June 2026: $5K-$100K Available for Women Founders
Last month we asked if you also felt that “finding customers” is your largest business challenge, and nearly 89% of you said yes. Holy moly!
It's probably not a coincidence that customer acquisition challenges are showing up alongside rapid changes in how consumers discover businesses and products online. Remember when you'd Google something and get a list of 10 blue links? Not anymore! Something like 45% of US consumers now use AI tools like Google's AI Overview, ChatGPT, and Claude to find local businesses, recommendations, and products.
The good news? Getting your business to surface in AI tools starts with the same, strong SEO foundation that experts have been talking about for years. AI features are built on top of existing search systems; they don't replace them. Keep your website and online profiles up to date, especially your Google Business Profile, and keep showing up online as the community-focused, authentic business baddie that you are! Bonus points for thoughtfully responding to customer reviews, too. 😉
What else is on deck for June:
🌈 Happy Pride! To our LGBTQIA+ Launchers: We love you, we see you, and you matter! Thank you for the brilliance you bring to the world.
💰 Grant Opportunities: 10+ grants, ranging from $5K-$100K in size, have application deadlines in June. Go get that money, honey!
🇬🇧 LWL London 2026: We're counting down the days to our June 29th event in Shoreditch! London Launchers, we sure can't wait to see you!
🩵 Meet Jessica: The founder of Fat Cat San Francisco and co-owner of newly opened Fat Cat & The Mantis dishes about her path to opening a gathering space in a city that's dominated by technology and AI.
Cheers to a booming June!
The Ladies Who Launch team
💰 GRANT DEADLINES
For any questions about the below grants, including eligibility, please reach out to the granting organization directly.
[$10K-$100K] Jobber Grants for Home Services. Jobber is awarding 9 grants to home and commercial services businesses looking to grow or innovate! Deadline: June 11, 2026
[$50K] EmpowHer Grant. Our amazing partners at Boundless Futures Foundation are in the final stretch of their spring grant cycle! Up to $50K is available for qualifying women-owned small businesses that demonstrate a clear social impact. Deadline: June 15, 2026 at 9:00pm ET
[$100K] Cartier Women's Initiative. Up to $100K is available through the Cartier Women's Initiative! This year's grant cycle looks to support women-founded or women-owned businesses that demonstrate a clear social impact. (We see a trend!) Deadline: June 16, 2026
[$5K] Entreprenista Evolve Grant. This quarter's Evolve Grant is open to eligible US-based, woman-owned or woman-led companies generating $100K+ annually and operating for at least a year. Deadline: June 19, 2026
[$5K] Kirabo Grant. Open to founders and small business owners from historically under-resourced communities, and anyone facing systemic barriers to economic opportunity, Kirabo is offering a $5,000 cash grant, a complimentary Kirabo membership, and a business coaching session. Deadline: June 28, 2026 at 11:59pm PT
[$5K] She Seals The Deal. This one is for our professional service-based gals! Jennifer Blake is looking to support women-owned services and consulting businesses who are actively building their business and ready to turn $5,000 into a revenue-generating system. There is a $25 application fee to apply. Deadline: June 30, 2026
💥 POWER PICKS
Your monthly shortcut to better decisions. Handpicked listens, curated reads, and expert events that will level up your thinking and skills.
🤝 LWL's 2026 London Summit - 29th June. We're heading back to London in a few weeks for more of that Funded & Fearless magic! Tickets are going quickly, so be sure to RSVP if you haven't already. Can't make it to London? No worries! We're also heading to Austin, TX, and Dublin, Ireland later this year.
📚 How a Non-Technical Founder Built a Global Queer Community App. And she did it long before the world of generative AI, too! This quick read gives insights into Robyn Exton's process building the HER app, and underscores the importance of knowing your customer and solving their problems.
📚 Purpose and Profit in Tension and 7 Lessons in Brand Building. In these two (short!!) pieces, the founder of GoKindly, Laura McConnell, reflects on what she's learned building a social enterprise in Australia over the last several years. We love her perspective on growth for good.
📚 I'm launching a bookshop. Sam Burgess authors a charming read on her decision to start a bookshop from scratch in England, and a commitment to document the whole process on Substack. Follow along for a bit of start-up catharsis!
📚 Google and Bing Reveal Local AI SEO Roadmap. A very recent (May 21st) recap of AI SEO insights for local businesses. Lots of good tips in here!
🩵 LAUNCHER SPOTLIGHT
Celebrating women-owned businesses in motion. Be sure to give your fellow Launcher some love online... It's easy, free, and means the world!
Meet Jessica Bell
For Jess Bell, founder of Fat Cat San Francisco and co-owner of Fat Cat & The Mantis, wine was never the point.
During the early pandemic years, while helping her sister through the end of her life and questioning a career in technology that no longer felt right, Jess found herself drawn to the simplest pleasures of sharing a meal, opening a bottle of wine, and laughing around a table.
What began as a small, monthly wine club spotlighting queer and underrepresented winemakers
became something much larger. Something that was rooted in a belief that people need safe places to connect, linger, and feel fully present with one another again.
After three years of taking steady steps, this spring Jess' vision came to life with the brick and mortar opening of Fat Cat & The Mantis in San Francisco's Mission-Bernal corridor. But her launch plan wasn't a leap of faith so much as a series of experiments.
Before signing a lease, Jess spent years testing her idea and her capacity for the work. She took part-time roles at local wine shops to learn the business from the inside, and began building relationships with local distributors she met on the floor. She partnered with local businesses in her spare time, and began hosting pop-ups: moving from one-off events to multi-month series and unique collaborations.
Looking back, her advice to aspiring founders is simple: Don't wait until something is perfect. Start small. See what resonates. Take the next step. Eventually the path will reveal itself.
Today, Fat Cat feels less like a traditional wine bar and more like a neighborhood living room where anyone can hang. It's where first dates stretch into last call, queer elders pull up a stool at the bar, and friends settle in for the quick drink that somehow turns into a five hour conversation.
In a city that drives so much of the digital world, Jess and her team have built a space centered on something so much more human: the simple act of being together.
"Fat Cat is really one big dinner party," Jess told us. "It's my ultimate expression of what it means to 'touch grass.'"
It's a place to exhale.