Astia's Sixth Annual Venture Conference Delivers Exceptional Results for Women-Led High-Growth Startups

MixerCast and Scout Labs Secure Millions As A Result of Leading Fundraising Program

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 23, 2008 -- Astia, the national leader in programs that accelerate the funding and growth of women-led start-ups, today announced the funding of two presenting companies from its October Venture Conference. MixerCast and Scout Labs join the more than 57 Venture Conference companies that have raised capital or were acquired. This makes for a greater than 50% success rate for the conference since it started in 2003 - making it one of the nation's most effective fundraising conferences of its kind.

"We look forward to Astia's Venture Conference every year," said Eghosa Omoigui, director, Strategic Investments, Consumer Internet and Semantic Technologies, Intel Capital. "The presenting companies are consistently high-growth, top quality startups on the cutting edge of innovation."

We were overwhelmed with the positive response we received from interested investors following the Venture Conference. Astia gave us access to the relationships and connections we needed to increase the size of our round. We are proof that Astia's program works.

MixerCast, a service that enables brands to extend throughout the social web via a widget syndication and distribution platform, closed Series B funding from Intel Capital, Onset Ventures and Velocity Interactive Group. Scout Labs, a web-based service that helps companies tune into the voice of the customer across the web and turns that information into actionable insight to drive business growth, received Series B funding from Minor Ventures.

"Astia made all the difference in our fundraising efforts," said Jennifer Cooper, CEO of MixerCast. "We were overwhelmed with the positive response we received from interested investors following the Venture Conference. Astia gave us access to the relationships and connections we needed to increase the size of our round. We are proof that Astia's program works."

The 2007 Astia Conference took place October 18 in Mountain View, California. The conference showcased an elite class of 29 women-led companies from across the U.S. to an audience of over 300 that included more than 80 leading venture capital firms. Companies spanned the sectors of technology, life sciences, and health and wellness.

"Participating in Astia's Venture Conference Program gave us access to people, perspectives and insights which helped us accelerate our company's growth," said Jennifer Zeszut, CEO of Scout Labs. "The quality and attendance of investors at the conference was exceptional. Thanks to the Astia program and team of coaches, our presentation was top notch, and the resulting buzz and attention helped us secure funding quickly."

"The focus of our program is to create real connections for these women-led companies. We are not a woman's network, we are about taking exceptional women-led companies to the game," said Sharon Vosmek, CEO, Astia. "We're thrilled that MixerCast and Scout Labs received value from the Astia community and Venture Conference program which resulted in a successful fundraising effort."

About Astia
Astia is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering the full participation and leadership of women in entrepreneurship and as accelerators of high growth businesses. Astia accelerates the funding and growth of companies through three exclusive programs: Astia Venture Conference Funding Program™, Astia Portfolio Program™ and the Astia Next Level Program™, each designed for Seed to Mezzanine. These programs are supported by the over 350 members of Astia's Advisor Network that includes more than 70 former and current CEOs and 80 investors. To learn more about Astia please visit www.astia.org.

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