Women have always come together—to uplift, support, and break barriers side by side. From the earliest pioneers in business and technology to today’s rising leaders, the power of women advocating for one another has fueled incredible progress.
Today, women make up 35% of the tech workforce, a significant leap from just 9% in the early 2000s. In the U.S., women now hold 27% of Chief Technology Officer roles, up 12 percentage points from last year, and nearly half of all Chief Financial Officer positions. These numbers reflect the growing influence of women in leadership, but behind every statistic is a network of women pushing forward—together.
That collective strength was on full display during the 2025 Utah Tech Week, where women gathered to share knowledge, challenges, and victories. In partnership with Convoi Ventures, Philo Ventures hosted Future Female Founders Office Hours, a two-day event where visionary female founders, operators, and investors came together for an open, honest exchange of ideas and mentorship.
A special thank you to the mentors who offered their candid advice, first-hand experiences, and lessons learned to help propel a group of future female leaders to the next level: Tara Rosander - Board Member for Women’s Tech Council and M&A/Venture Capital Advisor, Kaela Worthen - Co-Founder and CTO at Sunset Estate Software, Jenny McCallum - Vice President of Marketing at Mercato Partners, Martina Hahn - Chief Product Offer at Yendo, Flavia Rydin - Senior Vice President at Silicon Valley Bank, Jessica Kaing - Marketing Manager at TechStars, Jennifer Moore - Chief Product Officer and Angel Investor, Tara Spalding - Angel Investor and Startup Advisor, Sarah Crane Dethloff - Group Product Manager at ServiceTitan and Startup Advisor at Sandbox, Rilee Buttars - COO and Co-Founder at HenHouse Holdings, and Amanda Price - CMO at Philo Ventures.
And congratulations to the nine female entrepreneurs who stepped up and boldly presented their business ideas: Hannah Trimble, Heidi Peters Tagliaferri, Kim Whitman, Jenn Duffield, Susan Kingsley, Anna Ratanawan, Denise Zhu, Samantha Smith, and Cherie Magennis.
These seasoned investors and operators offered their expertise, answering questions from women with pre-seed businesses about accessing capital, refining market fit, pricing strategies, and scaling their companies. More than just advice, it was a reaffirmation of what’s possible when women invest in each other’s success.
From prioritizing customer needs to embracing creativity and resilience, the conversations were rich with wisdom—proving once again that when women come together, they don’t just build businesses. They build the future.
Building for what customers want - and need, stole the highest sentiment from the event. Founders often fall in love with their vision but must remain attuned to their customers' true needs. The most successful startups focus on solving real problems by prioritizing feedback over assumptions.
Building on the previous point, it’s more important than ever for founders to understand and articulate their product’s value proposition to a specific audience. You can’t sell to everyone under the sun. Tailoring your narrative and offerings to address their unique challenges enhances engagement and impact.
Once you’ve identified and validated a product that your customers truly want, the most important step is to stay on track. The entrepreneurial journey is full of distractions—feature requests, investor expectations, and shifting trends. Founders who stay anchored in their mission, while continuously refining their vision, create lasting impact.
True innovation isn’t about following the traditional path—it’s about forging your own. Whether taking a scrappy approach to early funding, or thinking beyond industry norms, successful founders aren’t afraid to do things differently. It’s also ok to lean into AI and other tools that will take your ideas to the next level.
The right network is as critical as the right idea. Founders who embrace mentorship, seek out diverse perspectives, and build strong communities position themselves for long-term success. You don’t need to do it alone - and aren’t expected to. Your network is a powerful resource.
The Future Female Founders Office Hours event was a moment to celebrate - and it’s just the beginning. We’re grateful to be part of such an incredible and supportive community here in Utah—and to have partners like Trent Mano and his team at Convoi Ventures, who helped make Utah Tech Week and the Future Female Founders event such a success.
As part of our commitment to empowering women in entrepreneurship, we were thrilled to recognize Samantha Smith for her outstanding pitch during the event. Based on her 1:1 presentation, Samantha was selected for having one of the strongest, most innovative ideas: AdSpace.
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AdSpace is a B2B SaaS platform designed to empower independent media owners by modernizing their ad sales operations. By providing tools to streamline workflows, display media kits, and forecast inventory demand with AI, AdSpace helps local publishers grow their revenue and reduce administrative burdens. Starting with media owners, the platform is building a foundation to ultimately connect small businesses with trusted, independent media channels—fostering stronger local communities and a more accessible advertising ecosystem.
To celebrate Samantha’s achievement, Dell for Startups awarded her a brand-new Precision 5480 Dell Laptop to help support her entrepreneurial journey. We’re incredibly grateful to Dell and all our sponsors who continue to champion female founders.
The momentum doesn’t stop here. We’re already planning future events and can’t wait to continue building this network of powerhouse women. Stay connected, keep building, and keep supporting one another—the future of innovation is female, and we’re just getting started.
March 26, 2025