fnGlobal Keynote & Roundtables with Pam Marrone (August 17, 2023)

Last year, women-founded startups in the U.S. secured just 1.9% of venture capital (around $4.5 billion) of the total $238.3 billion allocated, according to the latest data from PitchBook.

“The statistics show that the amount of venture capital going to women is very small,” says serial entrepreneur Pam Marrone. “That's a major challenge. Women entrepreneurs don't get their share of venture capital.”

However, despite the disparity and the challenges many women founders face, Pam has been fortunate to secure funding throughout her startup journey. The multi-time founder has raised nearly $300 million from investors. Her second startup, AgraQuest, was acquired by Bayer Crop Science for nearly $500 million. And her third startup, ag-tech company Marrone Bio went public in 2013 and was acquired for $260 million last year.

Now Pam devotes her time to helping other startup founders as an advisor.

In a global keynote for Founders Network on August 17, she will share her tips for attracting startup investors when you don’t fit the mold. Whether you’re a founder from a minority group or a technical founder struggling to establish credibility, Pam will share insights on what investors are looking for.

Her webinar will also cover:

• How to establish credibility as a technical founder
• Tips for honing your pitch
• How to identify emerging markets
• Utilizing an advisory board to fill your gaps

Opening Remarks @ 9:30am PT

Join us for opening remarks with Dina Fattom, Member Success Manager at Founders Network, to get the latest updates from the Network and opportunities for getting involved.

Keynote Speaker @ 9:40am PT

Dr. Pam Marrone spent her 30+ year career focused on biological products for pest management and plant health, having started and led three bioag companies (Entotech, AgraQuest and Marrone Bio Innovations (now called Profarm Group), all of which were sold to larger companies. She is one of only 32 women to have founded a company and taken it public. With co-founder Jim Boyd, the former CFO of Marrone Bio, Pam is launching a fourth company, the Invasive Species Corporation and its corresponding Invasive Species Research Institute, to bring effective, environmentally friendly biological solutions to control destructive invasive species, in water, forestry and agriculture. She is on the board of the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, is a Senior Fellow of the Arizona State University Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems and is a past alumni-Trustee of Cornell University. She is Chair of the Board of Elicit Plant and serves on the boards of 180 Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ATNF), Stem Express and Pheronym and advises several agtech/agbio startups, many founded or led by women. Among her many awards, in 2022 she was the first woman to receive the American Chemical Society “Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success.” She has a B.S. in entomology with Honors and Distinction from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in entomology from North Carolina State.

Stage-Based Roundtables @ 10:30am PT

Community Partners:

Jeff Erickson

Jeff leads the Partnerships Team at Forecastr — a leading FP&A software company that helps startups create kick-butt financial models to impress investors, confidently raise capital, and effectively run their businesses better.

Jeff serves on the advisory boards of several startup companies and is an active angel investor. He's passionate about startups and enjoys working with founders and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Jeff is an experienced entrepreneur and was the founder and CEO of a successful consumer goods company that he rapidly grew from $1M in sales its first year to over $40M in annual revenue in its fourth year of operations and was ranked #138 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies.

Prior to founding his own company, Jeff was a partner at Beanstalk Partners where he led the sales and business development activities. He also served as the National Sales Director for a venture-backed tech startup where he generated over $45M in client contracts and developed the company’s channel partner program.

Jeff has a degree in accounting and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah. After receiving his MBA in Finance from the University of Utah he served as the Vice President of Investments for Sentry Financial Corporation.

Cathy Keeler

Cathy is the Managing Partner at FullScope Growth, a global consortium of elite Fractional Executives and Business Acceleration Partners that provide the exact combination of experts that organizations require.

She has cross-functional experience in sales, management, marketing and business planning, client services, network development and operations. Delivers strong results within highly competitive markets.

Guests Are Welcome!

Please bring a guest! Every member can bring one (1) guest to each event. Each guest must be a full-time tech startup founder so they can bring new perspectives, skillsets, and experience to your chapter.

All guests must be full-time tech startup founders and you can register them directly on this function page. See How to Register a Guest here.

Confidentiality Reminder

All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.