Angel and Venture Capital Funding for Female Entrepreneurs
One in five U.S. businesses is female owned, according to the U.S. Census. SheVentures put together an A-to-Z list to help you find investment capital, mentorship, and resources.
Though a paltry 2.3 percent of venture capital (VC) goes to women — specifically white women — more government entities, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations are helping women by mentorship and investing money in their businesses.
Here’s a list of resources to consider when starting your business or looking for additional investment capital.
Remember that though the stats may seem discouraging, women are making strides. Women-owned businesses reported nearly $1.8 trillion in sales or revenue and employed over 10.1 million people with an annual payroll of nearly $390 billion in the United States, according to the most recent Census data.
Here’s a list SheVentures put together to help you raise money for your entrepreneurial journey. We aim to be selective and current, but if you think we’ve missed an important resource, let us know at doria@sheventurespodcast.com.
Depending on which state you live in, you may find local resources as well. Solid research is essential for women to know what’s available, the criteria, and when are the deadlines to apply!
Angel and VC Funding
AllRaise: Brings female founders, funders, and operators together. Masterclass for founders, focused on the underrepresentation of women in the VC and angel communities.
Amber Grant: To help women small business owners, since 1998 Womensnet.net has awarded $10,000 each month to a woman-owned business. Each December, the year’s 12 recipients are considered for an additional $25,000 grant.
AmplifyHer: A VC firm that invests in the commerce, care, and connectivity sectors and touts its belief in diverse leadership teams with a focus on increasing female representation as founders and in the VC community.
Amboy Street: Invests seed and Series A money in women’s sex and health tech startups in the United States and Europe.
Angel Academe: For tech entrepreneurs and women who want to learn more about becoming angel investors; holds networking and pitching events.
Astia: Invests in women-led companies and includes infrastructure of advisors and partners; site includes current portfolio and exits.
BackStage Capital: Invests in pre-seed and series A rounds of companies with women, people of color, and LGBTQ founders.
BBG Ventures: Backs companies with at least one female founder in the pre-seed to seed stage and is industry agnostic; also considers other underrepresented groups such as people of color and LGBTQ founders.
Belle Capital: This early-stage angel fund focuses on companies in unrepresented parts of the United States; areas of investment include digital/mobile/internet, life sciences/medical devices/health, and the cleantech market sectors. Companies seeking capital should have one female founder or one female C-level exec.
Beta Boom: This fund invests primarily in software companies with women, Black, Latinx, Asian, and Middle Eastern consumers; areas of focus include fintech, SaaS, consumer, and digital health companies. Investment size ranges from $150,000 to $350,000 and includes founder support.
Black Girl Ventures: BGV funds brown and Black women entrepreneurs in tech companies generating less than $1 million in revenue. BBG describes itself as a combination of Shark Tank and Kickstarter, engaging community donations to support Black and brown women-owned businesses. To date, BGV has funded 264 women of color, and held over 30 BGV pitch programs in 12 cities.
Broadway Angels: An all-female angel investment group composed of general partner level investors and senior executives at top technology and consumer companies; BA is gender agnostic when evaluating startups to invest in.
Chloe Capital: This angel investment fund focuses on seed-stage tech/tech-enabled companies where there is at least one woman founder. The fund typically invests between $100,000 and $250,000, but can invest up to $700,000. Of CC’s investments, 70 percent of the companies are U.S. based and 30 percent are global; CC also holds a national pitch tour.
Curate Capital: A industry-agnostic fund that typically invests between $500,000 and $1 million in companies built by women for women; the fund normally negotiates a board seat.
Entrepreneurs of Color Fund: Started in 2016 as a collaboration between JP Morgan Chase and The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, this fund provides loans (average $33,000) for entrepreneurs of color; the initiative has provided more than 500 loans in five major cities.
EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women: (North America, Canada, or global) Each year a class of female entrepreneurs (chosen through an application process) are selected to quickly scale their companies, which range from $2M to $80M in revenue and span fintech, consumer goods, and healthcare; selected founders have access to EY’s network of experts and entrepreneurs.
Fearless Fund: Invests in pre-seed, seed, or series A startups founded by women of color, with the average check size ranging from $250,000 to $500,000; companies should have at least a proof of concept and early customer traction.
Female Founders Fund: Since 2014, this fund has supported female founders not only with seed investments typically ranging from $500,000 to $750,000, but also with an ecosystem of information and a large network of female operators that serve as mentors in technology, marketing, branding, and other areas of expertise. Founders have access to well-known and accomplished women in their field.
Female Funders: This organization helps women become early-stage investors, citing that only one in five investors are women. As an educational investor accelerator, its Angel Academy and Future Capital help professional women understand the steps they need to take to start making smart investment decisions.
GingerBread Capital: With a number of well-known companies in its portfolio (Ellevest, TheSkimm, and Urban Sitter) as well as a handful of successful exits, GC makes both early and later stage investments in women-founded or majority women-owned tech-enabled companies and provides mentoring and a network to boot.
