Let Her Speak wraps Women’s Capital Series with live pitch event at 121 Tech Hub
The three-month program, organized by Knoxville-based nonprofit Let Her Speak, was designed to equip female founders with the tools, network and real-world experience needed to navigate business growth and investment.
Catherine Porth launched Let Her Speak in 2017 to elevate women’s voices and build stronger support systems for female leaders across the community.
The “Women’s Capital Series” is just one of several programs under the organization’s umbrella, but Porth said it has quickly become one of her favorite initiatives.
“A lot of your traditional pitch competitions are more for tech startups or highly scalable businesses, but a lot of the businesses that I meet with and talk with women about are much more purpose driven,” said Porth. “I want to make sure that the voices of these women that are doing this work and building these businesses for community impact are being seen, heard and valued just as much as our tech startups are, because we need both in our communities,” said Porth.
How it worked:
Each founder had five minutes to pitch their business, followed by three minutes of Q&A from a panel of judges that included:
- Brandon Bruce, co-founder of 121 Tech Hub and Market Square Ventures
- Sherry Dial, founder of Dial Services
- Erica McMannes, CEO of Instant Teams
- Liz Mabey with How Women Invest
- Savannah Mosier with Avison Young
Porth also noted that two of the judges, Dial and Mosier, volunteered to be a judge as they both have interest in becoming investors themselves. Giving women an opportunity to be on the other side of the table and judge pitches before their capital is in the mix is just another way this program supports the Knoxville’s female business ecosystem.
The founders:
- Heather Zuchowski, ADAPT MARK: Reimagining accessible art supplies and tools for adults with disabilities, closing the gap for everyone to find healing through art.
- Karen Ocon Mora, Kultiva Coaching: Culturally relevant and sustainable support systems for Latinas.
- Krishanda Upton, PINQ Social Club: A community space building meaningful adult friendships centered on movement and mindset.
- Dr. Bree Conklin, Magnolia Harbor Carefarm: A therapeutic program for traumatic grief using human-animal connections to bring healing to people and animals alike.
- Bonnie Casamassima, Intuitive by Nature: Helping purpose-driven leaders reconnect with their inner wisdom through intuition research and education.
- Destynie Ireland, Rooted Solutions: A maternal health hub building the postpartum support village.
- Kenya Ransey, WORTH Enterprises: Guiding high-achieving women toward internal alignment and fulfillment.
- Jasmine Allmon, Allmon Artistry: Enhancing beauty and restoring confidence for survivors through cosmetic and medical tattooing.
- Deahna Joi, Budgets by Joi: Helping nonprofits and small businesses seek funding and the next generation develop financial literacy.
Follow Let Her Speak on LinkedIn and Instagram to learn more about future programming.
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