Announced at The Ambition Fund Business Battle Pitch Competition as part of the 15th Anniversary of the A3C Festival & Conference, Femly Box received an initial investment of $25,000 that was matched by former NBA player Baron Davis, who was a panelist at the festival, totaling a $50,000 investment for Femly Box. With more than 1200 applicants nationwide, Femly Box was one of the five finalists that participated in the Business Battle Pitch Competition that was judged by Kat Cole, president North America, Focus Brand COO, Angela Matheny, Head of Diverse Manager Equity, Colonial Consulting, LLC, Lisa Calhoun, Valor Ventures, General Partner, and Tanya Sam. Additional finalists included Serafina Palandech, founder & CEO, A Boring Life, Mbye Njie, CEO Legal Equalizer, Dumarkis Davis, Founder & CEO, Musicbuk, and Kelley Cambry, Co-founder, Blue Studios
"We are leveling the playing field by intentionally going out beyond the traditional circles to provide underrepresented entrepreneurs a chance at developing capital, mentorship, and resources for their business," says Tanya Sam. "With Femly Box, I not only loved the brand's beautiful packaging, but I loved Arion's business model; she's fulfilling a need in the market for biodegradable & non-toxic products. We were also impressed by how she's been able to use Femly's B2B model to drive their B2C subscription model, and I'm so excited to work with her on this next phase of her business."
As the director of Partnerships at TechSquare Labs and co-lead of Ascend Atlanta, Tanya has mentored over 60 companies with women and minority founders and helped invest in over 50 companies that have generated a total of over $100 million in revenue. The Ambition Fund combines Tanya's background in startup funding and her passion for creating pathways for women and minority entrepreneurs.
"Winning the Business Battle and accompanying investment from the Ambition Fund was life-changing," says Arion Long, founder of Femly Box. "As a black female founder, access to capital is often a struggle. This win not only solidified the viability of our company and business model, but the investment we received will also help us scale and mean the world when it comes to representation and inclusion in venture capital."
To learn more about The Ambition Fund or to submit an application to the next Business Battle Pitch Competition, please visit theambitionfund.com.
To partner with The Ambition Fund on empowering underrepresented founders or to bring The Ambition Fund's Business Battle to your city, please contact partner@TheAmbitionFund.com.
