Companies to Watch: Female Founders Shaping the Future of New York Tech
The challenges women in tech continue to face are well-documented, and in many ways, they’ve been unchanged through the pandemic: In 2022, women-founded startups in the US raised just 1.9% of all VC funding, a drop from 2021.
While some notable progress has been made, Nisha Dua, co-founder and managing partner of NYC-based VC firm BBG Ventures, said those numbers aren’t significantly different from when they launched the VC firm in 2014. As she told Fortune earlier this month:
“We’re still waiting on the ecosystem-level changes we hope to see. While more dollars are going to startups with at least one female founder (from $10 billion in 2014 to $42.6 billion in 2022), the percentage going to women-led companies has plateaued at less than 2%, and the percentage to underrepresented women is infinitesimal.”
To close out Women’s History Month, we spoke with five first-time female founders navigating the uncertainties of building a company in today’s market — and in doing so, overcoming the barriers to scaling the next big ideas in energy, AI, healthcare, and more.
ITSELECTRIC
What does your company do?
itselectric co-founder and COO Tiya Gordon: itselectric is bringing equity to EV charging for the 40 million drivers who cannot charge at home as they park their cars on city streets. We do this by overcoming city electrical grid limitations by using energy from buildings to power publicly accessible curbside chargers. In return, we share revenue with the property owners offsetting an average of 80% of their annual electric bill.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
TG: I am a third generation New Yorker — there are very few other places I would want to live.
Your background is in design. What made you want to tackle EV — and jump into a founder role, no less?
TG: Living in Brooklyn, I’ve never had a car. I’ve been an avid cyclist and public transportation rider for decades — first to get myself around and later my family. Flash forward to 2020 when the pandemic hit, and I started to look at a car. I couldn’t afford a Tesla but given my environmentalism, an electric vehicle made sense. And yet, I had to rule it out — I live in Brooklyn, in an apartment, without a driveway, without a garage, and without a paid parking spot, so I had no place to charge. Even when I mapped the few chargers that were in Brooklyn in 2020, it looked bleak. My co-founder Nathan King and I started to look more deeply at this problem, and when we had that a-ha moment, that’s when itselectric was born.
You talk about itselectric being “specifically built for cities.” What challenges are you tackling in an environment like NYC that are unique from, say, upstate New York or other parts of the country?
TG: There are over 40 million drivers in cities, and simply not enough EV charging options. Most apartment dwellers don’t have access to garages, and purchasing a parking space costs hundreds of dollars a month. We decided to meet drivers where they already are: curbside where they already park. Our scalable and simple charging solutions seamlessly integrate into the existing design of urban streets and can be installed in two days at a fraction of the current average cost.
Our big differentiators are design and power source.
On design: We are the only EV charging company in North America with a small profile and a detachable cord. This is critical for us as it keeps the cord off the street when the charger is not in use. Fun fact: The cord is also the first component to break on a public charger. Drivers 'mic drop’ the cord when they are done — the clip breaks and that charger is down for the next driver. We avoid that completely.
On power source: When installing the charger, instead of connecting to the utility power line in the street, we instead pull our power from the closest building and by utilizing a submeter, we pay the utility company directly, ensuring the property owner’s bill never bubbles from the charger’s energy draw. Why would a property owner let us do this? Because we share revenue with them. They are earning passive income every month just from hosting a 7x7” charger on their curb.
We now have lots of examples of how startups are working on EV adoption. But what about the public sector side? What’s the most important thing you think government leaders should do to better support the transition to electric?
TG: Cities just need to establish their EV charging targets and create pathways for permitting. NYC is ahead of the game, having already made the commitment to 10,000 curbside chargers by 2030.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
TG: This is a hard one. For a straight slice it’s Luigi’s on Dekalb. For a 2023 answer, vegan slices at Screamers in Crown Heights.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
TG: All the independent coffee shops! Lunch is too long (for me there is too much to do in a day for a lunch meeting), but a coffee and muffin meeting gets the deal done.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
TG: The time I save on days I don’t commute is rededicated to exercise … aspirationally at least.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a peer founder spooked about the 2023 market predictions we’re all reading about?
TG: We are now dangerously close to 2025, the date the UN has set for greenhouse gas emissions to peak. National targets and efforts are being reported as not significant enough. If you’re a founder with a viable, scalable, climate solution, do everything you can to get that idea out there and to get it funded. New York VCs are working to build more climate funds and to bring more climate companies into their portfolios to help bring NYC into the center of the climate tech conversation. Be smart, be cautious.
