Take Your App to the Next Level with Fundraising and Product Growth Strategies
What an incredible time we had recently taking over the App Masters YouTube channel with my good friend Imen Clark, the talented founder and CEO of Prickly Pear Health!
Steve P. Young graciously handed over the reins for a special episode focused on Women in Tech: AI, Fundraising, & Product Growth Strategies. It was an inspiring conversation filled with valuable insights and a whole lot of enthusiasm.
The energy was high right from the start as we celebrated Imen’s fantastic achievement – raising $350,000 in a pre-seed funding round for Prickly Pear Health, exceeding her initial goal of $250,000. Hearing her journey navigating the investment space was truly inspiring.
Imen then shared the powerful mission behind Prickly Pear Health: to address the disproportionate prevalence of brain conditions in women by offering a next-generation digital health solution for personalized brain health. This incredible app uses conversational AI to act as a companion, considering hormonal fluctuations and tailoring interventions for mental clarity, emotional well-being, and cognitive resilience during perimenopause.
As a Prickly Pear App beta user myself, I can attest to its thoughtful design and helpful reminders.
One of the key takeaways from our discussion was Imen’s emphasis on the importance of niching down your product. As she wisely put it, “a product for everybody is a product for nobody”.
By focusing specifically on women in the menopausal transition, the Prickly Pear App has been able to deeply understand and cater to their unique needs.
Insider Fundraising Tips
Imen shared some invaluable secrets, emphasizing the critical “why you and why now” for investors. She stressed the importance of getting loud about your vision and building relationships with investors before you need the money, highlighting that approaching them when you have a runway puts you in a position of power. The significance of the first check and knowing what makes you fundable were also key points.
Fundraising Lessons & Strategy
- Why You & Why Now? 🚀
- Get Loud About Your Vision! 🎤
- Build Relationships Before You Need Them 🤝
- Be Strategic About the First Check 💰
- Know What Makes You Fundable (Especially as a Woman in AI) 🤖
- Data + Story = Magic 📊✨
- Ask for Advice, Get Money. Ask for Money… Well, You Know. 💡➡️💵
- Rejection = Data 🔄
Fundraising Insights from an Investor
- Strong introduction
- Clear understanding of your TAM/SAM/SOM
- Confident and clear ask
- Confidence and coachability
We also acknowledged that venture capital isn’t the only way to build a startup. Bootstrapping is a valid and often empowering alternative to venture capital.
There are also non-dillutive funding options, including Accelerators by large companies. Check out this article for detailed info on these programs: “Equity-Free Startup Accelerator Programs Every Founder Should Know About.”
AI Prompt – a – Long
Being the tech enthusiasts we are, we explored how AI can be leveraged for fundraising decks and App Store Optimization (ASO), even running some live prompts with different AI models. It’s amazing how these tools can help craft compelling pitches and refine app store listings!
Copy and paste these into your favorite LLM. I recommend Perplexty, Latimer, or ChatGPT.
- Prompt 1: Create a compelling one-sentence pitch for [your startup] that captures its unique value proposition.
- Prompt 2: Describe the competitive landscape for [your startup] and explain your key differentiators.
- Prompt 3: Act as an ASO expert with over 10 years of experience. 5 pull quotes from the App Store reviews for [your app] that we should be aware of when working on our ASO strategy. Include positive and negative. Share why you provided that quote and an action we should take because of it. Please provide the results in a table format.
Prickly Pear App Demo
The highlight for me was definitely the live demo of the Prickly Pear Health app. It’s such an intuitive and supportive tool.
We even shared some of the fantastic testimonials and feedback received from early users, underscoring the impact the app is already having.
🌿 Feeling Understood
💬 “I’ve been using Prickly Pear Health for a few days now, and it’s already helping me recognize patterns in my mood and energy. The voice journaling feels so natural, and I love getting insights tailored just for me!”
🎙️ Voice Journaling is a Game-Changer
💬 “The voice recording feature is a game-changer. I find that speaking my thoughts helps me process them better. A pause button would be great so I can collect my thoughts without needing to start over!”
⏰ A More Structured Daily Flow
💬 “I love that the app encourages me to set intentions in the morning. I’d like an option to ‘set my day’ with wake-up and bedtime reminders, so my daily check-ins feel more structured and manageable.”
Want to join the Prickly Pear App beta?
WOMENxAI Community Members Building Cool Apps
We also took a moment to shine a light on other incredible women builders in the WOMENxAI community:
⚡ Dipti Bhide Co-Founder and CEO, LittleLit.AI – Kids AI Platform – helping kids learn AI through games.
⚡Miri Rodriguez, Founder and CEO, Empressa AI – Spearheading the Trustworthy AI for women movement, leading the development of the first AI platform and GPT model by women.
⚡Isabella Kulstad, Founder of Cloud IX, Inc. – An AI-powered mobile platform designed to support survivors of sexual violence on college campuses.
And if you want to connect with a supportive AI community, I highly encourage you to join us at WOMEN x AI! Everyone is welcome, regardless of your AI journey stage.
Of course, no App Masters takeover would be complete without a joke battle, so we squeezed in a few tech-related jokes!
It was an absolute pleasure to share this space with Imen and to connect with the App Masters audience. The energy and passion within the tech community are truly inspiring.
If you missed the live session, be sure to check out the full conversation on App Masters YouTube Channel as Jenny and Imen discuss Women in Tech: AI, Fundraising & Product Growth Strategies.
Let’s continue to build, innovate, and support each other in the exciting world of technology!
Connect with Jenny Kay Pollock and Imen Maaroufi Clark on LinkedIn for more tips on taking your app to the next level.
