one founder a $50,000 grant, mentorship, a year of AT&T service and a chance to tell their story on a national stage (four runners-up will also receive $5K each).

💬 Need a new founder obsession? Calendar Invites follows three chicks building careers and businesses while navigating life in their 30s: think group chat energy meets building in public.

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💛 Emma Grede is done with the "she had help" narrative. This reel calls out the obsession with finding reasons successful women don't deserve their success... and thousands of women are saying the quiet part out loud right along with her.

💸 Reformation just filed to go public and its numbers are turning heads. The fashion brand gets 75% of new customers without paid marketing proving that cult brands (and great products) still beat expensive ad spend.

👋 Joanna Griffiths is leaving Knix. Four years after selling the company in a $430M deal the founder is stepping away from the brand she built into one of Canada's biggest startup success stories.

Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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💸 NYC founders: there's up to $5K waiting for community-minded small businesses. If your business has been open 2+ years and you're making your neighbourhood better, CitizensNYC's latest microgrant is open until July 27.

🙋‍♀️ Building a consumer brand? This breakdown of the "Instagram to It-Girl brand pipeline" is packed with smart lessons on why some brands become cultural obsessions... and why most never make it.

🎒 Got a product perfect for back-to-school season? A gift guide reaching 600,000+ readers is looking for samples across beauty, wellness, snacks, tech, stationery and more: pitch Zoe Doyle right here to get involved.

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💜 Olivia Rodrigo just built the music festival she wished existed. Her new all-women festival features everyone from Chappell Roan to Stevie Nicks with 100% of profits funding organisations supporting women and girls.

🩺 Endometriosis is finally getting the medical update women have been waiting for. New guidelines encourage doctors to diagnose and treat the condition sooner instead of making patients wait years (or undergo surgery) just to be believed.

💄 L'Oréal is betting AI will become the new beauty counter. The beauty giant is partnering with OpenAI to power product discovery, AI try-ons and faster content creation as ChatGPT becomes the next place consumers shop.

Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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🎖️ Women veterans: this one's for you. The Melissa Washington Small Business Award offers up to $5K, business coaching and an all-expenses-paid trip for finalists to help launch or grow your next venture.

👀 Want your product in front of producers from The Drew Barrymore Show, GMA, CNN and more? This invite-only NYC media event is filling its legendary gift bags and there are still spots for standout brands: pitch Michelle Pippin right here.

🎤 Manifestation... but make it strategic. One marketer went from putting "Speak at Cannes Lions" on a vision board to actually taking the stage, with a reminder that the thing that makes you feel "too much" is usually your biggest advantage.

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@literarygarri via Threads

🌺 Silicon Valley's newest status symbol? Vaginal longevity. Billionaires are spending big on "sexspan" medicine as a growing wave of women treat sexual wellness like any other part of their long-term health.

✨ The Corporate Girlie is replacing the influencer. TikTok's latest obsession isn't glamorous or aspirational... it's beige offices, Outlook calendars and lunch breaks: "safe" content is becoming the internet's newest currency.

🏛️ A 29-year-old is about to make history in Congress. Melat Kiros is poised to become the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress signalling that younger women aren't waiting their turn in politics anymore.

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💌 Raising capital right now? This free AI tool helps women founders decode investor behaviour, spot red flags and figure out what to do next: it's looking for beta testers if you're actively fundraising.

🎟️ Heading to K:BOS? Klaviyo's biggest ecommerce conference is happening this September (and tickets jump $200 on July 5). If it's on your radar, now's the time to book (ABoychuk40 for 40% off).

🏆 Know an Aussie business doing incredible things? Nominations are now open for the Telstra Best of Business Awards and yes... you can nominate your own business. It's free takes just a few minutes and could be a huge credibility boost.

@just_melanin88 via Threads

🎪 Cannes has a new main character... Gen Z. Forget millennials: the biggest brands are pouring their energy into winning the next generation while one message echoed across the Croisette: offline experiences are officially back in fashion.

🎙️ Alex Cooper is finally responding to the rumours. The Unwell founder broke her silence on claims of a toxic workplace saying startup growth is messy and that women in leadership are held to a different standard.

🩸 A 22-year-old just raised $11.6M to rethink women's hormones. Her startup is building a wearable that uses AI to interpret hormone patterns in real time (proving women's health is finally becoming one of tech's hottest investment categories).

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💰 Need funding and feedback? The Freed Fellowship awards a $500 monthly grant plus every US-based applicant gets personalised business feedback, two months of mentorship and a shot at an extra $2,500 year-end grant.

🌈 Want your brand in front of the LGBTQ+ community? OutLGBTQ is looking for gift bag partners, sponsors and collaborators for its Florida summer event series, putting your products in front of attendees: pitch Adrienne right here to get involved.

🤔 Founder dilemma of the week: should you find a technical co-founder or raise and hire a founding engineer? One solo founder's honest LinkedIn post sparked a great discussion that’s well worth reading if you're building a tech company.

