Gerry Poirier is the Founder and CEO of AngeLink, the world’s first crowdfunding platform powered by women and built for all. Visionary thought leader and champion of female empowerment and financial equity, Gerry is a diversity change agent with agility born from over 2 decades of finance and FinTech experience with leadership roles at Credit Suisse, Lazard Freres and Equity Growth Partners, Gerry is mission-driven, customer focused and data-driven with a notable track record of outstanding business growth in multiple turnarounds of VC-backed companies.
Gerry is a catalyst for positive impact with a passion for advancing women and girls in STEM. She founded AngeLink with a vision to bring innovative solutions to social change through life-changing technology. AngeLink is creating a safer, more trusted crowdfunding community powered by women to close the gap on gender-based economic disparity.
Awards and Affiliations:
Gerry also is the founder of the AngeLink Community Foundation, an independent, IRS-registered (501) (c) (3) charity, advancing women’s empowerment initiatives and inspiring a new generation of change makers. She is the recipient of the coveted Mindshare 2021 Award chosen as one of the most promising CEOs of a high growth, tech startup company. Gerry has served as the Vice Chairman of the Serious Game Institute and a member of the Women in Technology Association and the National Association of Women Business Owners. BA University of Pennsylvania, Concentration in Marketing Wharton School of Business.
Julie formed ChasePR in 2017 after Chase Communications, founded in 1997 to provide public relations and marketing communications services to a diverse client base focusing on financial services, real estate, and healthcare, was acquired. With more than 25 years’ experience now honed to investment management, real estate development, financial services and crisis communications, Julie continues to provide strategic counsel and execution, social and earned media outreach media training, marketing, crisis planning, public affairs, and events.
Julie maintains a national to international footprint with strong ties to San Francisco and Washington, D.C. She is actively involved in the strategy and day-to-day tactics of every client.
A native of Washington, D.C., Julie has a diverse early career, including executive editor and associate publisher of Commercial Property Guide, forming the San Francisco office of Belgravia Capital, and co-founding ePlanning, an online financial planning company and broker-dealer. She began her career in public relations at Laurie Chase & Company in San Francisco, where she developed business and managed multiple corporate accounts.
Julie, a daily runner, holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University and a minor in art history.
Connect with Gerry and Julie on LinkedIn
Interview questions:
Q1: What initially prompted you to start AngeLink? Is it a personal passion?
Q2: When did you officially start and how did you get your first campaign?
Q3: Is it really the world’s first female-powered crowdfunding platform?
Q4: Tell me how it’s different?
Q5: Getting a little technical here to start, I understand you have 8 patents pending. Can you share a bit more about that and how AI is also part of the technology?
Q6: I love that you refer to AngeLink as “female-powered.” What does that mean about what you are doing for women?
Q7: And your staff is almost all female, as well?
Q8: Were you also influenced by the greater call for women on boards, ESG and DEI?
Q9: Tell me about some of the campaigns that have been started already.
Q10: You have some great creative on the website and with merchandise. Tell me about the logo. And has this been a draw for your users?
Q11: And how many users do you have?
Q12: You also have Ambassadors. What is that program?
Q13: And you’re giving away grants – that’s incredible.
Q14: I see you established a foundation, as well. Tell me more about that.
Q15: How are you tracking on success?
Q16: Can you talk about how you are raising your funds?
Headquartered in Naples, Florida, AngeLink was founded by Gerry Poirier, a 25-year finance executive, to provide a solution for gender-based economic disparity by reimagining crowdfunding for local, global, personal, and professional campaigns. Backed by eight pending-patents and currently increasing users at an annual compound growth rate of 600%, AngeLink’s technology is designed to accelerate the speed and success of fundraising for individuals and communities to support healthcare, emergencies, natural disasters, small businesses, and charities. With an innovative and trusted platform powered by women, AngeLink is democratizing social crowdfunding through technology. Follow us on Insta LinkedIn Twitter FB YouTube and download the AngeLink app.
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