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ASTIA JOINS WHITE HOUSE’S STARTUP AMERICA INITIATIVE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 31, 2011 Astia community to increase Advisory services and support for women-led, high-growth start-ups across the United States Astia, a premier venture accelerator that targets exceptional start-ups with women on their founding teams, announced it will join The Startup America Partnership, launched today at the White House and funded and led by the Case and Kauffman Foundations. As part of its participation in the Startup America Partnership, Astia has made a commitment to double the number of entrepreneurs served by Astia’s programs and community across the United States. Astia’s commitment was made possible with new financial commitments from AOL, The Althea Foundation, Fenwick & West, Moss Adams LLP and Silicon Valley Bank, matching significant funding received in 2010 from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Startup America Partnership is an alliance of top entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, CEOs, university presidents, foundations, and other leaders joining together to dramatically increase the prevalence and success of innovative, high-growth U.S. startups. The Partnership’s mission is to spur entrepreneurship, a core component of President Obama’s national innovation strategy for achieving sustainable growth and quality jobs. The Startup America Partnership will marshal private resources, such as Astia and its community, to scale up a portfolio of proven models at every stage of the innovation funnel, from the first stirrings of entrepreneurial ambition to the market success of a new firm. “We applaud the White House for its commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship and are honored to be a part of The Startup Partnership,” said Sharon Vosmek, CEO of Astia. “It is our fervent belief that in working together with these organizations and individuals, we can truly make a difference for all high-growth firms - including ones led by women - which will in turn lead to job creation and economic growth in the United States.” The funding received will help Astia to: • Inspire a new generation of women entrepreneurs who will drive innovation, generate new jobs and create wealth. • Enable women to participate more fully in the acceleration of innovation in high-tech, clean tech, life sciences and other high-growth businesses (and sectors where women remain sorely under-represented). • Further advance the cause of entrepreneurship through education, mentoring, infrastructure, resources for the benefit of women entrepreneurs. • Promote women’s entrepreneurship globally via the Astia worldwide network. ABOUT ASTIA Astia is a global not-for-profit organization with a distinct focus and mission – to uniquely source innovation by propelling women’s full participation as entrepreneurs and leaders in high-growth businesses, fueling innovation and driving economic growth. Guided by a proven philosophy that gender diversity is an essential element of innovation, Astia works with start-ups around the world as they access capital, grow their businesses, and hone the leadership skills of their founding teams. The Astia model of engaging a community of experts to the benefit of the select start-ups it serves has resulted in an exceptional success rate: since 2003, 60 percent of companies that have participated in the Astia Investor Forums have secured funding or achieved an exit within one year of presenting, totaling more than $950 million raised and 22 exits, including two IPOs. Headquartered in San Francisco, Astia delivers programs for entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, New York, London and India. For more information, visit www.astia.org. ABOUT ASTIA SPONSORS Astia is generously supported by global sponsors including The Althea Foundation; AngelSoft; AOL; The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; Fenwick & West; IF Communications; Iron Creative; J. Sagar Associates; Lowenstein Sandler; Microsoft; Moss Adams; Osborne Clarke; Pricewaterhouse Coopers; SNR Denton; SVB Financial; The Three Guineas Fund; Tier One PR; US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management; Wells Fargo; as well as a number of premier venture capital firms including, Alloy Ventures; AOL Ventures; Asset Management Company; Garage Technology Ventures; GoldenSeeds; Hamilton Lane; Hummer Winblad Venture Partners; Illuminate Ventures; Levensohn Venture Partners; Opus Capital; Prolog Ventures; Rose Tech Ventures; and StarVest Partners. ### Media Contact: Kathy Wilson |