​​Get the inside scoop on “gender-smart” investing. Move beyond the theory with this female funder/founder panel on the realities of raising and investing in female founders, and what happens after...

​MEET YOUR PANELISTS

​Monique Morden
Monique is a founder, investor, and supporter of the BC and Canadian startup ecosystem. Monique has experience in both venture debt (TIMIA Capital) and venture capital (Spring Impact Capital, Women's Equity Lab, etc).  As a past founder with a successful exit (JUDI.AI), she understands the challenges of founders and the decision making process for investors.

​Dr. Julie Durnan
Dr. Julie Durnan is the Founder of Ginger Desk, a virtual assistant platform for health practitioners that was recently acquired. After raising a seed round in 2023, she scaled Ginger Desk with a clear vision to build a category-leading company positioned for acquisition. The business hires, trains, and manages skilled medical office assistants who support practitioners and clinics across North America, helping clinic owners reclaim time and focus on growth.

​Chelsea Naylor
Chelsea Naylor is a seasoned board director, angel investor, and business owner with more than 20 years of cross-industry experience spanning technology, CPG, beauty, and solution-sales. She is a Managing Partner with Women’s Equity Lab (WEL) Vancouver where she leads the due diligence process and an active member of Angel Forum, she invests in early-stage companies while providing founders with hands-on mentorship, strategic guidance, and operational support. 

​Moderated by: Irene Dorsman

​Irene loves working with founders and investors but loves connecting the two even more. Which is why she jumped at the opportunity to take over and run Angel Forum in 2018.

​When she isn’t working on Angel Forum, Irene is either busy as an investor and partner in Women’s Equity Lab or her communication and advisory work with mining clients. Prior to coming to Vancouver, Irene was the Executive Director of the Dutch Business Association in Hong Kong. Before that she held a senior marketing position with Dutch pharmaceutical group Gist-Brocades (now DSM) in Hong Kong and Jakarta, Indonesia. 

​​​A Road to Web Summit Vancouver (R2WSV) initiative, the Summit Strategy Masterclass series is engineered for women tech founders to transform their conference experience from “simply attending” to executing a high-impact lead generation strategy.

​​​BONUS: Attend all 3 Summit Strategy Masterclass sessions for $40, and be entered into a giveaway for a FREE Women-in-Tech Web Summit ticket!

• ​​​April 15 - AI Advantage for Conference Prep

• ​​​April 22 - Maximizing Conference Micro Moments

​​​WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• ​Women or non-binary tech founder

• ​Based in British Columbia

• ​Allies interested in learning from and supporting the experiences of women and non-binary tech founders

​​​EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Wednesday, April 29
Time: 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM (Registration opens at 3:15 PM)
Venue: Bentall One, 505 Burrard St, 9th Floor (In-person only)
Cost: $20 for one session, $40 for all 3 sessions

​Registered for all 3 Sessions? We will manually register for you for the subsequent Luma events, so no need to register again!

​​​Program Partners:

​​​​New Ventures BC is proud to be an official partner of Vancouver Startup Week 2026. This event is part of the VSW 2026 calendar and is offered for free to VSW All-Access Pass holders on a first come first served basis (limited number of seats.) If you would like to purchase a VSW All-Access Pass, you can do so online at www.vanstartupweek.ca using our 20% off promo code: NVBC20

​​​​By registering for this event, you consent to receive email communications from New Ventures BC, including our e-newsletter and updates about programs and events. You may unsubscribe at any time. By attending, you acknowledge that photos and videos may be taken and used by New Ventures BC for marketing and promotional purposes.