POCKET SUN

SoGal Ventures

Pocket Sun is a visionary investor and entrepreneur. Since 2015, she has pioneered a global movement to invest in women’s potential as founders and funders. At age 24, she co-founded SoGal Ventures, the first women-led, next-gen venture capital firm investing in world class women and diverse entrepreneurs. In the past four years, she has built a track record of being the earliest and/or the only women investor in multiple billion-dollar companies. Under her leadership, SoGal has become a top-performing, high-impact financial institution, a global brand as a strong ally for women entrepreneurs, and a strong network in core sectors including consumer tech, digital health & wellness, and future of work.

Ms. Sun became one of the youngest persons to be on the cover of Forbes Asia magazine. She has been recognized with numerous honors  including Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Forbes Under 30 in VC, Singapore 100 Women In Tech, and LinkedIn Top Voices. Additionally, she has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, Bloomberg, Fast Company and more. Ms. Sun was the TV Host of Start-Up Season 5, Singapore’s answer to Shark Tank, which airs in 26 Asian markets, and has a Chinese business podcast which boasts over a million listeners.

DAWN LAFREEDA

Den-Tex Central, Inc., DBA Denny’s Restaurants

Dawn Lafreeda is the largest single-owner franchisee within the Denny’s restaurant chain and one of the most successful female restaurant franchise owners in the United States. She serves as a Director and Treasurer of the Board for the Denny’s Franchisee Association and is an active member on several Denny’s, Inc. committees including The Development Brand Advisory Council, The Equipment Task Force and The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.

In recognition of her business acumen and commitment to service, Ms. Lafreeda has received over 70 awards and honors. Recently she was featured on Oprah Daily’s Power Shift program for her support of the Dress For Success Program, a global non-profit program designed to support women in business. In addition, she has been recognized as: Working Woman magazine’s 500 Largest Women Owned Businesses in the Country, Denny’s Operator of the Year, The Presidential Leadership Award from Big Brothers Big Sisters, Denny’s Developer of the Year, The Anchor Award from Equality Texas, The 2019 NAWBO Women’s Business Owner of the Year, The Equality Award from The Human Rights Campaign, and Denny’s President Award, among others. Of all her accomplishments, her proudest honor is being mom to her 18 year old twin sons, Cruise and Connor.

WENDY RYAN

CEO of Kadabra

Wendy Ryan is the author of the bestselling and award-winning book, Learn Lead Lift: How to Think, Act, and Inspire Your Way to Greatness, Director at Golden Seeds, and CEO of Kadabra, catalyzing growth and change for emerging through C-Suite Leaders globally.

She is a sought-after leadership expert, mentor, strategic advisor and angel investor in early stage, BIPOC, LGBTQ++ and womxn-led companies and an advocate for expanding diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the investor and business ecosystem.

JASMINE JONES, MYYA

Co-Founder and CEO of Myya

Jasmine Jones is the co-founder and CEO of Myya, the only online direct-to-consumer, insurance-billable, post-mastectomy intimates brand.

Inspired by her grandmother’s battle with breast cancer, Ms. Jones created Myya to address the challenge of finding well-fitting post-mastectomy bras that provide support when you need it most.

Incubated at Cherry Blossom Intimates, the brand’s retail space, Myya is the next step in the company’s evolution, connecting women across the country with certified mastectomy fitters. Myya offers breast cancer survivors a completely customizable virtual post-mastectomy bra fitting, ensuring that all women get the perfect fit. Myya is the only online boutique that can bill insurance directly for its customers, making the shopping process seamless for them.

In October 2020, Cherry Blossom Intimates, the Techstars-backed company, closed its $1.25 million seed round, making her one of the few Black women in the world to close over $1 million in venture funding. A former Miss District of Columbia USA, Jasmine was named a Forbes Under 30 Listmaker in the Retail and E-Commerce category, as well as a Fashion Institute of Technology award-winning lingerie designer, and a Tory Burch fellow.

