🙋‍♀️ Hot Girls Network & $660k in Grants

🎯 Grants for solopreneurs and small businesses

💡$600,000 for Tech Startups

The Neo Accelerator is investing $600K in early-stage startups building innovative technology-based products.

📅 Apply here by March 14, 2025
 

🧠 $30,000 for Digital Solutions Supporting Youth Mental Health

The Headstream Accelerator is offering $30K to startups creating digital solutions for youth mental well-being, with a focus on BIPOC, Latino, and LGBTQIA+ communities in education and healthcare.

📅 Apply here by March 16, 2025
 

🚀Up to $35,000 for Women Entrepreneurs
The Women’s Pitch Contest is awarding up to $35K to women-owned businesses that are at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens. Open to businesses registered in Washington, Alaska, or Northern Idaho.
📅 Apply here by March 6, 2025

💡 Need funding tailored to your biz? Just ask our helpful chatbot Vestie!

🏦 Finance Fix

BOIR Requirement is back! File before March 21st.

This was suspended earlier this year, but the reporting requirements are back in effect, with a new deadline. 

Basically, you need to confirm with the government you are not a money laundering organization by registering with the Financial Crimes Bureau (AKA fill out your BOIR). 

We wrote you a guide, because as your business bestie we want you to avoid the up to $10k in fines! Here’s a step by step guide here

 Do I need to? Yes, if you are an LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp.

Except for: Large operating companies with 20+ full-time employees, tax-exempt entities like non-profit 501(c) groups, and inactive entities.

Deadline: March 21st, 2025

How to do it: Go to FinCEN BOI website, click “START YOUR BOIR FILING” 

🗞️ Making Headlines

It's Cool to Quit (Vaping, that is)
 

Childhood friends Caroline and Hilary are tackling a massive behavioral shift: quitting nicotine. Their startup, Jones, has raised $5M to build a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) platform. 

There’s a lot to learn from how Jones is disrupting an old industry with a fresh take, let’s break it down:
 

• ✅ Meet People Where They Are: 
  
  Jones is succeeding because they aren’t just selling nicotine replacement products, they’re integrating behavioral coaching and AI to address why people struggle to quit in the first place. 
  
  Lesson: Don’t just solve the surface-level problem. Dig deeper into your customer’s real struggles.
   

• ✅ Leverage Psychology to Drive Change
  
  Jones makes quitting vaping socially rewarding and easy to stick with, something any business can apply. Whether you’re a coach, consultant, or product-based business, think about habit-building and positive reinforcement in your offerings. 
  
  Lesson: How can you make it effortless for your customers to keep coming back.
   

• ✅ Build a Brand That People Want to Be Part Of
  
  Let’s be real—quitting nicotine doesn’t sound fun, but Jones flipped the script. Their branding is sleek, their marketing is aspirational, and they’re growing a 25K+ Instagram community that actively engages.
  
  Lesson: This is true even for “hard” topics (i.e finances and taxes) but you can position them as empowering and engaging.

We break down their social media strategy in our latest IG video here.