Quesnay Launches Inaugural Female Founders in Tech Competition Recognizing Female-led FinTech and InsurTech Startups

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Quesnay, an innovation consulting firm focused on accelerating growth among startups and corporations, officially launched its inaugural Female Founders in Tech competition to address the gap in female leaders by recognizing and supporting female-founded startups that positively impact the financial services and/or insurance technology industries.

"As a longtime advocate of female entrepreneurship, Quesnay is very excited to leverage our extensive experience running global innovation competitions for corporate clients to launch our inaugural Female Founders in Tech competition," said Jennifer Byrne, president of Quesnay. "Women often lack access to funding and mentorship to grow their businesses. Among the nearly 500 deals closed in the Fintech sector in the US in 2016, less than a dozen went to companies founded by women. We hope to make a positive and immediate impact to showcase female-founded companies with viable products that could be quickly scaled through meaningful partnerships."

Through October 31, applicants can access the online platform at www.quesnays.com/competitions and apply to win financial, mentoring and marketing support. U.S.-based technology startups led by a female that have at least a minimum viable product applicable to the financial services and/or insurance industries are encouraged to apply.

Applicants will gain visibility to a community of thought leaders from the venture capital and investor communities, the insurance, finance and technology industries and prominent universities. Among the applicants, six finalists will be selected to participate in a live pitch event on December 11, hosted by Open Innovation Lab at Alley powered by Verizon, and receive personalized guidance from the competition's corporate sponsors. In addition, finalists will receive Microsoft Azure cloud computing credit.

Quesnay's corporate sponsors across the financial services, insurance, legal, and technology industries include AARP, American Family Insurance, RGAx, Sterling National Bank, TD Bank, Thomson Reuters and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The finalists will have the opportunity to work with these sponsors and with Quesnay's network of leaders more broadly through mentorship as well as the potential to explore partnerships following the competition.

"I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur from a young age and am encouraged by the increasing number of fearless women leading businesses," said Scarlett Sieber, Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Strategic Information and Digital at Opus Bank. "While we have made a lot of progress, there is a lot to be done in providing women-led businesses with an equal playing field to access necessary funding and growth opportunities. Mentorship and strong networks are critical and greatly enhance the chance for success."

For more information on the competition, visit www.quesnays.com/competitions. To obtain a press pass to the December 11 event, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT QUESNAY INC.
Quesnay is an innovation consulting firm that bridges the gap between traditional firms and the best innovators and emerging young companies, preparing both sides to take advantage of the opportunities created by the ongoing market disruption. Quesnay partners with companies to solve their innovation challenges by running innovation competitions and acceleration programs as well as providing strategic consulting services. For more information, follow us at @QuesnayInc and visit us at https://www.quesnays.com.

CONTACTS
Nataly Sabharwal
[email protected]

M3 Advisors, on behalf of Quesnay
[email protected]

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SOURCE Quesnay