Building Bold with Women Innovators: Empowering the Startup Ecosystem

About the host:  jNatasha Gorodetsky, Founder & CEO Product Pursuits; WIP Chapter Founder & Lead; Director, Founder Institute - Houston

• Her 20+ years of experience delivering Enterprise, SaaS, and AI products is a unique blend of > 10,000 hours of business acumen and a hands-on approach. She has driven product innovation identifying top market & customer opportunities and risks through collection and analysis of user, customer, product, and market data impacting millions of users worldwide.

• As a Product leader, Natasha is known for agile and proactive delivery, operational excellence, AI transformation, Voice of the Customer, and Go-To-Market enablement.

• She helps and guides startup founders, entrepreneurs, and junior PMs navigate the intricacies of product development lifecycle. I am passionate about building products that improve people's lives in meaningful ways, cultivating a growth mindset toward every opportunity.

• Led the product management due diligence of an M&A deal that surpassed the $140M mark.

About the PANELISTS:  

• Adrianne Stone - Principal Product Manager at Big Cartel & Founder of Bayou City Startups - Adrianne Stone is a Principal Product Manager, founder of Bayou City Startups, and a 2024 Houston Innovation Awards finalist. With experience spanning the White House, public schools, and research institutions, she’s a seasoned startup advisor known for her expertise in product development, user experience, data analysis, molecular genetics, and more.
• Tanu Jain - Chief Flow Officer at FlowCare - A Digital Health Leader and former Holistic Nurse turned Product Executive, with a passion for scaling innovations and building products users love. Operating at the intersection of design, product development, market research, and agile methodologies, she leads teams to develop new products, redesign existing ones, and craft commercialization strategies. As a startup advisor, her interests include startups, venture capital, tech, innovation, health, wellness, life sciences, and sustainable energy.
• Jo Clark - Founder & CEO at Circle.ooo-  A visionary entrepreneur, innovator, and conceptualist with a track record of founding and incubating groundbreaking companies. With experience in banking, finance, marketing, strategy, and fundraising, she now leads a cutting-edge SaaS and software platform. Previously, she founded the award-winning beautyjungle.com, raising $45M and earning recognition as the 4th best website on the web. Named a Future Leader to Watch by WWD and one of the Top Women in Tech by Chicago's I-Street Reporter, she has spoken at events like the Yahoo Film Festival.
• Landi Spearman - Founder of iSHIFTx- A 4x award-winning Executive and Teams Coach, Change Leadership Consultant, Keynote Speaker, and AI Strategist with over 15 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies. Specializing in guiding leaders through rapid change and conflict, she empowers them to navigate disruption with ease and achieve sustainable solutions. Using her SHIFT™ framework, she helps organizations reduce time and costs while improving data-driven human capital decisions. The result: happier, more innovative, and inclusive teams that drive greater impact, boost earnings, and unlock new market opportunities.

Additional Resources:
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About Founder Institute:
The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,000 entrepreneurs raise over $1.75BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.