Amy from The Riveter hanging with Oprah. Via Instagram.
Mixtape Vol. 33
The Backstage Mixtape brings you news, opportunities, and stories that help underestimated founders succeed. Subscribe.
News
Headliners
Civic Eagle raises a $1.3 million seed round to make searching government legislature records easier. Read.
Bandwagon raises $200k from South Carolina Research Authority and SC Launch to bring transparency to the ticketed live event industry. Read.
Unomi hits their $107k crowdfunding target raising from over 400+ investors to bring innovation to animation. Read.
Selected as 1% out of thousands of companies, Workfrom joins the 2020 Techstars Anywhere class. Read.
Melissa of Mahmee joins host Jason Calacanis on This Week in Startups to discuss improving the experience for mothers of color and much more. Watch.
Josh of Hava Health impresses the investors on Gimlet's The Pitch podcast. Listen.
Liane of Aquaai speaks at TEDxFrankfurt about the power of intuition. Watch.
Built In LA names Headliners Blue Fever and nēdl in their 50 Startups to Watch in 2020. Read.
The U.S. House of Representatives is providing Diet ID to thousands of Capitol Hill and district-based staffers. Read.
Melanie of Lorals and Andrea of O.school were featured in print XBIZ, the adult entertainment industry's leading publication. Read.
Jobs
Software Engineer, Lead iOS Engineer, Office Manager @ Weav - NYC. Apply.
Product Engineer, Client Solutions Specialist @ Pilotly - LA/Oakland, CA. Apply.
Lots of roles open @ Carrot! - San Francisco, CA. Apply.
Discover more career opportunities.
Events
Year of the Boss
Feb. 3 - London, UK
Headliner Joycelyn Mate of Afrocenchix will be on a panel to discuss business challenges – from funding to branding – and how to overcome them.
Learn more.
Startup Grind Global Conference
Feb. 11-12 - Silicon Valley, CA
10,000 people from around the globe converge on Silicon Valley for 2 days of nonstop education, inspiration, and invaluable networking spanning 10 stages, 100+ sessions, and social events. Backstage Partner Bryan Landers will be participating in the invite-only, pre-event Accelerate Summit.
Learn more.
Personalized Beauty Summit
Feb. 19-20 - San Francisco, CA
Bringing together innovative change-makers and market leaders in the beauty tech industry designed to help you become a digital first beauty company.
Learn more.
Hacking With The Homies
Feb. 29 - Detroit, MI
The first software developer conference with a 100% focus on Black and Brown software developers. All event profits go to funding Detroit Black Tech initiatives and events.
Learn more.
Opportunities
The Fast Company Queer 50
Help select the most important and innovative queer women and non-binary people transforming the world of business, tech, and beyond. Produced in collaboration with Lesbians Who Tech.
Nominate someone by January 31.
Minneapolis Shark Tank Casting Call
Apply to appear on the award-winning reality show that gives people from all walks of life the chance to chase the American dream.
Apply by February 7.
LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program
The free-for-founders LEAP accelerator is specifically formulated to help LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs grow.
Apply by February 9.
Technology Innovation Challenge
A $1.375M award for transformative, human-centered solutions to prevent and combat homelessness.
Apply by February 25.
Resources
Backstage x Brex
Brex is the first corporate card built for startups. No personal guarantee for founders, higher limits, and rewards tailor-made for startups. Our friends at Brex are extending waived card fees for life and $5K in AWS credits to the Backstage community. Signup or email backstage@brex.com.
What We're Reading
Atlanta-Based Entrepreneur Jewel Burks Solomon named Head of Google For Startups, US. Read.
The new CEO of RBS bank sets aside £1B for female entrepreneurs to create 50K new businesses by 2023. Read.
A founder shares the nitty gritty details from their journey raising a Seed round. Read.
Samara Mejia Hernandez launches Chingona Ventures to invest in badass women. Read.
Goldman Sachs will no longer do IPOs for companies with all-male boards. Read.