SEEK AI
What does your company do?
Seek AI founder and CEO Sarah Nagy: Seek AI provides a platform for data teams to automate the generation and maintenance of code for answering ad-hoc questions, as well as generating and maintaining semantic models. The natural language platform builds upon organization-specific foundation models and integrates easily with popular database vendors and collaboration tools.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
SN: I’ve always wanted to live in New York since I was 15 years old — even more so when I became interested in finance. Even though I’m now running a startup in the AI space, I have come to call the city home after 11 years. I started Seek here because this is where my network is and because it’s my favorite city in the world. However, I travel quite frequently to San Francisco and the South Bay as well (we have a small office in Cupertino), and I’ve enjoyed spending time there as well.
There's obviously been an explosion in interest in AI, but how close are we to adoption that’s actually broad and widespread? Are we already there?
SN: We are already at a point where adoption of AI is broad and widespread. OpenAI, for example, has user numbers that are at least in the nine-figures. I would also argue that algorithms (which are AI-adjacent) power most of our social media apps. For example, a YouTuber asking the audience to “smash the like button for the algorithm” is an example of algorithms’ widespread adoption. The most interesting element, to me, is working towards solving “AI-complete” problems such as querying datasets in response to natural-language questions, which is a hard problem that Seek is working on solving.
In the sector, are you worried about inaccuracies and disinformation? How is Seek avoiding some of the mistakes we’ve seen across other AI-generated content sources?
SN: When I started building Seek, one of the first things I thought about was what to do if the AI-generated results were incorrect, and this led to us filing a patent for a system we call the Seek Workflow, which essentially provides guardrails to prevent wrong query results from making it back to the business user.
Your pre-seed and seed rounds obviously came at a good time. How are you translating this moment into your own company’s growth? What are you prioritizing on your roadmap this year?
SN: We’re focused on improving the user experience of our product and growing our customers this year. Doing so requires hiring great talent on the engineering and AI sides, which is a big part of our focus, as well.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
SN: Rubirosa.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
SN: Ground Support.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
SN: Take a break, if I can, to walk to the park and be in nature for a second before getting back to the startup craziness. However, I come into the office (our HQ is in SoHo) most days when I’m not traveling.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a peer founder spooked about the 2023 market predictions we’re all reading about?
SN: Don’t listen to the macro trends if you feel a sense of urgency to start something now. There are always successful startups that get founded in every kind of market. When I was starting Seek in late 2021, I was hearing similar predictions about the market, and despite it spooking me, I proceeded to start Seek anyway, well ahead of the boom in generative AI that came later in the year.
CARECOPILOT
What does your company do?
CareCopilot founder and CEO Alyse Dunn: CareCopilot is an app that rewards you for taking care of your aging parents.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
AD: I’m originally from the Midwest. Growing up, my family lived in various cities and small towns throughout Michigan and Ohio. I moved to New York over a decade ago for work after graduating from the University of Michigan and getting a job offer out here.
I’ll be honest: I was hesitant to move to New York. I grew up in suburban parts of the Midwest that were pretty devoid of diversity and culture. There weren’t many opportunities to hear different languages, learn about different cultures, or even develop a sense of general street savviness. It was hard for me to see how I would fit into a city where everyone seemed so savvy and sophisticated. I had a lot to learn. Years later, I still have a lot to learn, and that’s why I love this city. You can live here for a hundred years and you’ll never stop seeing and learning new things — about the city, and, in turn, about yourself.
You got your career started as an engineer at some big anchor tech companies. What led you to want to jump into a founder role?
AD: My sister and I took care of our aging parents for a total of eight years, one right after the other, before they both passed away. Our dad suffered from Multiple Sclerosis. Our mom had Alzheimer’s. We struggled to provide them with the best care possible in their final years of life.
After we lost our parents, I felt compelled to leverage my skills as a software engineer to ensure that others don’t have to struggle to take care of their aging parents like my sister and I did. I knew that I had to create something — anything — to ensure that others could actually enjoy their parents during their last few years of life, instead of worrying about their care or how to pay for it. This is exactly why I created CareCopilot.
We were a solid year into the pandemic when you founded CareCopliot. How did you navigate what must have felt like uncharted territory? How hard was COVID-19 on families that rely on care support for aging family members? Were there new caregiving needs that suddenly became priorities in response?
AD: Starting a company — my very first company, no less — during a pandemic absolutely was uncharted territory. I wasn’t intimidated by the challenge though, in large part because I knew that people needed help taking care of aging family members more than ever, and I knew that I could help.
