10 Venture Capital Firms Focused on Funding Female Founders
By Jody Bell
In 2019 female entrepreneurs received 2.7% of the total venture capital funds distributed. Yet, despite this disparity, companies with female founders perform 63% better than those of their male peers.
In the past two decades, extensive data has been collected regarding this disparity and the success that female representation has within emerging ventures. As a result, there has been a surge in venture capital funds that are specifically intended to support female entrepreneurs.
Girls With Impact is on a mission to help change these statistics and increase female representation in entrepreneurship and believes it is crucial for all women to be aware of the opportunities present to help start a business. We’ve put together a list of venture capital firms focused on investing in female-led ventures; if you or someone you know is interested in expanding your business, this research might be a great place to start learning about capital funding.
1. Valor Ventures
Based in Atlanta, this pre-seed focused venture capital firm believes that “inclusion is the new competitive advantage.”
Valor Ventures is a believer that experience builds expertise ‒ the firm focuses on founders who have deep personal/professional experience and insight into the problem their venture is driven to solve. In a world that is increasingly diverse, having teams led by unrepresentative individuals results in more knowledge over the problems that they face, hence this is a major focal point for Valor Ventures. Currently, 70% of the companies in their portfolio are led by women and people of color.
2. Mergelane
As their website eloquently puts it, “Oh, and we’ve seen the data. We only invest in companies with at least one woman in leadership.”
Mergelane is a venture capital fund that invests in scalable companies with a focus on authentic and conscious leadership. They offer a program referred to as Leadership Camp which teaches leaders how exactly to enact this leadership style, along with the competitive advantage that it brings. They offer funding for ventures ranging in maturity from pre-seed, to Series A.
3. Astia
Astia is a large investment coalition with a focus on early stage ventures (particularly start-ups as opposed to seed stage companies).
Astia has three major components; Astia Angels, which refers to their group (and larger network) of investors, Astia Fund, which is their more traditional venture capital branch, and Astia Edge, which invests specifically in seed stage companies led by LatinX and Black women. With these three branches, Astia hopes to “invest, advise, and partner to level the investment playing field” on a global level.
4. Intel Capital Diversity Initiative
This $125 million fund started in 2015 as part of a diversity initiative launched by Intel (the popular tech company).
The fund and investor group focuses on what they refer to as “underrepresented tech entrepreneurs” which is inclusive of women, those with disabilities, veterans, minorities, and LGBTQ members. Intel is one of the largest funds in this area, and invests in companies ranging in maturity from seed stage to expansion stage.
5. Golden Seeds
As one of the first angel groups with an exclusive focus on women-led start-ups, Golden Seed has worked with ventures in a variety of stages, with a current focus on early-stage startups.
With 4 funds and a total of over $150 million invested in women-led businesses, Golden Seeds is one of the most active early-stage investment firms for female-operated start-ups. They also have a massive network of over 300 members that are ready to mentor and support female-led start-ups. Currently their portfolio companies include Poshly, Tot Squad, and Cognition Therapeutics.
6. Chloe Capital
With a focus on increasing female participation in venture capital investing and entrepreneurship, Chloe Capital refers to itself as a movement (#InvestInWomen) as opposed to merely a fund.
Chloe Capital has a portfolio of 11 companies, and continuously raises capital for women-led, seed stage, and tech-enabled companies. They invest in in-market companies, but for women whose company is not yet in-market they offer programs and events, along with opportunities to invest in their portfolio. Additionally, they are well aware of the fact that minority women face even more disparity in the start-up space, and are committed to diverse teams.
7. New Voices Foundation
Despite receiving only 1% of all venture capital funding each year, women of color are the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurs in the United States.
New Voices Fund wants to highlight and uplift these founders, and thus they invest exclusively in ventures led by women of color. The firm is structured as a B-Corp, and was started as a result of a merger between two larger companies; Unilever and Sundial. Currently the fund has a specific focus on ventures ranging from seed stage to Series C, and concentrated on consumer, technology, and media/entertainment companies.
8. JumpStart Focus Fund
This $10 million fund for women and minority entrepreneurs is associated with JumpStart ‒ a larger accelerator company.
The firm is located in Cleveland, Ohio and aims to attract entrepreneurs who would be willing to move there to receive both funding and mentorship. Currently they have a focus on early-stage technology companies led by women or entrepreneurs of color.
9. Female Founders Fund
As their website puts it, this is an exclusively female-focused fund “investing in the exponential power of exceptional female talent.”
The firm was founded in 2014 and has grown to be a recognized brand with a company portfolio inclusive of Billie, Bentobox, and Co-Star. They focus on early stage companies that develop solutions to problems present in the tech, healthcare, or fintech space. Outside of their investing activities, the firm tracks the venture investments going into women-led companies across the country.
10. Rethink Impact
The rise of women entrepreneurs has coincided with another industry revolution: the rise of social entrepreneurship.
Rethink Impact is currently the largest US venture capital firm investing in female leaders leveraging tech to tackle social problems. With a portfolio consisting of Seedling, Neurotrack, and Werk, along with investors who are massively successful entrepreneurs themselves, Rethink Impact is a huge firm with immense influence. The $112 million fund invests particularly in early stage ventures (specifically Series A stage).
It can be hard to learn about venture capital; it’s a complex space with an entirely new vocabulary. As always, if you have any questions about this material (or venture capital as a whole) I would love to hear from you. Shoot me an email at jody.bell@girlswithimpact.com and I’ll be happy to help out.
Jody Bell, 20 is Girls With Impact’s Editor in Chief and a program graduate from Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, business and leadership program for girls 14-24, turning them into tomorrow’s leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators.