A Community of Support

With Ties to Castellammare, FOUNDED Hosts ‘Curated, Intimate’ Gathering at A.L.C. to Connect Female Founders

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

FOUNDED—a series of curated, intimate gatherings designed to connect female founders with each other and industry experts—hosted an event on Tuesday, December 7, at A.L.C. in Palisades Village, followed by dinner at The Draycott.

“FOUNDED is a curated community of female founders who are invested in helping each other accelerate each others’ business and success,” according to a statement from the organization. “Instead of large networking events, FOUNDED provides intimate gatherings and personalized connections that matter to female entrepreneurs, including funding options, scaling and building a strong culture, executive leadership, and more.”

One of the co-founders of the group, Laura Nix Gerson, a resident of Castellammare, has lived in Pacific Palisades for 13 years.

“We launched FOUNDED just as the pandemic broke out and held our gatherings virtually for the past year and half,” Nix Gerson explained. “We’re just now starting to host live events.”

FOUNDED was inspired by the connections that co-founders Nix Gerson, Nicole Hirsty and Laura Starling witnessed first-hand at events they had attended and produced, where they recognized the need for personal introductions and an opportunity for “real conversation,” as well as the ability to “tap into their vast networks.”

The December gathering, attended by about 30 guests, was geared toward female founders, investors and friends of A.L.C., and featured samples of BOXT Wine and a tequila tasting by Marquez Knolls resident Jennifer Erwin’s The Smoke Label, which are both female-founded companies.

A.L.C. Founder Andrea Lieberman was on hand to speak at the event, sharing with those who attended about her background and how the brand, which is focused on “celebrating strong, elegant and powerful women by delivering a stylish, considered way of dressing through coveted seasonal pieces,” came to be.

The event also featured several gift baskets contributed by Palisades Wine & Spirits, which is a special service it provides during the holiday season. The baskets included The Smoke Label and additional Palisades Wine & Spirits favorite wine selections.

“Our mission is to cultivate friendships and community among female founders in LA who are building scaleable start-ups and brands,” Nix Gerson shared. “Founder life can be very lonely and having friends who are experiencing similar challenges can be helpful. Founders learn from and support each other.”

In addition to providing support, FOUNDED aims to build a community of experts who are able to guide founders through challenges that come up when running a business, including how to structure a fundraiser, multi-cultural marketing, building a board and determining company valuation for exit.

“As co-founders, my partners and I get to know every member of our community—founders and experts—personally,” Nix Gerson continued. “We make introductions within our community that make an impact. Our introductions have led to founder friendships, several cross-marketing programs among founders, a few joint digital and influencer campaigns, and even founders helping each other with the fundraising efforts.”

The organization is also focused on celebrating founders and sharing their stories, and has plans to launch a podcast, FOUNDED by women, in January with new episodes slated to air each Founder Friday.

“Female founders have always faced unique challenges, and the pandemic made those obstacles even bigger,” Nix Gerson shared. “From the ongoing challenge of raising capital, to balancing full-time childcare and business operations, female founders are reporting feeling more alone and isolated than ever.

“We created FOUNDED to build a personal, intimate community to help female founders connect with others going through the same challenges and find answers and connections to move forward.”

For those who are interested in finding out more about FOUNDED or applying for membership, additional information is available at foundedseries.com.