International Women's Day 2026: Founder-Investor Panel and Mixer #GiveToGain 💜

On March 11th, Startup Grind Toronto is bringing together a founder, a venture capitalist, and an angel investor to tackle the real challenges of building and fundraising in FemTech.

Join us for an honest, tactical look at navigating the market, closing the funding gap, and scaling companies in FemTech today.

Meet the Panel

Parnian Majd (Founder and CEO, Fibra): A pioneer in the FemTech space, Parnian is navigating the front lines of health-tech innovation and breaking the taboos of women's health.

Mellie Chow (Venture Partner, Archangel & Axion Fund): An engineer-turned-venture capitalist, Mellie is deeply committed to closing the gender equity funding gap, with a portfolio featuring 27% women-led companies.

Orchid Jahanshahi (Founder and Angel Investor, ThinkrBelle): A seasoned founder and angel investor, Orchid brings a unique perspective on scaling in overlooked sectors and navigating the challenges of early-stage growth.

Meredith Bacal (Partner, Dentons): Our moderator, ensuring we bridge the gap between legal strategy and founder reality.

AGENDA:

5:30 PM: Registration & Networking

6:15 PM: Panel & Audience Q&A

6:45 PM: The Mixer (Refreshments and curated networking)

WHO SHOULD BE IN THE ROOM?

Founders & Builders: If you are currently raising capital or growing a company—especially in complex sectors like HealthTech or FemTech—this is your peer group.
Investors & Angels: VCs and private investors looking to connect with high-growth, female-led ventures and stay pulse-checked on 2026 trends.
Ecosystem Leaders: Advisors and operators who want to engage in straightforward knowledge-sharing rather than just standard networking.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

The 2026 Fundraising Market: A transparent look from Mellie Chow (Venture Partner, Archangel and Axion Fund) and Orchid Jahanshahi (Angel Investor and Founder, ThinkrBelle) on what investors are actually looking for in the current climate.
Scaling in Overlooked Sectors: Parnian Majd (CEO of Fibra) shares the reality of building a company in a market that traditional investors often misunderstand.
Effective Support Systems: How to move away from trying to solve every problem on your own. Our speakers will share the specific advice and introductions that actually moved the needle for them.
Curated Networking: Following the panel, we’re hosting a mixer designed to help you meet the right investors, mentors, or future partners.

Capacity at Dentons is limited to ensure everyone has a chance to make quality connections. Secure your spot today.

About Our Venue Partner, Dentons

Dentons is the world's largest law firm. Our legal and business solutions benefit from deep roots in our communities and award-winning advancements in client service, including the Dentons Venture Hub, an innovative and informative online resource centre. Dentons’ polycentric and purpose-driven approach, commitment to inclusion and diversity, and world-class talent challenge the status quo to advance client and public interests in a rapidly changing world.

Agenda

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Moderator

Meredith Bacal - Dentons (Partner)

Meredith Bacal is a partner in the Firm’s Intellectual Property, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution groups. Meredith has extensive experience litigating media, entertainment, defamation, and technology disputes. She has acted on several leading cases on Canadian copyright and personality rights in the course of her career. In addition, she has appeared before many levels of court, including…

Hosts

Lydia Emanuel - Startup Grind Toronto (Events Lead)

Daria Tilikanova - Winner Capital (Startup Coach and Mentor)

Daria Tilikanova is a business and startup coach who helps founders and service-based entrepreneurs build scalable businesses with clear strategy, strong positioning, and predictable revenue systems.
Originally from Russia, she founded and sold two education companies before moving to Canada, where she shifted into full-time mentoring for early-stage and growing foun…

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Global Partner

Carta (http://www.carta.com/launch?utm_campaign=20240423-nam-general-smb-startup_grind_partnership&utm_medium=social&utm_source=startup_grind)
Carta helps people manage equity, build businesses, and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Carta Launch is the only free cap table product, helping new founders get started. The company is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 7,000 funds and SPVs, and over two million equity holders to manage cap tables, compensation, valuations, liquidity, and more. For more information, visit carta.com.

Partners

Winner Capital (https://winner.capital)
Winner Capital is an early stage to growth stage syndicate fund investing across North America

Dentons (https://www.dentons.com/en/)
Dentons Venture Tech Group

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Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in more than 600 cities and 125+ countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. For more information visit StartupGrind.com or follow us on twitter @StartupGrind.

Complete your event RSVP here: https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-toronto-presents-international-womens-day-2026-founder-investor-panel-and-mixer-givetogain/.