Frances Simowitz
Laura Colagrande has been an Enterprise Partnerships professional at Bloomreach since September 2023, focusing on B2B sales and strategic planning. She is also an Associate Member of Pavilion since June 2023.
Prior to her current roles, Laura held a position at Cart.com as Lead for Go-to-Market Strategy and Marketing from November 2022 to September 2023, where she specialized in brand awareness and marketing analytics. She served as Director of Strategic Partnership and Marketing at Cart.com from June 2021 to November 2022. She co-founded Chippin, a sustainable pet food company, where she worked from May 2018 to December 2022.
Laura also gained experience in consulting as a strategy executive at Wheelhouse from September 2021 to January 2022, and she held various roles in design and product management earlier in her career.”Frances Simowitz is an accomplished entrepreneur and CEO with extensive experience in the NYC startup ecosystem. Currently, she leads WEVE Acceleration (formerly NUMA New York), a growth-stage accelerator that aids international startups in entering the U.S. market. Since July 2021, she has been the Owner and CEO, previously serving as CEO and Managing Director since September 2018. Her role involves fostering innovation and acceleration for startups through strategic partnerships.
Frances co-founded Cela in January 2019 and has been an Advisory Board Member at Tech Day HQ since February 2019. She has also contributed to the entrepreneurial community as a Co-Organizer for HackerNest from January 2017 to January 2020, promoting local tech communities.
Her earlier experiences include roles at Startup Institute, where she served as Associate Director of Admissions and City Admissions Manager, and at Sittercity as an Operations/Marketing Associate. Frances has a strong background in sales, marketing, and community engagement, making her a key figure in supporting and growing the startup landscape in New York City.
Title: Enterprise Partnerships Professional
Organization: Bloomreach
