Senior Editor @ Business Insider, Venture Capital, Startups, AI, Defense Tech | Content Strategy, Multimedia Business Journalism, Blogging
Business Insider's Seed 40 list, now in its 4th year, highlights the top early-stage startup women investors. We're particularly excited about this list because we were able to expand it to 40 from 30 investors, shedding light on even more of the work women investors are doing in the startup and tech ecosystem. https://lnkd.in/gdFiYpnN
Head of US at UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) | ESG Investment | Sustainable Finance | Advisory Board Member |
🌟 Exciting News! 🌟 The Seed 40: The best women early-stage investors of 2024 I am thrilled to share that my sister Julie McDermott has once again been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the world of early-stage investing in innovative companies with a sustainability component to their business models and many with female founders. For the third consecutive year, she has been selected for the prestigious Seed 40 list by Business Insider magazine! This esteemed list spotlights the remarkable women who excel in the intricate art of early-stage investing. Julie's commitment to impact-focused investments sets her apart as a visionary in her field. She possesses a rare blend of market insight, an eye for potential, and unwavering determination to navigate the unpredictable waters of the startup world. Julie understands that embedding sustainability principles early on in a company’s formation and development can create material strategic advantages and set them up for enduring success. As an angel investor, Julie stands on the front lines with her own capital, partnering with visionary founders to turn groundbreaking ideas into thriving businesses. Her dedication to supporting these builders, often at the earliest stages, demonstrates her belief in their potential even before it's fully realized. Julie embodies this ethos, empowering founders and fueling innovation with her keen foresight and unwavering support. Congratulations, Julie, on this well-deserved recognition! Your impact-driven approach to investing is inspiring, and I am incredibly proud to celebrate your achievements in transforming ideas into reality and making a meaningful difference in the startup ecosystem! And very excited to have you back in Colorado this week for #BoulderStartupWeek. So much exciting progress being made in this #sustainabilityhub! https://lnkd.in/gbje6yFf 🚀 #Seed40 #ImpactInvesting #WomenInTech #StartupEcosystem #Sustainability #EnergyTransition #BoulderStartupWeek #FemaleFounders Matriark Foods Queen of Raw Kernal Biologics
Thrilled to announce that SV is featured on the Business Insider Seed 40 for the second year running! This list highlights the top 40 female investors in early stage venture capital. Our managing partner Serena Williams explains how we set our companies up for success: "I believe that investing doesn't begin or end with capital. At Serena Ventures, we offer comprehensive support to our founders, like executive coaching, marketing, and branding support to name a few. So founders can simultaneously scale with their company.” Click the link below to learn more & check out the other incredible women also featured this year! https://lnkd.in/ddrM8UQu
The Wall Street Journal story on the left cites four startups winding down due to lack of sufficient revenue and funding. All four had male founders. (But bravo to Jenny Fielding for her great quote, the only female voice in the story). The story on the right speaks for itself — women are an economic force in this country. When you pay attention to what women want and need, you develop a massive competitive advantage amid a sea of companies like Buzzer, Panther, Toolchain and Hopin — the last of which raised almost $1 billion in less than a year, only to end up selling off its core business for $15 million. Remains to be seen which, if any, lessons will be learned from this downturn…
Becoming an Angel Investor is made easy with Accelerating Angels! Carve out a part of your investment portfolio for impact, innovation, and change. As a member, you can attend pitch meetings, join committees, learn about early-stage investing, and network with like-minded individuals. Explore the opportunity for returns from a portfolio of women-owned startups. Learn more at www.acceleratingangels.com. Accelerating Angels !Women's Small Business Accelerator (WSBA) Mary McCarthy
🚀 Calling all ambitious female founders! JR Ventures is YOUR key to success. Our first cohort is tailor-made to conquer the unique challenges women face in the #startup world, from funding obstacles to networking gaps. What's in the pipeline? ✅ Access to funding opportunities ✅ Mentorship from industry leaders ✅ Networking like never before Don't let this game-changer slip through your fingers. Apply NOW! 👇 #FemaleFounders #JRVCohort1 #JRVentures #StartupEmpowerment #DiversityInTech
Return on investment (ROI) is critical for any business, and it seems that startup companies that have at least one female founder outperform companies without any female founders from an ROI perspective. Seed-stage venture firm First Round analyzed 10 years worth of its investing data. This analysis examined 300 companies and close to 600 founders and cofounders. Their goal was to evaluate the characteristics of successful owners. One of the surprising things the firm discovered was that investments in companies with at least one female founder outperformed their investments in companies with all-male founders. This was not a small disparity, either – the numbers were staggeringly different. The companies with a female founder performed 63% better than companies where the founders were all male.
