• Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Money & Career

ESSENCE Network: A Startup Founder Shares How to Raise and Save Funds For Your Dreams

Tanya Van Court is part of the growing number of Black women successfully launching startups in Silicon Valley and cities around the country.
ESSENCE Network: A Startup Founder Shares How to Raise and Save Funds For Your Dreams
By Charreah K. Jackson · Updated October 27, 2020
Tanya Van Court is part of the growing number of Black women successfully launching startups in Silicon Valley and cities around the country. After realizing there was no known solution to her daughter’s birthday request to save for an investment account, she decided to put her professional experience to use and become the solution. Sow now allows young people to receive financial gifts for savings and fundraising efforts, in lieu of traditional material gifts. See how Van Court raised capital for her venture and her tips to being a successful CEO.  Name: Tanya Van Court Age: 40s Title: CEO, Sow Location: Brooklyn, NY Hometown: Oakland, CA Twitter: @tvancourt and @isowfor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyavancourt Instagram: @isowfor The gig: I am the founder and CEO of Sow, iSow.com. Sow solves the universal problem of inefficient gift giving to young people.  In lieu of receiving troves of “stuff” for their birthdays, holidays, and gift-giving moments, parents and kids can sow for important goals like saving and fundraising. I love to see young people getting excited about saving and their goals. The journey: My daughter shared with me that all she wanted for her 9th birthday was money to start an investment account and a new bike. I knew that she would likely receive a slew of gifts similar to those she already received from friends and family. I realized that the traditional process of gift giving was broken and that I could do something to fix it.  Prior to Sow, I served as senior vice president of partner marketing at Discovery Education and spent more than five years at Nickelodeon. I have two degrees in Engineering from Stanford and two degrees in Parenting from my children Gabrielle and Hendrix, preparing me for this task. Her top startup tip: The most important thing that you can do before launching a new venture is to test out the idea. Talk to at least 30 people before you quit your job, invest a dime in the new venture, or begin spending meaningful time developing your “side hustle.”  Those conversations will confirm and bolster your dreams, quash your plans, or force you to re-think your plans in healthy ways that can lead to a successful new enterprise. Confessions of a Black woman raising capital: As an entrepreneur, one of the most critical things you have to do is raise money for your venture.  Less than 1% of venture funding actually goes to Black women, and most of the funding sources are white men.  This is the greatest challenge that I’ve faced thus far. I’ve leveraged my communities and networks that are intimately familiar with me and my successful career, and have raised substantial funding from Black, Brown and female investors. Her lesson learned: The biggest mistake that I made was assuming that corporate and career success would automatically translate to entrepreneurial success. I learned early how difficult every stage of the entrepreneurial process is. I recovered by quickly finding mentors who could help me to navigate the entrepreneurial road. Her work/life tip: Assign time limits to things that have the potential to unnecessarily consume time.  As an example, my daughter and I challenge ourselves to a “15-minute grocery store shop.”   It actually becomes a competition and a game for us to see if we can finish our grocery store run in 15 minutes flat. Her best advice: If you believe in what you’re selling, you never have to sell it.  Instead, you’re just providing people an opportunity to experience, invest, or purchase something that will benefit them. Her tech fix: I can’t live without my phone, my Sonos, and my Chromecast.  Since I cut off my cable as an entrepreneur, I need entertainment options. Her beauty bag: I love Neutrogena Body Oil to make my skin soft after showers, and Bare Minerals lip gloss because it’s sexy and not sticky. Her power style accessory: I have two pieces of jewelry that have my kids’ name on them – a set of rings and a necklace.  Whenever I have them close to me, I feel empowered and unstoppable. Her superpower: The tenacity that enables me to walk through walls, even those that may seem formidable and unyielding. Her theme song: “I Ain’t No Joke” by Eric B. and Rakim.  Yes, I’m old school.
TOPICS:  ESSENCE Network
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now