@hxrrop via Threads

🤫 Sephora is turning the volume down... literally. The beauty giant is rolling out quiet shopping hours worldwide after 90% of shoppers in its trial said the calmer, sensory-friendly experience made stores feel more inclusive.

🎀 LoveShackFancy is coming to Target... and Gen Alpha is about to lose it. The brand's biggest collaboration ever drops July 5 with 200+ dreamy back-to-school pieces proving affordable collabs are still one of retail's smartest growth plays.

🩺 Women's health just got a major AI upgrade. New startup Xella Health has raised $4.7M to help women get earlier answers for hard-to-diagnose conditions tackling a healthcare gap that's been overlooked for decades.

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Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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💸 Only 10 seats left: Want to stop overthinking investing? The Invest Like a Woman workshop is back on 14 July and it'll teach you how to buy shares, understand ETFs and build your own investing plan (PS: last session sold out).

🚨 Closing tomorrow: The She Seals the Deal Grant is awarding $5,000 to a US-based woman entrepreneur ready to build a more predictable sales system and grow consistent revenue. If you've been waiting for a sign... this is it.

🛍️ Got a beauty, wellness or lifestyle brand? The Business of WE is curating VIP gift bags for its annual High Tea event with 100 women entrepreneurs in NYC: perfect if you want your products in the hands of founders: pitch Keyla right here.

📸 Btw, calling all photographers: Women Photograph and Leica are offering three $10,000 grants for women and nonbinary documentary photographers to fund new or in-progress projects (applications close June 30).

Podcasted so hard we got invited to chat with the chicks at Vogue Codes ✨ | Doone Roisin

Podcasted so hard we got invited to chat with the chicks at Vogue Codes ✨

🛍️ Reformation is reportedly gearing up for an IPO as soon as next month: the celebrity-loved brand proves that strong community, great storytelling and cult status can be just as valuable as the product itself.

🩸 Menstrual leave is gaining traction around the world (but uptake is still low): founder-friendly workplaces might be less about adding new policies and more about creating cultures where women actually feel comfortable using them.

🤓 Kylie Jenner just designed Meta's newest AI glasses complete with her own voice built in: the era of celebrity partnerships is evolving from putting a face on a campaign to literally becoming part of the product.

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Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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Brought to you by our friends at Omnisend 💁‍♀️

✨ The Next Great Founders Think Like Fashion Houses: they won't just sell products, they'll build worlds. If you're figuring out your launch strategy this deep dive is well worth the read.

⚡ Know a gender justice organisation that needs to move fast? The Mobilize Power Fund offers rapid-response grants for groups responding to urgent moments, from community safety to mutual aid and movement-building.

💛 Want your brand in front of founders, media and community leaders while supporting a great cause? The Kidney Benefit Soirée is looking for sponsors and gift bag partners to help raise awareness: pitch Philomena right here.

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💸 Turns out the hottest businesses in the AI era might be... human ones. A women-only founder community just sold for seven figures as investors pour billions into businesses built around something ChatGPT can't replicate: real connection.

🌊 Hollister just launched its first-ever home collection with Target (proving your next growth category might be hiding in plain sight). The brand's betting that if customers trust what you wear, they'll trust how you decorate too.

🎬 Coach is cozying up to its young target customers with a new creator-led series that swaps glossy ads for real stories from people like Charli XCX, Angel Reese and Malala. The takeaway? Be culturally plugged-in, not just beautifully branded.

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Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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Brought to you by our friends at Omnisend 💁‍♀️

🚀 Calling all early-stage founders: this hybrid accelerator is helping women-led tech startups get investor-ready with mentorship, leadership coaching, funding prep and an in-person summit in Cologne.

💛 Know an organisation changing the lives of women and girls? Together Women Rise is awarding grants of up to $50,000 to nonprofits working across low-income and marginalised communities in the Global South.

🏇 Got a premium product that deserves a luxury audience? The International Polo Tour is filling 200 VIP gift bags for its White Lotus Anniversary Cup putting you in front of celebrities, media, and philanthropists: pitch Adrienne right here.

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🛍️ Plot twist: Gen Alpha isn't buying beauty products through AI... they're using AI to figure out what to buy, then heading straight to the shops. Nearly 70% still prefer browsing IRL because nothing beats taking it home on the spot.

👏 The menopause conversation has officially entered its correction era. New research is helping undo decades of fear around HRT and breast cancer with experts saying millions of women may have skipped treatment because of one study.

🍸 Is alcohol's wellness makeover here? As Gen Z drinks less booze brands are scrambling to keep up with the rise of kombucha, prebiotic sodas and electrolyte drinks proving the next big drinks trend might not contain alcohol at all.

Female Startup Club is where 160,000 founders, side hustlers & ambitious professionals come to grow their income & influence. And the smartest women you know are already subscribed…

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