First Check — May 2026
First Check · May 2026 · My picks for NY Tech Week

More rooms worth showing up for than ever before.

So I pulled together what I'm watching and what I'm hosting, every room I think is worth showing up for, for the women building and betting on the future of health.

Events I'm co-hosting

★ I'm hostingPre-Tech Week · Networking

Female Founders & Funders Networking

With Fierce Foundry
🕔 Wed, May 20 · 5:00 PM ET · 📍 Luminary · 1204 Broadway, NYC

An early kickoff at Luminary. Female founders meet investors, and funders (including newer angels) meet founders. Approval required.

RSVP →
★ I'm hostingTech Week · Happy Hour + Pitch

Founders & Funders Happy Hour + FemHack Pitch

With Fierce Foundry
🕔 Wed, June 3 · 5:00 PM ET

Wine, light bites, and the live FemHack Founders Pitch Competition. Come connect and watch the pitches.

RSVP →
★ I'm hostingTech Week · Pitch Day

Female Founder Pitch Day + Networking

With Fierce Foundry & Perkins Coie
🕔 Thu, June 4 · 2:00–5:00 PM ET

Celebrating the Fierce Foundry Q2 2026 Bootcamp cohort with Perkins Coie. Live founder pitches from 2–3 PM, networking until 5 PM.

RSVP →
★ I'm hostingTech Week · Hackathon

VibeHack: Health × AI

With Girls Into VC NYC, Fierce Foundry & Scalpels & Spreadsheets
🕔 Sun, June 7 · 8:30 AM–8:30 PM ET

A gender-inclusive health AI hackathon to close out Tech Week. Build all day (8:30 AM–4 PM), then pitch at the awards reception (4:30–8:30 PM). Priority spots for female and non-binary builders. Win $500+ in API credits.

RSVP deadline: Mon, June 1
RSVP →

Women's health

Founder Panel · Breakfast

The Female Tech Stack: Hormones, AI & Money

Hosted by HCM
🕔 Tue, June 2 · 9:00 AM ET

A small breakfast with founders building at the intersection of women's bodies and financial data. Speakers from FLORA Fertility, Clair Health, and Frich. 45-min panel plus Q&A.

RSVP →
Salon · Invite-Only

Gender HealthTech: The Next Investment Frontier

Trans Health HQ, Visible Hands & La Familia
🕔 Tue, June 2 · 4:00–6:00 PM ET

Pre-seed founders with active angels, partner-level VCs, and health system executives. Panel, structured networking, and a salsa class. Space is intentionally limited.

RSVP →
Investor + Founder Lunch

The New Stack: Balancing the Cap Table for Women-Led Wellness & Wearables

Investor + founder lunch
🕔 Wed, June 3 · 11:00 AM–2:30 PM ET

A catered lunch focused on a full-stack approach to wellness and wearables: technical product alongside equitable business foundations. Investors and operating founders.

RSVP →
Founder Panel · Morning

She Speaks Health

Scalpels & Spreadsheets × FemBuild
🕔 Fri, June 5 · 9:30 AM–12:00 PM ET

Scalpels & Spreadsheets and FemBuild on building as technical and non-technical founders. Speakers from Tavia Health, Scalpels & Spreadsheets, and FemBuild.

RSVP →

Healthtech AI

Off-the-Record Panel

From Model to Market: The Future of Clinical AI in Healthcare

Manatt, Sutter Health, Oak HC/FT, Besound, Vega
🕔 Mon, June 1 · 3:00–5:00 PM ET

How hospitals evaluate, adopt, and scale startup AI. Legal, regulatory, and procurement realities. Refreshments provided.

RSVP →
Panel + Pitches · Invite-Only

AI & HealthTech for Hospitals and Healthcare

MedRock Ventures and Orbiss
🕔 Tue, June 2 · 5:00 PM ET

Panel from leading hospitals, big pharma, biotech, and healthcare investors, then startup pitches and a cocktail reception. Invite only.

RSVP →
Fireside + Dinner

a16z Health AI Builders Dinner

Paul Cohen and Jay Rughani (a16z)
🕔 Tue, June 2 · 6:30–9:00 PM ET

A candid discussion on what's actually working at the frontier of AI in care delivery. Hosted by Paul Cohen (ex-One Medical, ex-Galileo, ex-Bridgewater) and Jay Rughani (partner, a16z).

RSVP →
Half-Day Summit

Kedrion × InstaLILY: Healthcare AI Innovation Summit

Kedrion Biopharma and InstaLILY AI
🕔 Wed, June 3 · 1:00–6:00 PM ET

Moving biopharma from AI experimentation into real-world execution. Includes Google DeepMind's Paige Bailey and Matt Ridenour. Full agenda at kedrion-summit.instalily.ai.

RSVP →
Panel + Build Session

SheSuite: Tech Founders + Vibe Coding

Sparx Labs and FemBuild Collective
🕔 Thu, June 4 · 10:00 AM–2:00 PM ET

Women CTOs and founders on building AI products at scale, then a two-hour hands-on session to build a live PR AI agent. No prior AI experience needed.

