How an ROTR investment changed everything for Caribu: Take the chance and apply

By Maxeme Tuchman, Guest Contributor

The stats for funding are sobering for female-founded companies in Miami. Less than 2% of VC funding comes to companies in Miami and less than 1% goes to women of color founders. In 2018, I truly didn’t know how we were going to raise a seed round for Caribu when it seemed like the odds were against us.

All of that changed when we won the 1776 Global Pitch Competition and received the $100K investment from Rise Of The Rest. It gave us validation and when we reached out to other investors about our round the conversations were all of a sudden more serious.

The ROTR investment truly kick-started our ability to raise our $1.3M seed round. The money has been incredibly helpful but the support and services we receive from the ROTR team has been equally invaluable.

From CEO summits, to a mentor network you can tap into monthly, to a book club, and portfolio discounts and benefits and of course the incredibly supportive and helpful partners and staff, without the support, we could not have made it to where we are today.

I HIGHLY recommend all startups in South Florida apply to the May 2 ROTR pitch competition for a chance to be part of this incredible family of entrepreneurs trying to change the world. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. March 11. Here’s the entry link.

Make sure you qualify but don’t “lean out” because you think you’re too early or not ready. Take the chance!! It’s worth it!!

[Refresh Miami covered a recent AMA about the ROTR contest. Read it here.]

Also, if you’re a female founder and plan to be the one pitching on stage I’d love to look over your application and give feedback. Even though we are a ROTR portfolio company, my feedback and help won’t have any bearing on your chances in the competition but I’ve been the winner or finalist in 20+ competitions so hopefully I can be helpful.

Maxeme Tuchman is CEO and co-founder of Caribu.

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Nancy Dahlberg

I am a writer and editor with extensive media experience and a passion for journalism and serving the community. Most of my career has been spent with the Miami Herald in business news, and my expertise is writing about tech and entrepreneurs. I love hosting this blog for Refresh Miami and we aim to be the go-to site for South Florida startup and tech news, features and views. Have news? Contact me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading!

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