Page 9 - Education Issue

Women of Distinction

partnership with the Women’s Business It is a casual coffee table conversation and get their story out. (You can view
Center to assure getting to their pro- between Silvia and the investor, bringing one of her interviews at: https://www.
gram is not an obstacle that will stand in to light individuals who are generally youtube.com/watch?v=u5YJuM726SU
your way. behind the scenes. She is also currently She often invites them along should
Hera Labs has several programs, writing a book of the same name, which she have out of town speaking engage-
their Launch Intensive is for those will allow readers an insight into these ments or trips out of the country. Silvia
with an idea that they want to bring to investors as well as her own story and wants them to be happy that their mom
market, their Scale Intensive, if you want her startup portfolio of 28 investments. is working to make life better for as
to grow an existing business or change You can download the podcasts off of many women as she can. As a result,
direction to improve a product or ser- iTunes or youtube. they don't resent the fact that their
vice. So regardless of where you are on As I often do when I am interview- mom is a working mom, but instead,
the scale of things, Hera Labs can be of ing a Woman of Distinction, I asked Sil- have learned lessons that she already
assistance. If you feel you qualify please via for some tips on how women can be sees them implementing. "The time for
go online and fill out an application and successful in the entrepreneurial world. feeling guilty for being a working mom
watch your dreams become a reality. She offered us the following: is over; today our children can relish
Along with 3 other partners, Allison 1. Be true to yourself and your idea. the fact that they have mothers who are
Long Pettine, Vidya Dinamani, and Eric 2. Relationships do matter. making a difference in the world." Silvia
Gasser, they launched another venture 3. Integrity is important. It is the core Mah is definitely making a difference.
equipping women with business skills, of who you are. To learn more from Silvia and her
Ad Astra Ventures, which includes an Another factor that is extremely tribe of fellow investors and mentors,
investment of 20K for existing busi- close to Silvia's heart is the fact that the opportunity is yours at Hera Venture
nesses with proven traction where they women need to practice work-life in- Summit, taking place at University of
walk you through a ten-week program tegration. Being a mom of three, Silvia San Diego on Saturday, Sept. 15. The
to transform you into the confident knows how important this is in her life. one-day event will include an “entrepre-
and strong business leader. In addition, Although she works Monday to Friday, neur track”, an “angel investor track”, an
to keep up with the innovative ideas, she spends evenings and weekends with experiential gamified venture fund ses-
Silvia teaches and serves as the Student her children and is even a dance Mom sion, and pitch competition. To purchase
Programs Director at the Office of Inno- to her 12-year-old daughter Sofia who a ticket, please https://www.heraventure-
vation and Commercialization at UCSD is a competitive dancer. All three of her summit.com/.
where student-led startups launch and kids Alexio her 19-year-old, Matteo her
scale. 15-year-old and Sofia her 12-year-old To learn more about Hera Labs,
Silvia currently added another are often included in their mom’s work please visit https://www.heralabs.com/
element to her already busy schedule, agenda; Alexio produces videos for Hera or follow the nonprofit on Facebook and
a podcast entitled “She Invests,” which Labs and Hera Angels, Matteo is a fan- Instagram. For more information about
highlights the investors she works with tastic event coordinator, and Sofia can Ad Astra Ventures, please visit https://
and the great things they are doing. interview any investor or entrepreneur adastra.ventures/.

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