RSVP →
Private Salon · Invite-Only

InvestDoc: AI & Health Tech Investment for Physicians

InvestDoc · Dr. Amad Khan & Diane Yoo
🕔 Sat, June 6 · 3:00 PM ET · 📍 Private Manhattan venue (shared upon approval)

Official NY Tech Week launch of InvestDoc. Neurosurgeons, health AI founders, VCs, and family offices on why clinical insight is becoming a competitive advantage in healthcare AI — and how doctors are moving from adopters to investors and owners.

RSVP →
Founder + VC Brunch · Invite-Only

The Doctor Investor Summit

InvestDoc · Dr. Amad Khan & Diane Yoo
🕔 Sun, June 7 · 11:30 AM ET · 📍 RSVP to see location

Private brunch for HealthTech AI founders, physician investors, healthcare VCs, doctor creators, and family offices. Curated room on clinical adoption, investor access, and what actually wins in Healthcare AI.

RSVP →

Community & social

Product Launch · Lunch

ionava Launch: Make Health Pay Off

ionava at SoulCycle
🕔 Mon, June 1 · 12:00–4:00 PM ET

NY launch of ionava's Founding Membership, a financial platform for health and wellness spend (not insurance). 65–75% of your subscription comes back as spendable cash. Pre-complete onboarding at ionava.com for 10% off.

RSVP →
Happy Hour

Built by Women, Backed by Community

Woman Owned NYC and SocializeLA
🕔 Mon, June 1 · 4:15–6:30 PM ET

No panels, no pitches. Founders, operators, creatives, builders, and allies for women-led innovation. Beer, wine, and snacks provided.

RSVP →
Dual Panel

Longevity: Science, Tech & Capital

BCG Healthcare and The Reason
🕔 Tue, June 2 · 12:45 PM ET

Two panels: Health as a Performance Catalyst (employers and preventive health) and Longevity Science & Business.

RSVP →
Office Hours

Female Founder & Funder Office Hours

How Women Invest
🕔 Wed, June 3 · 12:00–2:00 PM ET

Ask anything: company formation, team comp, benefits, regulatory hurdles, seed-to-growth advice. Whether you've closed your round or just kicked off your raise. 100 spots.

RSVP →
Breakfast

NY Tech Week Female Founders Breakfast

Foundess, Founders House & Carta
🕔 Wed, June 3 · Tech Week (time TBD)

Mid-week breakfast for female founders. Discussion on cap table management and fundraising essentials. Approval required to register.

RSVP →
Curated Gathering

Female Founders & Investors Speakeasy

Madeline & Co. and Excelsior Edge Ventures
🕔 Thu, June 4 · 5:00–7:00 PM ET

100 female founders, investors, operators, and ecosystem leaders. Small room by design.

RSVP →

Pitches & careers

$50K Pitch Competition

2048 Ventures Healthcare Pitch Competition

2048 Ventures and Brown Rudnick
🕔 Tue, June 2 · 2:00–3:30 PM ET

Early-stage healthcare companies pitch in front of top VCs. One team wins $50,000. Topics: care delivery, longevity, healthcare infrastructure.

RSVP →
Exit Strategy Briefing

The Briefing: What No One Told Her About Exiting

Exette
🕔 Fri, June 5 · 3:00 PM ET

Only 1.37% of businesses that sell a majority stake are female-founded. An honest conversation for exited founders, wealth managers, RIAs, family offices, and exit advisors. Moderated by Alisha Pennington.

RSVP →
Investor Dinner · 20 Spots

Salubrum Salon Dinner for Healthcare Investors

Salubrum and Coeus Collective Ventures
🕔 Fri, June 5 · 7:00 PM ET

Curated dinner for institutional and angel investors aligned with healthcare. Food and drink covered. RSVP request must be accepted.

RSVP →

What I'm bookmarking

Funding
Good news for women's health founders raising capital →
Via Lucia Orozco-Lopez. Investor updates and resources for women's health startups raising now.
Angel
Investor deploying $25K–$3M into female-founded companies →
An angel openly seeking deals in this check range. DM via LinkedIn if you're raising.
VC
Camelback Ventures funding opportunities open →
Open programs for underrepresented founders. Check current deadlines.
Programs
7 accelerator applications open right now →
Via Tian Shi. A list of 7 programs with open applications.
Programs
Resources for women and Black founders →
Via Janet Joy. Programs, grants, and communities for women and Black founders.
Investors
Female investors actively deploying: master list →
Via Keren Hod. Save this before your next raise.
Investors
"The VCs that were my first call when I founded" →
Via Zehra Naqvi. A founder-perspective list of VCs worth calling early.
Investors
VC opportunities for female founders →
Via Ivelina Dineva. Curated VC opportunities and updates.
Database
World of Women's Health: FemTech Company Database →
Via WoW Health. A searchable database of femtech companies and founders.
Read
"Most women-led technical startups fail, not because of the tech" →
Via Sarah Anto. A frank read on what actually determines outcomes for women-led technical startups.
VC Read
VC landscape insights for founders raising →
Via Sarah Romanko. VC perspective and resources for founders navigating today's funding landscape.
Tool
Women in Decision →
A live database of women across venture, operating, and policy who actually have decision-making power.

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