As a cohort, women-led startups have a bit of a hard time.
Despite the fact that 20% of startups have at least one female founder (Statista), the Founders Forum Group reported that less than 3% of VC funding went to female-founded companies.
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Female Founded Companies Perform Better In Some Metrics
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And when you think about the fact that female-led companies in the UK often outperform male-led companies, with average annual revenues of 拢10.4 million compared to 拢6.1 million (money.co.uk), the numbers seem off.
Even more so when you think about the fact that:
- 9% of the UK鈥檚 tech unicorns 鈥� private companies with a valuation of $1bn or more 鈥� were founded by women. (UKTN)
- Female founders in the US have a faster time-to-exit, averaging 7.9 years compared to 8.5 years for male-led companies. (Theanna)
- 听Globally, 1 in 10 women started new businesses in 2024, compared to 1 in 8 men. (GEM)
But levelling the playing field isn鈥檛 just about spouting statistics. It鈥檚 about creating an environment where women can successfully access capital to help their companies grow.
So, who are some of the VCs backing and supporting women-led startups? We take a look鈥�
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Ada Ventures
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Ada Ventures is a VC that is 50% owned by women and helps 鈥榝ind and fund the Ada Lovelaces of today鈥�. The company is looking to back founders based on their company, not their demographic.
However, they also have their 鈥榃omen in UK Venture Capital鈥� report that helps outline the funding gaps that exist between men and women, informing their equality strategies.
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Fearless Fund
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Fearless Fund invests in 鈥榰nder-resourced entrepreneurs鈥�, including women of colour-led businesses. The fund invests in companies at pre-seed, seed or series A level.
As a fund, their mission is to help women of colour that are building businesses access venture capital funding in the stage when they need it most.
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Female Founders Fund
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The Female Founders Fund is setting out to invest in exceptional female talent. They are specifically looking for women building 鈥榗ategory-defining鈥� businesses, that are setting out to disrupt markets.
To date, the company has invested in startups across sectors like e-commerce, media, platforms, advertising and web-enabled services businesses.
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Halogen Ventures
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Halogen Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund investing in consumer technology companies led by women.
To date, the fund has invested in over 70 female led companies, that have generated over $10 billion in market value.
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Copper Wire Ventures
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Copper Wire Ventures is a family office that invests in early-stage women-led tech companies that are looking to pioneer the future of learning and work.
Generally, Copper Wire Venture back early stage companies looking for their first investment.
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Golden Seeds
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Golden Seeds, is an angel network that invests exclusively in women-led startups in the U.S. Not just investors, Golden Seeds focuses on creating communities that don鈥檛 just put money in, but really see potential in the companies they are supporting.
Currently Golden Seeds has expanded their network to over 28 US states, funding U.S.-based women-led startups across all industry sectors.
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SoGal Ventures
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SoGal Ventures is a women-led VC firm that invests in companies setting out to benefit people, society and the planet.
With a focus on underrepresented founders, emerging economies and underserved problems, their portfolio covers everything from beauty and wellness to edtech and more.
