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Startup Improving Mental Wellness of Preteen and Teen Girls Receives Investment
- Blog,
June 8, 2020
Moxie Girl will use funding to increase brand awareness, accelerate growth
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. – Moxie Girl today announced a $20,000 investment from Elevate Ventures Community Ideation Fund. The Jeffersonville-based startup is focused on improving preteen and teen girls’ mental health through personal goal setting and achievement.
“We are very happy to be a part of Elevate Ventures’ investment portfolio,” said Lydia Henshaw, CEO and founder of Moxie Girl. “It’s important for us to receive investment from an institutional investor who can provide our startup with growth-stimulating capital, expertise and other valuable resources as we scale to make a true global impact. This funding will enable us to reach our bold goal of growing more than 10 million confident girls in 10 years. This mission is even more important now as teen girls need tools and coaching to grow confidence in a time of change and uncertainty.”
Henshaw and co-founder Heather Moster launched Moxie Girl in 2019 to provide tech-enabled tools, such as video mentoring and group coaching, to teen girls to improve their emotional wellness and confidence. According to Henshaw, adolescent girls are three times more likely to face a depressive episode than boys.
The company recently launched with pediatric firms including Intown Pediatrics, one of the largest such firms in Atlanta. Pediatricians are offering the Moxie Girl mobile app to their female teen patients.
Moxie Girl is currently participating in Elevate Origins, a pre-accelerator program for Indiana startups. Kyle Keeney, an Elevate Ventures Entrepreneur-in-Residence focused on the southern Indiana region, has utilized his medtech background to provide guidance to Moxie Girl and credits its leadership for the early success.
“Moxie Girl is perfectly positioned to address a growing need at a critical time. We are excited to see the traction and growth they are achieving in the market,” said Keeney. “Their alignment with strategic partners shows the strength of the management team.”
Elevate Ventures’ Community Ideation Fund is available through Indiana’s 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, which is overseen by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and promotes economic growth and innovation-driven public-private partnerships in Indiana.