Me3D founder Leanne Connelly competes at the SoGal Summit & Global Pitch Competition.

Last 29 February, Leanne Connelly, female founder of Me3D competed alongside inspiring founders and entrepreneurs at the SoGal Summit & Global Pitch Competition in San Francisco. 

Leanne was one of the sixty early stage finalists out of 1700 startups who pitched to judges from SoGal Ventures, Draper U Ventures, Maveron Ventures, Techstars, GGV Capital, and PayPal Ventures, among others. 

The SoGal Summit and Global Pitch Competition is the largest worldwide startup competition for women & diverse entrepreneurs. 

“I competed in Sydney and based on a few criteria a few were selected to compete in San Francisco. I felt honoured and excited all at the same time to be competing in such a big platform,” Leanne shares.

SoGal gathers 1,700 startup applications globally and hosts regional round pitch competitions across 5 continents. Composed of women and diverse founders, the finalists then get to participate in the final round in San Francisco. 

Being the first female-led millennial venture capital firm that believes in the power of diversity, borderless business, and human-centric design SoGal aims to educate and empower female entrepreneurs. It brings together female and diverse founders and funders to make a difference, to share ideas, and to build a community. 

“I was able to understand how being diverse in such a competitive business market can be used as an advantage and not see it as a weakness,” Leanne shares.

Pocket Sun, SoGal Ventures co-founder said in her keynote speech during the event, “I know it’s controversial for me to say this but as a venture capital, I don’t care about what technology you’re building. I care about who you are serving, and what it is doing for them”

“It was a great opportunity as well because we are all diverse founders who face similar difficulties and the SoGal competition was a good platform for us all to come together and help each other out”

Leanne went alongside Sydney-based female-led startups iNovoTech and Ywaste app.

Here’s a clip of Leanne pitching at SoGal. 

Me3D at iAccelerate

Me3D was founded in 2013 and boasts an exceptional reputation as an inspiring company because of their commitment to children’s education. 

One of our earliest startups, Me3D has provided 3D printers to local public schools in the region and continually aims to embed 3D printing as a core education technology and improve engagement of kids with STEM learning. 

“Going through an accelerator program means that you have a higher advantage by knowing what to talk about and how to tackle the difficult questions you might face. You are pre-vetted and not coming out with an idea straight from a garage,” Leanne shares. 

iAccelerate’s program is a bespoke, fully-customisable program that helps you validate, activate, grow, and expand your idea while cultivating a mindset for success.

“It was a competitive environment but at the same time it didn’t feel like one and I think partially that’s because of the training and feedback I have received at iAccelerate” 

Our pitching sessions are a core part of our program that allows for peer-to-peer pitching opportunities, professional presentation training and mentoring, and culminates in a final pitching event to a panel of industry experts and investors from the local, national and global business community.

Know more about Me3D here.

______________

iAccelerate.  We’re passionate about supporting the success of startups and entrepreneurs. With a unique accelerator and incubator program where a thriving community of like-minded individuals thrive. Our program offerings can help you Prime, Activate, Grow, and Expand your idea. 

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY. Visit our website. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Read the latest news. Meet our residents. Join our network.