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If you are a Female Founder looking for accessible 1:1 guidance to Launch, Grow, or Exit…
Articles by Kelly Anne
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The Free Tool I Tell Every Female Founder to Set Up Before Her First Investor Meeting
The Free Tool I Tell Every Female Founder to Set Up Before Her First Investor Meeting
I have advised over a hundred female founders at this point, and I can tell you the pattern that keeps showing up. A…
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The Tradeshow Follow-Up Problem Nobody Talks About (And How Using HubSpot's AI-powered Smart CRM Changed Everything for My Business)
The Tradeshow Follow-Up Problem Nobody Talks About (And How Using HubSpot's AI-powered Smart CRM Changed Everything for My Business)
I've walked more tradeshow floors than I can count and last week at the Summer Fancy Food Show I was reminded of the…
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 shared thisThe best conversations in business always happen face to face. For years, working with software has meant typing questions into a silent text box and waiting for words to generate on a screen. The team at Tavus gave me early access to Griffin, their new human interaction model, and I hopped on a video call to see it for myself. Instead of a delayed chatbot waiting its turn, Griffin looks right at you over video. It sees, hears, smiles, nods, and speaks in real time. You can laugh, interrupt mid-sentence, or talk naturally, and it reacts with genuine human rhythm. For Founders building companies and making big decisions every day, having technology that truly listens and converses face to face is incredible. Think about practicing a retail pitch, roleplaying a tough vendor negotiation, or working through customer feedback without feeling alone at your laptop. The future of Entrepreneurship belongs to tools that bring real connection back into the work we do every day 💐 You can check out what they are building at tavus.io and you can see how I used Griffin below in the comments! #Entrepreneurship #Ai #InnovationKelly Anne Parker 💐 shared thisToday we're introducing Griffin, the first model to pass the real-time video Turing test. On live video, 48% of people who talked to it thought it was a real person. Previous systems, including our own, had less than a 3% pass rate. It is also #1 on the NVIDIA benchmark for realtime full-duplex AI video. It's the first Human Interaction Model (HIM): a new class of video-to-video, unified full-duplex models that listen, watch, talk, gesture and react at the same time, like a person. At Tavus, we want computing to become invisible, to feel as natural as talking to a friend or coworker. You shouldn’t have to turn a messy thought into a perfect prompt, or explain “this” when you’re pointing right at it. A tutor with their eyes closed misses the confusion on your face. And an apology means very little when it comes with a smile. These details are the difference between feeling understood and having to manage the machine. The solution to this is human computing. Human communication is a dance: the timing, the expression, the give and take. Griffin is a huge step forward in understanding and returning those signals much like a human would. The idea is that even though you know its AI, it fades into the background, you talk without having to think, you feel understood. This is the biggest research leap we've ever made at Tavus. Incredibly proud of the team and excited to welcome this new chapter in human computing.
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 shared thisToday is National Women's Small Business Day, and I want to celebrate the incredible women building businesses all around us. When I was building my first company, the support that truly kept me going was practical, generous, and personal. Women placed real orders, introduced me to their favorite suppliers, and celebrated every single milestone right alongside me. The most meaningful way to champion female founders is by buying our products, hiring our services, and making warm introductions that open life-changing doors. When we put real dollars behind women and champion each other loudly, our entire community grows 💐 To every female founder in my network, let us turn this post into an active directory. What is the name of your business and what do you sell? Drop your link below, or tag an incredible woman-owned business we should all be supporting this week! #femalefounders #womeninbusiness #smallbusiness #founderlife #entrepreneurship
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 shared this40% of small businesses in America will be women-owned by the end of 2026. That is one of the most exciting milestones happening in Entrepreneurship right now. In a world where so much of the headline conversation revolves around venture capital and billion dollar rounds, women across the country are quietly generating nearly $2 trillion in revenue on their own terms. I bootstrapped my company with less than $5k and sold it at 30 years old. Nobody handed me an investment check. I used my credit line for inventory and reinvested every dollar customers spent straight back into the business. That is not the exception anymore. That is the pattern. Female Founders are building real, profitable companies with customer cash flow, not permission from investors. When you protect your ownership from day one, the decisions stay yours, the margins stay yours, and the timeline stays yours. That $2 trillion milestone is proof that women already know how to build businesses that last 💐 Founders: are you building toward profit on your own terms, or are you feeling pressure to chase outside funding? Do you need support on your bootstrapping strategy? Reach out to me, I would love to be a resource to you! #femalefounders #womeninbusiness #founderlife #entrepreneurship