We're on a mission. 🚀 We want to infuse 100+ women founders into the vibrant Victorian startup ecosystem. We acknowledge this isn't a small task - but with the support of our partners Hatch Quarter, ISACA Melbourne Chapter and LaunchVic, we're well on our way to making this happen! 💡If you are a woman with an idea, here's what you need to know: At Press Play Ventures, we've got the right tools and resources to empower you - so you can take that idea and convert it into a thriving, sustainable business! Signing up to Press Play - the 12 week pre-accelerator program - means you'll have access to: 👊🏽A thriving community of women founders 👊🏽Investors, industry leaders, mentors and peers of the ecosystem 👊🏽The Alumni Founder Fund - when you're ready to raise funding Since the launch of the program, we've seen applications come in from women who're willing to bet on themselves - armed with just an idea to those who are further along on their journeys. Each one a star in their own right. 🌟 And we don't want this to stop! So, we're extending the application deadline for Cohort 1 from 15th September to 15th November. Ladies, if you missed the last round, here's your chance to apply: https://lnkd.in/g46FgyRx Isaac Jeffries Preethi Mohan Sangeeta Mulchandani Poonam Advani #pressplay #womenfounders #preaccelerator
In the U.S., women make up only ~11% of investing partners at VC firms. This disparity significantly impacts funding allocation with only ~13% of VC dollars going to startups with a woman on the founding team. And these numbers drop significantly when looking specifically at those investing in and building enterprise software. As part of our ongoing Work-Bench #Womenterprise initiatives to help forage a path for women in enterprise software and in honor of March being Women's Month… We’re excited to highlight 7 Pre-Seed enterprise software VC firms led by women! 🔥 🚀 🌟 Array Ventures led by Shruti Gandhi (Hiring Ops) 🌟 basecase capital led by alana goyal 🌟 Everywhere Ventures led by Jenny Fielding 🌟 January Ventures led by Jennifer Keiser Neundorfer & Maren Bannon 🌟 The New Normal Fund led by Allison Pickens 🌟 Sunflower Capital led by Liu Jiang 🌟 Vermilion Cliffs Ventures led by Ashley Smith If you're in your very earliest days building an enterprise startup, check out these awesome women! And if you're looking for Seed funding and GTM acceleration, hit up our own co-founder & GP Jessica Lin!
“After years of cost cutting that have put tech employees on edge, companies and their leaders are facing less pressure from their teams to hire more-diverse candidates, and so they are taking shortcuts and going with the safe choice.” @jessicalessin From @Semafor: Startups with at least one woman co-founder got just 16.6% of all the venture capital dollars invested so far this year, a drop from 27% last year, according to Pitchbook, while organizations like Women Who Code and Girls in Tech have shut down. When you base the entire exercise of diversity on tokenism vs seeing it for what it actually is: good for customers and good for business.
“After years of cost cutting that have put tech employees on edge, companies and their leaders are facing less pressure from their teams to hire more-diverse candidates, and so they are taking shortcuts and going with the safe choice.” @jessicalessin From @Semafor: Startups with at least one woman co-founder got just 16.6% of all the venture capital dollars invested so far this year, a drop from 27% last year, according to Pitchbook, while organizations like Women Who Code and Girls in Tech have shut down. When you base the entire exercise of diversity on tokenism vs seeing it for what it actually is: good for customers and good for business.