I conducted hundreds of interviews during and after the pandemic with people who take care of their aging family members. I learned something interesting: In short, many aging adults who had stable or slowly declining health took a sharp decline during the pandemic, due to decreased opportunities to socialize, move around, and more. Their care needs increased at precisely the same time that outside support decreased. Some families are still reeling from the aftermath of their loved one’s health declining and never returning due to the pandemic. Additionally, many families haven’t fully recovered from the financial devastation that the pandemic inflicted. This perfect storm is exactly why people need CareCopilot now.
What’s your top piece of advice on how the tech sector in New York can better support women-led startups and founders?
AD: At the risk of sounding crass: My one-word answer is ‘money’. We’ve all heard the dire statistics about just how little funding makes its way to female founders, particularly female founders of color. Many people think that creating a successful startup is about simply having a great idea and executing on it. That’s not entirely true. The reality is that creating a successful startup is often about having a decent idea, and then iterating on that idea as you receive feedback from users, and getting it ‘right’ before you run out of money. I can’t tell you how many brilliant, female founders I’ve met who had killer ideas, but simply ran out of money before they could bring it to market at scale. There are so many VC funds and special programs out there that claim to fund female founders, but if you look under the hood, few of those dollars actually make it into the hands of female founders. I hope to see a lot of change there in the coming years.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
AD: I live in West Harlem. So, I’m partial to my local neighborhood pizzeria: King’s Pizza on 145th St.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
AD: There’s an adorable little spot in Chelsea that I just discovered for coffee called Cafe Flor. Their decor is beautiful. Definitely a great spot for a posh coffee with a prospective client or partner.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
AD: I have a WeWork all-access pass, but I work from home on most days. I think best when I’m in motion. So on days when I work from home, if I’m pondering a particularly tough problem, I like to clean, do a light workout, or dice vegetables while I think. It helps me process and helps me make my way through my home to-do list at the same time.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a peer founder spooked about the 2023 market predictions we’re all reading about?
AD: You can always find a reason to give up, or to not start at all, if you look hard enough. Down markets do make it more challenging to start certain types of businesses, but down markets simultaneously make it easier to start other types of businesses. Instead of seeing a down market as a threat, I see it as an opportunity to support people in their most vulnerable moments with the products and services that they really need. People have a lot of needs right now. Now is the perfect time for creative founders to come in and fulfill those needs.
ADDITION WEALTH
What does your company do?
Addition Wealth founder and CEO Ana Mahony: Addition Wealth is a financial wellness company that empowers individuals to make the most of their money. Whether someone is paying off student loans, saving for retirement, or buying their first home, Addition helps them navigate through their financial decisions with confidence. With Addition, individuals get access to a digital platform with tools and resources, webinars and group sessions, and one-on-one sessions with financial professionals.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
AM: I love New York. It’s where I want to live and raise my family. And it also happens to be the fintech and financial capital of the world.
Why is Addition focused on providing its services as a benefits platform through employers (vs. as a tool directly to consumers)?
AM: Employees today are facing a new set of challenges including student debt, rising costs of living, and higher interest rates — they are under significant financial stress. The majority of individuals simply don't have access to personalized financial expertise. By going to market via employers, we are able to attract users at scale and leverage data and relevant information to be able to help them make the best financial decisions for themselves.
What sort of personal finance trends are you finding most top of mind for the employees using Addition?
AM: Markets are challenging right now, and in today’s world a lot of employees have questions about their company equity, how rising interest rates impact the housing market, and more general questions around investing, budgeting, and savings. Even though the markets are tough, it’s been extremely rewarding to help individuals work through these important financial decisions and have them express their gratitude for having support and feel like they are able to make informed decisions because of Addition.
As a first-time founder, what’s been a challenge you least expected in getting your company off the ground?
AM: I expected to face challenges as a female entrepreneur and first-time founder in fintech. It’s been inspiring to meet, befriend and partner with amazing female investors who are supporting other women.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice?
AM: For delivery, Simo. For pickup, Joe’s Pizza on Carmine.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
AM: The Crosby Street Hotel.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
AM: Having multiple doors that you can lock between your workspace and your children.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a peer founder spooked about the 2023 market predictions we’re all reading about?
AM: Things shift but there are still opportunities. Figure out what they are and chase them.
EVVY
What does your company do?
