When Ann Crady Weiss pitched her first start up — a social network known as Maya’s Mom that would allow mothers to seek advice and share their experiences — male investors weren’t exactly enamored with the idea. “There were many investors I spoke to who said moms don’t have time for social networks,” Weiss told Mashable. Weiss would, of course, prove those investors wrong: Maya’s Mom would raise $1 million in angel funding in 2006 before being acquired by a division of mega baby brand Johnson & Johnson a year later. But Weiss’ story isn’t exactly shocking or unique: it’s well-known that women in tech aren’t embraced by the primarily male venture capitalist community. Only about 5% of venture capital for new startups goes to companies headed by women. Now Weiss is the co-founder and CEO of her second startup: Hatch Baby, which produces products to help new parents, like a changing pad that tracks a baby’s weight, growth, and feeding patterns. While Hatch Baby has already brought in $7 million in Series A funding, Weiss turned to an unusual source of funding for a proven Silicon Valley CEO: ABC’s “Shark Tank.” The competition show, in which entrepreneurs pitch celebrity […]
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