MARIAN LEITNER

Archer Roose Wine

Wine lover. Adventurer. Marian Leitner-Waldman founded Archer Roose Wine in 2015 with her husband, David, Archer Roose is dedicated to producing affordable luxury wines with minimal intervention. How? Marian and David created the Traveling Vineyard.

Instead of building a winery and committing to a specific geography and varietal, they wanted to offer wines from the most-renowned regions around the world. So, they fostered personal relationships with small, adventurous winemakers who preserve terroir, and approach viticulture with craftsmanship and deep respect for the environment. Through these close partnerships, we’re able to produce unique, natural wines within 20 miles of their harvest location and bring them to you.

Marian is a MassChallenge Finalist, Babson-Breakaway Challenge Finalist and Top 10 Entrepreneur of the Year by Boston Harbor Angels.

DIIPA BÜLLER-KHOSLA

INDĒ WILD

For Diipa, indē wild was never a matter of if but rather when.

Born and raised in India, growing up around ancient Ayurvedic remedies for the mind, body and soul were the norm. Plus, her mother (lovingly known by Diipa’s followers and community as Momi) was and is a practicing Ayurvedic doctor and dermatologist, and so science and tradition co-existed as part of daily life, self care and healing in the Khosla family.

Fast forward to her teenage years, Diipa like so many, struggled with significant acne for over a decade — well into her twenties. For years, she felt the need to cover up and hide her blemishes to fit societal beauty norms, feeling immensely self conscious about her skin and beyond that, what made her visibly different from her peers.

indē wild represents a journey to self love, celebrating unique needs, culture and modern science — all in beautiful simpatico.

VICKY PASCHE

CO-FOUNDER, DAPPER BOI

Within five years of starting her online genderless clothing brand, it is now a seven-figure company on a mission to revolutionize the genderless fashion movement. Vicky has always had a passion for compassion and believes that so many of us do not fit in today’s binary norms in the retail world. By creating a body-positive, accepting community, we can all build confidence within ourselves and within each other to create a world we can all “fit” into.

SHARON GLESS

PRIMETIME EMMY AND GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNING ACTRESS

Through out her career Ms. Gless has been known as an actress who broke glass ceilings for women in the entertainment industry playing strong, smart, and successful characters on television, including Christine Cagney in Cagney & Lacey, the title character in The Trials of Rosie O’Neill and Debbie Novotny in Queer as Folk among many others. Simon & Schuster published Ms. Gless’s autobiography, Apparently There Were Complaints, in December 2021, garnering raves and becoming an Amazon Editor’s “Book of the Month,” a #1 seller in Autobiographies of Actors & Actresses, an Apple Audiobook “Must Listen,” a “Best Audiobook” by Vulture.com, and an “Earphones Award winner” from AudioFile. Ms. Gless co-stars with Pierce Brosnan in the upcoming major motion picture, Fast Charlie, slated to be released in summer 2023.

CATHERINE GRAY

FOUNDER, SHE ANGEL INVESTORS

Ms. Gray is a producer, author, TEDx speaker, host of the Invest in Her podcast, co-founder of non-profit She Angels Foundation, and founder of She Angel Investors a multimedia platform designed to connect women to funding resources.

She also encourages women to become angel investors. She is herself an angel investor in several companies and a member of Wealthing VC Investment Club and Gaingels.

KELLY ANN WINGET

FOUNDER, ALTERNATIVE WEALTH PARTNERS

Ms. Winget has raised close to $1 billion in capital for startups, energy companies, manufacturing ventures, real estate, and other key emerging markets. She is also the author of Pitch the Bitch (2023), host of The Wealth Alpha podcast, and a sought-after keynote speaker and panelist who has shared her expertise in finance, entrepreneurship, and diversity topics at events like the Alts Expo, Women Working in Wealth, and WE Global Studios Rev-Up Summits. 

LA KEISHA PIERRE, NASEEM SAYANI AND AZIN RADSAN VAN ALEBEEK

FOUNDERS, EMMELINE VENTURES

Emmeline Ventures invests in female founders building game-changing businesses which empower women, in particular, to manage their health, build their wealth, and live in a cleaner, safer world.