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 reposted thisKelly Anne Parker 💐 reposted this23 VC funds backing women founders — worth knowing if you’re raising. We came across this useful list from Jessica Anderson: #VC funds actively investing in women-led companies, across stages, sectors and approaches — from women’s health and consumer to technology and impact. A list like this is a great starting point. It’s also where the real work begins. Before reaching out to any fund, you need to check four things: stage, sector, geography, and check size. Multiply that across 23 funds, and “finding the right investor” quietly becomes a research project — before you’ve written a single pitch. The right investor isn’t simply someone who invests in women founders. It’s someone whose thesis actually matches what you’re building. That��s the exact layer Only Universe removes. One profile — your stage, sector, geography, traction — matched against live investor theses, grants and mentors, instead of a spreadsheet you maintain and cross-reference yourself. Don’t pitch everyone. Get matched to the ones whose thesis already fits. onlyuniverse.space #OnlyUniverse #WomenFounders #VentureCapital #WomenInVC #StartupFunding #FemaleFounders #women #vc
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 posted thisYears ago I needed help with a real operational problem in my business and the only option I could find was a consultant charging $1,500 for a single call. I couldn't afford it. I needed the rest of my credit line for inventory. So I sat there, stuck, trying to figure it out alone before Claude and all my other Ai teammates ☺️ That experience never left me. Now advising over 100 Female Founders, I hear the same thing constantly. A Founder has a cash crunch, an inventory question, or a vendor negotiation happening this week and she needs someone tactical in her corner right now. Not next month. Not after a 6 week onboarding into a mastermind. That is exactly why I built my sessions with no long term contracts or commitments. Just a Founder by your side who has been in your shoes and someone you can book same day in a crunch or plan with you weekly or monthly. The women I work with don't need a pep talk. They need someone who will get on the call and help them make a decision before the week is over 💐 To my fellow Female Founders: what kind of support has actually moved the needle for you? What is a resource you need that I can build that would better support your business? #femalefounders #womeninbusiness #founderlife #entrepreneurship
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 posted thisI bootstrapped and sold my company in under 4 years at 30 years old. Lately, I am seeing more Female Founders hit their benchmarks and consider an exit earlier than they ever expected. Selling early can be life-changing, but before you sign an offer, here are three things every Founder should consider: 1. What happens the day after: Everyone talks about the wire hitting your bank account, but nobody talks about the identity shift. The daily problem-solving and the work you built suddenly disappear. You need to know who you are when you wake up the next morning without your company to run. 2. Whether you have to stay on as an employee: Are you completely walking away, or will your payout depend on earnouts? Many buyers require you to stay on to transition operations. If you built a business for autonomy, reporting to a corporate boss can feel much harder than running your own company. 3. Why you are choosing to sell right now? Are you selling because you hit your real finish line, or are you just exhausted? If you are overwhelmed from carrying every single operational hat, better systems or extra support might be what you actually need. An exit should be an intentional choice, not an escape hatch from burnout. Building an asset someone wants to buy is a massive accomplishment, but walking away before you are truly ready can come with real regrets 💐 To my fellow Female Founders: if someone handed you an acquisition offer tomorrow, would you take it or keep building? #femalefounders #womeninbusiness #founderlife #exitstrategy
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 shared thisThrough the years of building, I have learned that some of the best breakthroughs in business do not happen behind a laptop. They happen when you step away to do something fun with other Founders. Entrepreneurship can be deeply isolating. Nobody schedules recess for you. Nobody creates space on your calendar to step away from the daily fire drills, laugh, and bounce ideas around with people who actually get it. When you create opportunities to learn and grow through shared experiences, everything shifts. You get fresh perspective, honest conversations (in our case, VERY honest) you cannot have anywhere else, and the energy to keep building. Taking time for fun during the workweek is not a distraction from the work. It is fuel for it. It’s like adding a little side quest of whimsy to your week 💫 This Wednesday, I had the opportunity to be a guest in the audience at The Drew Barrymore Show with Kristina Horan and Krysta Huber and of course after the show we talked about our businesses, life and goals over lunch. These are the type of opportunities that push each other forward! ✨ To my fellow Female Founders: what is your favorite way to build fun and connection into your workweek? Need some ideas DM me #femalefounders #womeninbusiness #founderlife #entrepreneurship
