Kicking off the New Year

Hey everyone,

This week’s edition is all about momentum — new roles opening up across venture, founders continuing to build with conviction, and the communities that make this ecosystem more inclusive and accessible.

Whether you’re actively job searching, founder-curious, or just staying plugged into the space, we hope this gives you something useful (and motivating) as you head into the week ahead.

Here’s what we’re covering 👇

This week’s agenda

• Girls Into VC spotlight: spring openings extended

• Opportunities to explore right now

• Founder highlight

• Fund highlight

🌱Girls Into VC spotlight

Deadline for Spring Openings Extended: Apply below by Jan 13th at 11:59pm EST!

We know our initial application announcement may not have reached everyone who’s interested. To make sure no one misses out, we’re extending the deadline. Girls Into VC is now accepting applications across Programs, Mentorship, and Regional Leadership roles until the 13th. See further details below!

• Programs (College students & recent grads) offerings include the following:

  • Our 10-week Fellowship (Feb 4–Apr 8, 5–7 hrs/week | based in the U.S.), an educational opportunity to develop foundational venture capital skills while engaging with speakers from firms like Pear VC, Neo, and Bessemer. 

  • VC and Startup Externships (Feb 2–Mar 28, ~10 hrs/week | based and eligible to work in the U.S.), offering hands-on experience with leading venture firms and female-led startups.

• Mentorship Program (Feb 6–Apr 24 | Global): 1:1 mentorship through biweekly or monthly meetings with experienced women in VC, startups, tech, and finance.

• Regional Leads (Jan–June 2026 | NYC, Boston, SF, LA, and Austin): Lead and grow GIVC’s local presence through events, partnerships, and community activations.

Reach out to [email protected] with any questions!

💼 Opportunities This Week

A snapshot of roles across VC platform, operations, strategy, and the broader startup ecosystem:

• Talent Fellowship @ Initialized Capital  

• Builder-in-Residence (Part-Time) @ Builders + Backers 

• Head of Capital Formation @ Polychain Capital 

• Venture Fellowship @ 2048 Ventures 

• Operations Associate @ Entrepreneurs First (The Bridge) 

• Ecosystem Builder @ Zero Prime Ventures 

• Community & Events Manager @ IVP 

• Chief of Staff & Executive Assistant @ Adverb Ventures

• Program Ops Manager (Contract), Speedrun @ a16z 

• Market Development Associate @ Primary Venture Partners 

• Office & Operations Coordinator, Platform @ Interplay 

• Event Operations Lead @ Equal Ventures 

• Community & Portfolio Lead @ C10 Labs 

• VP of Marketing, Programming & Networks @ Primary Venture Partners 

• Operations and Engineering Roles @ Goodword

• Founder Fellow @ Upfront Ventures

• Summer VC Internship @ Ingeborg Investments

• Commercial Risk Intern @ AON

💗Power to Pitch: Securing a Grant with Kat Weaver

Power To Pitch has helped early-stage founders raise tens of millions in grants and venture capital by transforming how they pitch, present, and position themselves for funding opportunities. To date, we've helped founders raise over $60M in grants and venture capital, and counting.

Grant info: How to secure $100k+ in free funding with Kat Weaver. This is for US businesses in the idea stage up to $1M in annual recurring revenue.

Link to join the Power to Pitch Community:

👩‍💼 Founder Highlight: Brooke Waupsh — Co-Founder & CEO, Swoovy

Brooke Waupsh is the co-founder and CEO of Swoovy, a SaaS platform based in Austin that helps companies run corporate volunteer programs and amplify social impact through employee engagement. Founded with a mission to make volunteerism easier and more meaningful, Swoovy has secured early venture backing and carved out a growing niche in the HR-tech and purpose-driven software space — blending community impact with scalable tech.

Why it matters: Brooke combines mission-first thinking with tech execution, shining as an example of how founders can build companies that blend profit with purpose — especially in spaces where corporate social responsibility and employee experience intersect.

Founder Takeaway: Impact-oriented companies aren’t just “nice to have” — they’re becoming a strategic priority for larger enterprises and emerging investors.

💸 Fund Highlight: Silverton Partners — Early-Stage Austin VC

Silverton Partners is one of Austin’s most active early-stage venture capital firms, investing in seed and Series A companies across sectors like enterprise SaaS, digital marketplaces, financial services, and health tech.

• Based in Austin, Silverton has backed companies such as Apprentice, Rx Redefined, and DocJuris — demonstrating strength in identifying category-defining founders early.

• Partner Roger Chen was featured in Business Insider’s Seed 100 list of early-stage investors for 2025, highlighting his talent for spotting startups with strong product-market fit and growth potential.

Why it matters: Silverton’s track record and deep roots in the Texas startup ecosystem make it a great example of a regional fund that competes on a national stage while nurturing local founders.

💗 Closing Note

What continues to stand out week after week is how much this ecosystem is shaped by people who are willing to share knowledge, open doors, and bring others along with them. Whether you’re applying to roles, building something new, or leading within your community — you’re contributing to that momentum.

We’re glad you’re here, and we’re excited to keep building together.

With gratitude,
The Girls Into VC Team