Why We Must Continue Supporting and Investing in Women Founders

In response to the recent New York Times article highlighting the funding challenges facing women entrepreneurs, it’s clear that despite their impressive performance, women-led companies still face significant barriers, especially in later-stage funding rounds. The article underscores a troubling trend: as venture capital tightens, women founders are being disproportionately affected. This reality only reinforces the need for more support and funding, which is exactly what we prioritize at Chai Ventures . We are committed to ensuring that women-led businesses get the investment and resources they need to thrive.

The funding gap for women-led companies is staggering. Despite research showing that startups led by women generate 63% higher returns for investors than companies led by men, women founders receive only 2% of venture capital funding. For companies raising beyond Series B, the number is even worse—just 1%. At Chai Ventures we recognize that women founders of Series B+ companies lack tailored support networks and resources, impeding their growth and perpetuating funding disparities, exacerbating gender inequality in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We’ve partnered with Dentons and held a series of dinners specifically targeted for Series B+ women founders that provide an intimate and interactive setting to foster connections, facilitate knowledge sharing, and provide targeted support to participants. These dinners serve as a platform for women founders to connect, learn, and support one another on their entrepreneurial journey, ultimately empowering them to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and achieve success in their ventures. If you’re interested in learning more about this dinner series or attending a dinner, please reach out!

Data shows that women-founded companies deliver 35% higher ROI and produce twice as much revenue per dollar invested compared to men-founded companies. This performance boost, coupled with studies revealing that diverse founding teams are 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability, clearly indicates that supporting women founders is a winning strategy.

At Chai Ventures, our mission is to bridge this gap by focusing on sectors where women control decision-making and spending power—such as health and wellness, consumer, and future of work. Women possess deep insights into these sectors, and their entrepreneurial potential is key to unlocking innovation.

However, the broader venture ecosystem has yet to fully embrace this reality. Biases remain entrenched, and women-led ventures, especially at growth stages, are often perceived as "riskier" despite the data proving otherwise. Venture capital needs to evolve and recognize that women founders represent one of the most underutilized resources in the economy.

Women founders don’t just deserve funding because of fairness—they deserve it because their ideas and businesses deliver tangible value. Chai Ventures remains committed to backing these leaders and giving them the runway they need to scale. Supporting women founders isn’t just about equality; it’s about capitalizing on the future of business.

We call on the venture capital community to join us in recognizing and acting on this opportunity—as I like to tell my team, “investing in women is the investment opportunity of our lifetime.” Together, we can correct the funding disparity and empower a new generation of women-led innovation. Please reach out to me, or Alex Chung from my team if you’d like to learn more about what we’re building at Chai Ventures, or if you think what you’re building would be a great fit for us—we’d love to hear from you!?

Sources for the Statistics Mentioned in my Post:

1. “63% higher returns” data point from First Round Capital's 10-Year Project.
2. "2% of venture capital funding" from PitchBook data, 2023.
3. "35% higher ROI" and "twice as much revenue per dollar" from Boston Consulting Group's research.
4. "21% more likely to experience above-average profitability" from McKinsey & Company’s "Diversity Wins" report.