You're a founder, not a female-founder
You're a founder, not a female-founder
Female co-founders aren't hard to find & solo-female entrepreneurs are raising Millions of dollars, you need to open your eyes š.
Hey everyoneš, welcome to the 15th newsletter.
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As a female founder, some things are hard to avoid and remove. Iāve been working in different roles and in different fields for over 6 years now. Iāve started & sold a marketing agency (which wasnāt easy, people took advantage of), created 2 tech products and Iāve also pitched to investors.
The whole process of being an Entrepreneur is complicated but the most fulfillment journey. You donāt only learn how to build a startup but also understand the culture and system (whether itās good or bad).
I remember how I use to randomly send cold emails to potential clients every day & most of the time it would take days to land on one. As being a solo founder, rather than looking at me for my skills most people question me about my survival as a female founder. Even when I was in the talks to sell my marketing agency (Beyond Execute) their first question wasnāt how much revenue I made but do I have any male co-founder or lead?
That use to buzz me. That time I didnāt think about it a lot and moved on with my next product. Now, my whole thought process has changed.
The first female founder I praise (and still) is Marina, founder of LinguaTrip. You just need to watch this video to understand her, her vision struggles, and just fall in love with the journey (I have š):
Female founders should remember these things:
You (women) have a very strong community and you need to keep a hold on it too.
There is nothing you canāt achieve - donāt let society or people scare you off.
You donāt need someone's hand to stand up strong and tall.
You donāt have to change to be in the system but the system can co-exist with you.
If you work or find yourself in a place where youāre surrounded by people who donāt value you, you can do two things: Change them or move away from them (itās their loss, not yours).
Fundraising
Letās be honest, and itās a fact, most founders raise funds either from YC, 500 startups, or other fundraising accelerators or investors youāll see very few companies having female co-founders or companies with zero male founders. And when raised these questions, thereās always some excuse.
I read it somewhere, āOut of a total $130 billion invested by VCs and other investors only 2.5% went to startups founded by females, 12% went to companies with at least one female founder and 76.6% went to all-male founders. The immediate response to this was, āyes thatās because there arenāt enough startups with female founders who pitched to usā.ā
Actually, itās not about very few female founders who pitch or run a startup but more about your REACH which is more towards male founders than female founders. If you diversify more, youāll see changes.
Nevertheless, these scenarios can be changed. Here are some people who are making a lot of effort in it:
Janine Sickmeyer - Janine has a great story about how she started NextChapter, raised 4 kids at the same time expand her company, raised funds, sold the company and now she invests in overlooked female founders (though itās not limited to females only).
Lolita Taub - She is an investor investing in community-driven and underestimated founders. Her newsletter is where you can find a lot of information about curated actionable resources for underestimated founders, funders, and friends.
Li Jin - She is an active advocate of the creator economy and investing through Atelier Ventures.
Anu Duggal - She is the founding partner at Female Founders Fund, an early-stage fund investing in the exponential power of exceptional female talent.
ā¦and the list goes on. You can Google and find more on Twitter.
Some musings š„
Hereās my latest post on Why the Next Wave of Startups Will Be Community-Led? I consider most founders should invest initial time in building community before launching a product.
Femstreet (created by Sarah Noeckel) is playing an active role in building a better future for female entrepreneurs and VCs alike with its newsletter.
Hereās a great piece by Gabrielle Sloss - Why Female Founders Arenāt Getting Candid Feedback?
Looking for female VCs? Hereās a huge list š:
If youāre already in the gig then youāll know most of these women building communities for women š§µ:
Until next time š.
š PS: Iām Ritika founder, product marketer and advisor for early-stage startups, find more here or connect with her here. If youāre a first-time founder looking for curated resources, download here. If you enjoyed this post, read the past issues here. You can also promote your product in this newsletter.
A big thanks for reading & sharing!