Next Wave Impact Announces Finalists for May 11 Founders of Color Showcase

BOULDER, Colo. - May 5, 2020 - PRLog -- Next Wave Impact, a global fund of 99 women investors, today announced the 10 finalists that will present their early-stage impact companies during Next Wave Impact's inaugural Founders of Color Showcase on May 11, 2020. During the virtual event, each company's founder will exhibit its product or service to an audience of investors, funds and angel groups.

"It is with great enthusiasm that we announce the Founders of Color Showcase finalists, who are bringing inventive and investible products and services to the market," said Alicia Robb, CEO of Next Wave Impact. "We are proud to provide a platform for these founders, who overdeliver yet are underserved in the startup community. In fact, less than 5 percent of venture capital in the United States goes to companies with female, black or Latino CEOs, and we're working to change this."

Representing eight different states, the finalists were selected from among more than 100 applicants nationwide and include:

·       Martha Montoya of Agtools – Irvine, CA

·       Donnel Baird of BlocPower – New York, NY

·       Sonja Ebron of Courtroom5 – Durham, NC

·       Marcus Bullock of Flikshop – Washington D.C.

·       Andrew Hill of LiftEd – Brooklyn, NY

·       Erica Plybeah of MedHaul – Memphis, TN

·       Florence Furaha of Meetcaregivers – Auburndale, MA

·       Sona Shah of Neopenda – Chicago, IL

·       Shani Dowell of Possip – Nashville, TN

·       Christian Zimmerman of Qoins Technologies – Atlanta, GA

Also during the event, the organization will honor its semifinalists, who with the finalists have earned a spot in Next Wave Impact's upcoming six-month growth program. The semifinalists include:

·       Joshua Itano of CareCar – Newport Beach, CA

·       Adrian J (AJ) DeLeon of Innovare Social Innovation Partners – Chicago, IL

·       Ramona Ortega of My Money My Future – Brooklyn, NY

·       Sivan Cohen of Noria Water Technologies – Los Angeles, CA

·       Kayla Jackson of PeduL – Newark, NJ

·       Frederick Hutson of Pigeonly – Las Vegas, NV

·       Janna Westbrook of Provider Pool – St. Louis, MO

·       Sunti Wathanacharoen of Pulmonaer Analytics – Kansas City, MO

·       Tinia Pina of Re-Nuble – New York, New York

·       Oscar Garcia of Uulala – Ontario, CA

The virtual showcase is free to attend. To register, visit www.nextwaveimpact.com/showcase.

Sponsors of the inaugural Founders of Color Showcase include Kauffman Foundation, Anchor Point Foundation, Next Wave Foundation, Grasshopper Bank, Carta, Loon Creek Capital, and Foley Hoag. Prize sponsors include Foley Hoag, Republic, Techstars, Beta Boom, Simple Startup, HRx Services and more.