Who funds female founders?
A list of smart capital that understands the power of diverse thought
Through my work as a startup mentor at Techstars, Fed Tech and others, I have the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from amazing founders from all backgrounds and geographies. A frequently asked question is which investors are committed to funding female founders? Here’s a quick reference list. Please feel free to leave a comment or ping me on LinkedIn with any updates to improve its usefulness. On a side note, if you aren’t familiar with the difference between promotion vs prevention questions, check out the research on the gender bias of investors’ questions and how to respond to it.
Funds with a focus on female founders:
- 500 Women*: Funding Flawless Female Founders
- Autonomous Partners
- Astia*: Network that offers access to capital and training/support for women entrepreneurs
- Backstage Capital
- BBG (Built By Girls) Ventures*: Invests in consumer internet startups with at least one female founder
- BELLE Capital USA
- BroadMic: Redefining what it means to be a successful entrepreneur through a community of accomplished women
- Cartier Women’s Initiative: International business plan competition for women entrepreneurs
- Cat Lee: Angel investor, passionate about investing in companies for and by women.
- Chloe Capital*: Seed stage VC firm focused on women-led companies
- Collaborative Fund
- Co-working Spaces for Women Founders: Global directory of women-Owned coworking spaces
- Cross Culture Ventures
- Digital Undivided: Programming focused on Black & Latino women founding tech companies
- FastTrac NewVenture: Workshop that helps women turn their business idea into reality
- Female Founders Fund*: Invests in female led startups in e-commerce, platforms, and web-enabled services
- FirstMark Capital
- FlexTeam: Augment your mgmt team with a “right-hand woman” team for founders and CEOs; also match mid-career women with project opportunities
- Flybridge Capital Partners
- Forerunner Ventures
- Gelt Venture Capital
- Golden Seeds*: Angel investor network and fund investing in women entrepreneurs
- Gotham Gal Ventures
- Her Corner: An Accelerator for Women Entrepreneurs
- Intel Capital Diversity Fund*: Fund that invests in female and minority led startups
- Laconia Capital Group
- LDR Ventures
- Lightspeed Venture Partners
- Lioness: Digital magazine for female entrepreneurs
- Make Mine a Million (Count Me In): Helps women business grow into million dollar enterprises
- Maven Ventures
- Mergelane*: Accelerator and investor of women led startups (Boulder, CO)
- New Enterprise Associates
- New Voices Fund
- Next Wave Impact*: An innovative learning-by-doing early stage venture fund
- Omidyar Network
- Pipeline Fellowship*: Women investors investing in women led social enterprises
- Portfolia
- Ranch Ventures
- Refinery: Transforming women led startups into scaleable businesses
- Rethink Impact: Series A & B rounds
- RevUp Capital
- Salesforce Ventures
- Springboard Enterprises: Accelerator for women-led growth companies
- So Gal: Global platform for young female entrepreneurs and diversity investors
- Southbox Ventures
- Techstars
- The 85-Percent: Strategic branding & marketing consultancy, targeting women consumers
- UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator
- Upfront Ventures
- Union Square Ventures
- Valor Ventures*: Fund based in Atlanta that funds female founders
- Victress Capital
- WBENC: Get certified (as >51% women owned) and have access to business opportunities
- Women 2.0: Content, community and conferences for women innovators in tech
- Women In Tech NYC: Education, networking, mentorship and career development
- Women In Wireless: Empowers and develops female leaders in mobile and digital media
- Women’s Startup Lab: 2 month or 2 week accelerator for female founders (Silicon Valley)
- Women’s Venture Fund*: Helps entrepreneurs through courses, counseling, credit and more
- Xessentials: Incubator for female founders
- XFactor Ventures
- Zetta Venture Partners
Sources:
Entrepreneur | Business Development Consultant | Brand Strategist
5 年Thanks Erik, I'll pass this onto Kelly Lust. Super helpful!
Co-Founder & President at Venice Music
6 年?? love that we are included! Thank you ??
Executive Director - Venture Accelerator | C-Level Management | Chief Marketing Officer (CMO and GTM Expertise) | Startup Advisor | Fractional Leadership
6 年Backstage Capital and University Accelerators like UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator as well.? Many more sources available to support female founders which is so exciting and promising!
Partner at M13
6 年Hi Erik - and Techstars should be on this list too!??