Summers, Spreadsheets, and Side Gigs
EliseAI $250M, Eight Sleep $100M, Paradigm $5M, curated gigs from Miss EmpowHer to Mangusta Capital, and events in NYC, SF, LA
This is WWV Labs’ weekly newsletter: Her Hustle, a place to learn all about the new and the next in female entrepreneurship. We highlight the women who are building startups—from those launching from dorm rooms to experienced professionals turning their bold visions into reality.
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Happy Friday, hustlers!
It’s been so good to be back in NYC briefly before heading semi-permanently back to Amsterdam. The WWV Labs team has been hard at work behind the scenes gearing up for our September relaunch.
We’re excited to share this next chapter with you soon. More updates to come — until then, enjoy the weekend and soak up the last few days of summer!
Minna Song, Founder & CEO of EliseAI, a New York–based AI automation platform for healthcare and housing, raised $250M in Series E funding led by a16z.
Jessica Wu, Co-Founder & CEO of Sola, a New York–based enterprise AI startup building the next generation of robotic process automation (RPA), raised $17.5M in Series A funding led by a16z.
Caren Cioffi, Founder & CEO of Agenda Hero, a San Francisco–based AI platform eliminating manual calendar work by turning messy notes, PDFs, and emails into structured, synced events, raised $5.6M in funding led by Upfront Ventures.
Source: Anna Monaco Anna Monaco, Founder & CEO of Paradigm, a San Francisco–based AI-powered spreadsheet platform equipped with 5,000+ AI agents, raised $5M in seed funding led by General Catalyst.
Lucy (Eunjeong) Park, Co-Founder & CPO of Upstage, a San Jose–based enterprise AI company specializing in generative AI for regulated industries, raised $45M in Series B bridge funding led by Korea Development Bank.
Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Founder & CEO of Ohai.ai, a New York–based AI-powered household assistant platform, raised a new round of strategic funding led by Muse Capital.
Alexandra Zatarain, Co-Founder & VP of Brand and Marketing at Eight Sleep, a New York–based AI-powered sleep tech company, raised $100M in Series D funding led by HSG.
🌸 Miss EmpowHer is hiring Fall Interns (apply by Aug 25) for flexible, remote roles in social media, content, PR, operations, design, and events (2–3 hrs/week, undergrads in the US only).
🚀 Atlan is hiring Backend, Frontend & AI Engineering Interns to build AI-native systems used by global teams, solve real-world challenges, and learn directly from world-class engineers. Apply by Aug 24.
🎨 Vocal Media is hiring a AI Creative & Content Intern and a AI & Automation Intern to create content with cutting-edge AI tools, streamline workflows, and contribute to social impact campaigns.
🏦 Casap is hiring a Chief of Staff in SF to work directly with the CEO, help reinvent how banks handle credit card disputes, and scale a Series A fintech backed by Emergence, Lightspeed, and SoFi.
📚 Leland is hiring a part-time intern to help scale Leland+ by building AI-powered tools, supporting growth and ops, and working directly with expert coaches.
📸 Phia is hiring Content Ambassadors for a paid remote role where you’ll create TikToks/Reels, score exclusive merch, partner gifts (Reformation, Revolve, Staud), and even a chance to travel to NYC for shoots.
💼 Mangusta Capital is hiring a Marketing & Events Intern in SF Bay Area to support founder salons, brand, and community events while gaining exposure to AI and venture capital.
📝 Companyon Ventures is hiring a Fall VC Intern (10–20 hrs/week, NYC preferred but open to remote) to support sourcing, diligence, fundraising, and portfolio company ops.
👩💻 Zyra is hiring SWE Interns (8–10 hrs/week, open to high school students) to build across web dev, AI/ML, and full stack while making an impact at an early-stage venture.
🌟 Lovable is hiring junior talent fresh out of high school to work directly with leadership on ambitious, mission-driven projects.
🌊 WAVE is running a new competition for female founders. If you’re leading a UK tech startup, raising £5M+ in the next year, and have early traction, apply now for funding support and visibility.
🗽 SideShift is hiring Software Engineers in NYC to help scale it’s UGC creator marketplace.
📈 Series is hiring a remote Growth Intern to help drive user acquisition, scale community reach, and support core growth initiatives.
🎟️ Her Workplace is hiring a part-time Events & Programming Manager in NYC to lead event planning, secure partnerships, and grow engagement across their fast-scaling women’s network.
🌀 Veil is hiring a Founding Engineer + Growth/Marketing Lead to join a team reverse-engineering human emotion, shipping fast, and building with full creative freedom.
💻 Zoca is hiring Developer Interns + Junior Developers to ship code in week one, build features used by real customers, and scale scaling their AI-powered marketing platform for local service businesses.
📊 Parallel is hiring a Marketing Intern to create scroll-stopping content and a Business/Finance hire to work side-by-side with founders on scaling, fundraising and product strategy.
🤝 Blossom is hiring a Brand Partnerships Manager in Toronto to drive high-growth sales, build relationships with top finance names, and work side-by-side with a fast-growing startup team.
👩💻 Daniela Andrade dropped a curated list of 15+ recently funded, female-founded startups actively hiring for women seeking roles at high growth, female-founded startups!
💁♀️ Are you a young professional, college student, or graduate school student who wants to work at a startup or SMB? Apply to WWV Labs to get matched with freelance, fractional, and full-time opportunities at top startups & SMBs.
Jia Chen shared lessons from 22 hackathon wins, emphasizing new and original ideas, intentional planning, focusing on just 2–3 core features, and pitching confidently with the right mindset.
A viral post argued that 90% of meetings could be voice notes, 70% of calls could be emails, and 60% of emails could be texts, claiming most workplace communication is “theatre” and showing how cutting it saved 10–15 hours a week.
Ashley Mo shared how Liva AI (YC S25) is building specialized offline audio/video data to fix genAI gaps in therapy, sales, and support — after pivoting in August, they signed deals within a week and are now gearing up for YC Demo Day.
Daniela Andrade highlighted that women are 20% less likely than men to use AI, a gap worth $2.7M over a career.
An a16z talent partner shared an interview prep prompt used with 30k+ candidates — guiding job seekers to create a crisp brief on company overview, leadership, products, competitors, recent news, culture, key reads, and interviewer intel to ace first-round interviews.
Mangusta Capital announced the launch of its new Scout Program to bringi together top students, operators, and builders from leading universities and industries worldwide to help source and evaluate the next wave of AI and tech companies.
Source: Amy Zhou Amy Zhou shared that she is building Tai, an AI device that looks like real jewelry instead of a plastic gadget
A founder shared advice for students interested in startups: skip the clubs and pitch competitions, and instead launch a mini-startup on campus to learn the two essentials: how to build an MVP and how to get customers.
August 26 | 🤖 Women Applying AI Live (Boston)
August 27 | 💡 AI Like a Girl (Boston)
August 27 | 🚀 Femme Founder Bootcamp Info Session (Austin)
August 28 | 📈 Women Tech Meetup: Raising On Your Terms (SF)
August 28 | 🌟 Girls With Big Ideas (Toronto)
August 28 | 🧠 The Neuroscience of Periods & PMS (London + Online)
August 28 | 🍹 Happy Hour with Women In Bio (LA)
August 28 | ✨ FoundHER Summit (NYC)
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💁♀️ Connect with me on LinkedIn for daily insights on women in entrepreneurship.
📈 Partner with WWV Labs if you are a startup interested in hiring top talent.
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I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, Hustlers!
Feel free to share your feedback on this newsletter with me by filling out this form!
Love,
Daniela & The WWV Labs Team
Love how this newsletter not only shares the big funding news but also actionable opportunities for early-stage founders and interns! It’s a great mix of inspiration and practical steps to actually get involved and learn from these growing startups. Excited to see what I can take away for my own journey!