Get STUFF Done - Powerfully Choosing to Mentor and Invest in Others with Deanna Meador

Meet one of my shero's, Deanna Meador, CEO of tech company Couture Technologies and apparel brand Freedom Company, as well as the co-founder and CEO of Chalk Coaching.

 

She began Couture Technologies to empower apparel companies with virtual fitting technology, 3D garment creation services, and enhanced data analytics designed to reduce returns. Couture Technologies was recognized as one of the Top 9 tech startups in the world during the Olympics of Tech, the 2023 Most Innovative Apparel E-Commerce Tech Solution, 2022 Most Innovative Apparel Sales Software Company in the World, and one of the Top 3D Companies in Tennessee.

 

Deanna is a successful serial tech entrepreneur that describes herself as never meeting a challenge she didn’t like. She started her first company during graduate school and grew it to multiple locations until it was acquired by a larger company. After selling this company, she developed a paperless data collection system for collecting assessment and observational data. This system was adopted by universities across the U.S., South Africa, Portugal, Australia and Sweden. In 2017, she joined 3 other inventors to develop Chalk Coaching, a tool for improving classroom experiences for preschool and kindergarten children through collaborative, data-driven coaching.

 

On March 8^th, 2023, International Women’s Day, Deanna made history when she became the first woman to raise $1.5M in 8 hours. She intentionally structured her raise in this way to start to change the narrative around the lack of funding for women-owned companies.

 

Deanna was the recipient of the Unsung Hero award for her work with underserved youth, as well as the Young Alumni Achievement Award from her undergraduate university for her innovations (the highest honor the university bestows on alumni under the age of 40, out of over 400 nominees).

 

Deanna was part of the founding team that started the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt University’s Innovation Center. Through her role as the former Deputy Director, she taught over 17 cohorts of aspiring entrepreneurs and mentored over 600 teams as they evaluated new technologies and launched new ventures. She is a certified national instructor for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program and in this role, she leads entrepreneurial training cohorts for teams from across the country. Deanna really enjoys working with creators, inventors, and entrepreneurs that dedicate their lives and talents to making a positive impact in the world.

Connect with Deanna Meador on LinkedIn

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