Golden Seeds: Providing investments to women since 2005, GS receives hundreds of applications a year, and funds only 3 percent of those that apply. More than 300 women angels across the country are part of the angel fund, and they lend their expertise to startups accepted into the program.
Howard University and PNC: In October 2021 the PNC Foundation announced a five-year, $168 million grant to help support Black and brown business owners, and those from low to moderate income communities. Though not woman specific, it’s worth checking out.
How Women Invest: Focusing on tech-enabled, female-led companies with an emphasis on women of color, this venture fund invests in late seed to Series B funds, specifically in business to business companies that don’t require government approval.
MergeLane: Since 2015, MergeLane has invested in 48 companies who have at least one woman in leadership. Priding itself on “conscious leadership” the group has recruited 300 mentors and 600 investors and also has camps for entrepreneurs.
Minority Business Development Agency: Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, this agency provides resources for women of color to access tools and resources to help them prepare and execute their entrepreneurial vision. The site houses a wealth of research reports on women of color and capital.
Next Wave Impact: A global fund with nearly 200 female investors who have made 18 investments, led by an investment committee of 10 women; provides excellent free educational resources, ranging from how to understand a term sheet to learning about cap tables.
Pipeline Angels: Since 2011, 450 members have graduated from PA’s angel investing program, and invested more than $7 million in 90 companies presented during its pitch competition. If you are interested in becoming an angel/mentor or pitching your company, this could be for you. Please note the program does not invest in any alcohol-related companies.
PlumAlley: Since May 2020, this fund has invested more than $25 million in 100 percent STEM-focused funds with at least one female founder. Typical investments range from $500,000 to $1 million, and to date 70 percent of money is invested in technology and 30 percent in healthcare. Current companies are 65 percent in series A and 25 percent are in series B.
Rogue Women’s Fund: This fund has its finger on the pulse of the inequity in the funding landscape. In partnership with Venture Fuel, this fund puts together founders, investors, and resources, and invests in early seed stage companies founded by women.
Small Business Administration: Depending on who you ask, some entrepreneurs find the SBA website a treasure trove of information, while others see it functioning as many other government entities, slow and full of red tape. That said, the SBA has useful information for any entrepreneur. This portal will take you to education resources, government funding grant guidelines for majority women-owned businesses, and reputable websites. Most material is in both English and Spanish.
SoGal Ventures: This fund has received fair media play — as have the 100-plus startups it has invested in. SV invests not just in North America, but in five other continents as well. With local programming in more than 50 cities, SoGal started in 2015 and has “raised” two unicorns. In 2018, the fund became a nonprofit, to focus on entrenched issues in venture capital, especially for women of color. Both SoGal founders were under 30 when starting the fund.
Springboard Enterprises: This fund has been around for more than 20 years, and helped launch or grow more than 800 companies, of which 225 achieved exits and 24 companies became initial public offerings. Also a nonprofit, this organization focuses on women-led companies in the life sciences and technology space. Those wanting to invest and support their mission can donate to help support these female entrepreneurs.
SteelSky Ventures: This female-led global venture fund (with a presence in Atlanta, New York, and Seattle) specializes in women’s healthcare: medical devices, consumer health, digital health, new healthcare delivery methods, epharmacy, and other retail therapeutics.
The Artemis Fund: Based in Houston, this fund invests in early stage female founders who are “purpose driven” in their tech companies that democratize access to wealth, encourage sustainability, or reduce the burden of care.
The W Fund: Invests primarily in seed and Series A companies being built by traditionally underfunded founders: women, women of color, LGBTQ founders, or those affected by their socioeconomic class, age, nationality or location; invests in companies that either focus on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion, or serving traditionally underrepresented communities.
The WXR Venture Fund: This fund invests in spatial computing (AR/VR) and artificial intelligence and female founders. Prior to launching the fund, WXR held an accelerator in 2018, and again in 2019 in partnership with Verizon 5G Labs. The accelerator is no longer a part of the fund.
Tory Burch Foundation: The Tory Burch Foundation in partnership with Bank of America helps female entrepreneurs with a viable business model — think somewhat established, not a startup — to apply for loans with community development financial institutions, local lenders that provide credit and financial services to traditionally underserved markets. Established in 2009, the Foundation seeks to educate women through weekly webinars about various aspects of small business, helps women learn about management issues through Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program, and provides mentoring and networking opportunities for women.
WOCStar Fund: This early-stage investment fund focuses on tech innovation being brought to market by inclusive teams and women of color. According to a recent press release, the WOCstar Fund will join three other women of color venture funds (the 22 Fund, Supply Change Capital, and 2045 Ventures) under one umbrella with a new name— The Ally Capital Collab — to make a more significant impact in Silicon Valley.
VamosVentures is an early-stage fund investing in tech companies and focusing on Latinx and diverse founders. The fund raised $50M in 2021, oversubscribed by double its initial target of $25M. The fund focuses on healthcare, sustainability, fintech, and the future of work. The typical investment size is between $500,000 and $2M.
If you think there’s an angel or VC resource for women that should be on this list— let us know. We want to be as timely and inclusive as possible.
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