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 shared thisI have truly enjoyed my time working with the Krave Cocktail Seltzer this past year and look forward to working with this year’s winner! Please apply the deadline is tomorrow!! 💫Kelly Anne Parker 💐 shared thisA year after winning Audience Choice at our Pitch Competition, here's where the women behind Krave Cocktail Seltzer stand: · Revenue: under $100,000 when they competed, projected at $200,000 this year. · Hiring: 3 to 5 new employees since participating, the strongest job number of any of our 2025 finalists · Capital: funds used exactly as planned, entirely toward new product development. · Mentorship: An ongoing relationship with Kelly Anne Parker 💐 of Launch Grow Exit, who Rachel Ransom still consults on "all topics related to business." Aliyah N., Angel Hobbs, MBA., and Rachel Ransom set out to close a gap in the ready-to-drink cocktail market and to grow representation in an industry where Black women founders remain underrepresented. This is what happens when timely capital and real mentorship meet founders who've already proven their product is in demand. Apply for your chance to pitch on the big stage. #foundersuccess https://lnkd.in/egy5PgCv
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 shared thisAfter a Sunday night doomscroll, I realized how many Founders only share the highlight reel and not the highs and lows of Entrepreneurship. So let me share my mistakes, starting with the day a $30,000 order broke in transit. 300 orders arrived completely shattered and I had to get on a Flight to Atlanta and fix it myself. I was sitting on the floor of my hotel room crying, staring at inventory I could not afford to replace. Desperate for help, I reached out to someone who could guide me. Her rate was $1,500 for a single phone call. I couldn't pay her because I didn't have $1,500 and needed to use the rest of my credit line on repurchasing inventory. It wasn't a coaching moment. I needed tactical support to help me figure out what to do in that crisis. That moment was why I eventually built Launch Grow Exit with $100 sessions, no long term contracts or commitments - just a Founder by your side who has been in your shoes. Female Founders dealing with real operations deserve direct tactical support without someone charging a month of rent just to answer the phone. That $30,000 disaster still creeps up in how I guide Founders through logistics and operations today and it is the reason why I work with Founders who are very early stage all the way to getting close to exiting because I have lived through experience of these chapters. To every Female Founder building right now, what is the hardest mistake you have had to navigate alone? #femalefounders #womeninbusiness #founderlife #startups
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You can sign up here! Excited to have join the fun Louise Butera https://launchgrowexit.beehiiv.com/
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisKelly Anne Parker 💐 liked this🚀 TOSS is looking for an intern! We’re looking for an enthusiastic, hands-on intern to join us 2–3 days a week throughout November and December. If you’re passionate about food, brands, social, marketing and fancy getting stuck into life at a start-up, we’d love to hear from you. You’ll be involved across all sorts - from marketing, social to events and tradeshows. 📍 London 📅 November -December | 2–3 days per week Interested? Send your CV to info@toss-world.com with a little bit about yourself 🙌 Please share with anyone you think might be a good fit!
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisProud of the work we did on this $100 million energy infrastructure joint venture. It was a complex transaction with many moving pieces, and I’m proud of how GNS Law helped bring it all together. Proud of what we continue to build at GNS Law.Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisLarge-scale infrastructure projects require more than capital and a shared vision—they require a legal framework capable of supporting every stage of the transaction. In this matter, we served as project counsel for a $100 million energy infrastructure joint venture, coordinating the legal work across multiple parties, negotiating key agreements, and helping keep the transaction on track from financing through closing. Within three months, the joint venture closed, regulatory approvals were secured, and construction began on schedule. Complex transactions demand more than legal documents. They require strategic legal counsel that keeps every moving piece aligned. Learn more about our work at gnslawpllc.com. #EnergyLaw #Infrastructure #JointVenture #MergersAndAcquisitions #ProjectFinance #RenewableEnergy #CorporateLaw #BusinessLaw #CrossBorderTransactions
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisKelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisA former client called with a project I could have done. A few weeks ago they reached out with an idea for how I could support their clients. It's not the direction my business is moving right now, but I know the business and could jump in quickly. And I won't lie, the money would have helped. I have a lot of home projects I'd like to finish this year. So we hopped on a quick call and I started putting a proposal together. I sent back two options I thought were great. They came back with some thoughts, and I realized we weren't aligned. They weren't just asking me to change one thing. It was going to take hours of my time, one of us was going to have to bend (it was going to be me), and it wasn't going to get me any closer to where I want to go. So I sent an email: thanks for thinking of me, and this isn't going to work for me. 📣 Shout out to Maggie Blackburn 🩵 whose voice I heard in my head as I nervously wrote that email. It was scary, and yes, my bank account definitely side-eyed me. But the stress wasn't worth it. I'm leaving room for clients and projects that align with the version of the business I'm building today.
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisKelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisI’m excited to share that I’ve moved into a new role at People Inc. as Manager, Brand Partnerships Production for the Beauty, Style and Entertainment vertical! A big thank you to everyone who has supported me through this process. Looking forward to this next chapter and continuing to work with iconic brands alongside incredible people.
