During the final weeks of the Mosaic Accelerator — an eight-week program supporting early-stage ventures led by marginalized BIPOC women — Guita Yazdani found herself wishing it wouldn’t end.

As the founder of Campertunity, a platform that allows people to book camping spots on private property, Yazdani had participated in similar programs before. But this time was different. She immediately connected with her fellow cohort members — Lorraine Wong, Priya Tronsgard, and Stephanie Chan — each of whom had founded businesses in diverse industries. Wong leads Cue North, a digital advisory and product studio focused on healthcare solutions; Tronsgard runs Edify Learning Spaces, a tutoring agency for neurodivergent children; and Chan built myCareBase, a platform that helps families find and manage pre-screened caregivers.

“'I’d never felt this way,” Yazdani tells the Vancouver Tech Journal. “Usually when I finish an accelerator, I'm like, ‘Okay, good, I'm done.’ But with this one, I wanted it to continue because I love the people in my cohort so much. So we said, ‘Let's just continue to meet.’”

Since then, the four have caught up every week. There’s never been an agenda or any set rules; they simply talk about what’s happening with their businesses and share insights and resources — like who they should connect with or what to expect when joining certain programs. One topic that always came up was getting funding and gaining traction. Knowing they weren’t alone, they decided to start the W.A.K.E. Collective — which stands for women of action, knowledge, and experience. Their mission is to support fellow BIPOC entrepreneurs in Vancouver by spotlighting their innovations, connecting them with investors, and sharing knowledge and experiences.

In Canada, female-owned businesses receive only four percent of VC dollars. They also tend to secure fewer rounds of financing and lower overall funding compared to ventures led by men. BIPOC females in particular face these challenges due to unconscious or conscious biases.

“I know that perhaps money doesn't flow as easily in Canada as it does in the U.S., for example, so there are definitely other factors at play,” highlights Yazdani. “But I want to make sure that when it comes to funding, everybody is on equal grounds as it should be. [...] We need to make it known that BIPOC women run businesses that are just as good and as powerful and scalable as any other business.”

W.A.K.E aims to bring founders and investors together through hosting a variety of events. It's still in the early stages of planning but its founders are thinking of networking socials, educational workshops, and coffee meetups. 

“The knowledge we each bring is unique and valuable in its own way,” says Yazdani. “Just as an example, Lorraine has strong knowledge in running a team, Priya is well connected in the community, Stephanie is well-versed on grants and non-dilutive funding opportunities, and I know about partnership building.”

Through ongoing meetups, the organization also hopes to prepare members to capture the dealmaking opportunities that can be expected at Web Summit, taking place next year in May. It’s free to join W.A.K.E and anyone who’s interested can apply through its website.

In the meantime, W.A.K.E plans to get the word out about its mission through collaborations. It recently hosted a sold-out event in support of BIPOC female founders with Tech2Step Network Canada, a non-profit that’s dedicated to supporting all genders in the tech industry. The organization is also in the process of establishing partnerships with major local firms.

“They’re backing us so that we can organize events and get more women into the room, so that they can understand there's actually a bunch of us, that there's strength in numbers, and [we can] build that community,” shares Yazadani. “We’re still new but we're growing nicely.”

As for what long-term impact W.A.K.E aspires to create for Vancouver’s wider ecosystem, Yazdani reflects on one of the biggest takeaways from Mosaic’s founder, Rochelle Grayson.

“Just like we were taught to pay it forward, we hope that the people who join us also pay it forward, by continuing the cycle of support,” Yazdani says.

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