Evvy co-founder and CEO Priyanka Jain: Evvy is closing the gender health gap by leveraging overlooked female biomarkers, starting with the vaginal microbiome. Evvy’s vaginal health test is the first at-home vaginal microbiome test to use metagenomic sequencing to tell you what’s up down there, why it matters, and what you can do about it. Evvy’s larger platform is also the first vaginal healthcare service to bring together state-of-the-art testing, precision clinical care, and 1:1 coaching to give women and people with vaginas the care they deserve. Through this platform, Evvy is building real-world datasets that can transform our understanding of complex female health conditions.
A question we love to ask every founder: why New York?
PJ: New York is the undeniable hub for digital health innovation — especially women’s health. Not only do we have a city leadership committed to improving access and outcomes, but we have the vast majority of women’s health startups, leading medical providers, research institutions, and world-class doctors.
You’ve spoken at length about how excluded women have been from clinical research. How is that (lack of) data informing the products you’re building?
PJ: Evvy was founded on the simple insight that there is much we still don’t know about how to best care for women and people with vaginas — women weren’t required to be in US clinical research until 1993. To this day, women are diagnosed on average 4 years later than men across 770+ diseases. Our aim is to close this gender health gap by studying previously overlooked female biomarkers, starting with the vaginal microbiome.
Many companies are working on vaginal health products (e.g. new products and supplements) or services (e.g. telehealth clinics that offer existing antibiotic treatments online). While it’s incredibly important to improve access, the unfortunate reality is that no existing testing or treatment pathways are shown to be appropriately effective. In fact, vaginitis patients are more often misdiagnosed than correctly diagnosed and bacterial vaginosis (the most common infection in women) has a recurrent rate above 50% within six months. This status quo is simply unacceptable for conditions that are so prevalent and have such a significant impact on quality of life and health outcomes.
That’s why Evvy launched a new vaginal healthcare platform, making it the first and only place to receive comprehensive vaginal microbiome testing; precise, integrative treatments; and science-backed education and support — all from the comfort of a patient’s home. In an IRB-approved study, we showed that 80% of participants who went through our treatment programs moved from dysbiosis to a protective microbiome, and 100% reported an improvement in symptoms. Excitingly, 100% of our patients felt supported, empowered, and in control when caring for their vaginal health with Evvy.
You’ve been partnering with Mayor Eric Adams to develop the city’s women’s health agenda. How has it been partnering with city government? How can the tech sector be doing more to support the public sector (and vice versa)?
PJ: It has been absolutely incredible. The administration is deeply committed to improving access and outcomes, and the speed at which their team is moving is unlike anything anyone could have expected from government. Through partnership between city government, local providers, tech companies, patient advocacy groups, and more, we have been able to bring varying strengths and expertise to the table to accelerate impact in this critical area.
As a patient-facing tech company, I think it’s critical for us to help government better understand the needs of patients and the gaps they experience in the existing standard of care, while leveraging our technology and data to improve access to care and effectiveness of care. It’s great to see city leaders building bridges between the many people working on women’s health across different organizations so we can share learnings and accelerate this work, instead of duplicating it.
What do you think doctors or other traditional healthcare providers are still neglecting, particularly when it’s come to women’s health?
PJ: Doctors and traditional healthcare providers haven’t had access to the tools they need to provide women with access to the care that they deserve. Because of the lack of precise diagnostics or effective therapeutics, many women leave the doctors office feeling dismissed, misdiagnosed, and misunderstood.
I’d encourage providers to consider how they can leverage new diagnostics to help a patient better understand their own bodies and symptoms, and help the provider determine a more specific and effective treatment pathway.
Are digital and at-home health tools going to have staying power? What do you hope healthcare looks like in 2030?
PJ: Absolutely. Adoption and experience with digital and at-home care remain high by both providers and patients, and research is showing that for many conditions, digital care (and even asynchronous care) can deliver the same health outcomes at a lower cost in a more accessible fashion for patients. By making care fit into patients' lives, hopefully we can move closer to true “healthcare” (as opposed to our current model, which would be more accurately called “sick care”). By 2030, I hope healthcare is truly patient-first, healthcare data is precise and interoperable, and healthcare services have equal efficacy for female bodies as male ones.
Okay, some rapid-fire questions. First: where do you get your favorite pizza slice
PJ: Pasquale Jones.
What’s the best place in New York for a coffee or lunch meeting?
PJ: Three of Cups in SoHo.
What’s your favorite hybrid/remote work office hack?
PJ: Don’t work from your bed.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a peer founder spooked about the 2023 market predictions we’re all reading about?
PJ: The best companies are built in times like these!