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisKelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisWe're partnering with the iconic third place of New York City - Time Out - to kick start New York Advertising Week 🍎 🚕 ☕ Women in media: Join us at the Time Out Union Square Market for an outdoor morning brunch 🌼 Ease your way into the week Our Third Place. What to expect: ☕ Coffee + Breakfast Bites by Café D’Avignon 🤝 Facilitated Networking Activities 📌 Pick Up Your O3P Pin: Add an Our Third Place pin to your conference lanyard so you can spot fellow O3P women throughout the week. 🛍️ Goodie Bags by Beia & more to be announced soon! RSVP in the comments! Cannot wait to see you there~ Daniela Franco Estee Cross Jennifer Picht Stephanie Jill M.
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisKelly Anne Parker 💐 liked this💊 Hiring for TWO new roles in the Supplement space! 💊 Brand Manager | Popular Women's Wellness Brand: - Own PR, comms, events, and partnerships end-to-end - Liaise with PR agency and pitch stories you spot yourself * 5+ yrs in brand, PR, or partnerships required (wellness experience is a plus!) Sr. Partnerships Manager | Pre-Launch Supplement Brand in Haircare: - Build partnership strategy from the ground up via recruiting creators, celebs, and cultural voices to become long-term brand advocates - Launch ambassador, affiliate, seeding, and expert programs - Negotiate deals and work directly with the founders * 5+ years of partnerships, talent, and/or influencer strategy required Interested, or know someone who may be? DM me or comment below! #hiring #wellness #beauty #partnerships #supplements #wellness
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisKelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisExcited and proud to announce that Evan Hughes is the new Chief Operating Officer at Refine Labs I remember personally recruiting Evan to Refine Labs in 2021 as Director of Demand Generation He quickly earned promotions to Senior Director and then VP of Demand as Refine Labs experienced a period of rapid growth in 2021 and 2022 He later took on an even bigger challenge: stepping in as VP of Marketing to our marketing function through a critical transition of moving the agency off founder-led marketing and building a full, repeatable marketing engine that no longer depends on any single person and drives a high volume of qualified inbounds for our agency As we have continued to scale, Evan has increasingly leaned into broader parts of the business beyond marketing, developing the operational range that made him the natural choice for this next step This change reflects our continued commitment to investing in building a leadership team to help us scale while also giving me the opportunity to focus on key growth opportunities to realize our vision We have big plans for the future and more exciting announcements coming soon For now, join me in congratulating Evan! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g_gaazndEvan Hughes Named Chief Operating Officer of Refine LabsEvan Hughes Named Chief Operating Officer of Refine Labs
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisKelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisYears ago, I made the big kahuna of influencer outreach mistakes. 🐟 I was doing fractional CMO work for a microwaveable rice brand and was looking to collaborate with food influencers for the launch. I did a deep dive and found a blogger who just seemed perfect. “I love your blog and would love to collaborate with you on a paid campaign for this delicious rice that heats in the microwave in just 2 minutes,” I wrote. Her reply: “If you took the time to actually read my blog, you’d know pretty quickly that I am against microwaving food.” 😬 I’m glad that I learned this early in my career. I’ve never made that mistake again and have coached brands and their PR reps on how to avoid that pitfall themselves (don’t just assume every mom influencer is going to breastfeed, for example.) The problem is that automated AI outreach and pitching has simply made this gaffe commonplace today. Everyone just wants to scale communication instead of doing the most important thing for collaborations: connecting as a human. This is why I tell my mom creator community to avoid pitch platforms at all costs. Sorry not sorry. I get multiple emails a day from creators using Bento that say “Hey Gugu Guru- I love your products!” Spoiler alert: I don’t have any products. Immediate delete. 😒 TL;DR Stay human.
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Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisVery proud to have backed these two very "smart cookies" 🍪 Love this Ashley Fields & Kim Anderson !Kelly Anne Parker 💐 liked thisAshley Fields is a “smart cookie," and so is Fields Good. Speaking at ADWEEK’s Brandweek, the co-founder and daughter of Mrs. Fields Cookies founder Debbi Fields said the brand aims to redefine what a healthy cookie can taste like, offering benefits like focus and protein without sacrificing flavor. Since launching May 27 with a $1.8 million pre-seed round led by Female Founders Fund, Fields Good has leaned on its distinctive founder story and earned media, landing spots on the Today show and coverage in The New York Times and PEOPLE Magazine | PEOPLE.com, building trust and driving its strongest sales lever: sampling “hand-to-mouth.”Why the Fields Good Business Plan Is Anything But Cookie-CutterWhy the Fields Good Business Plan Is Anything But Cookie-Cutter
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