[Article] Women: Get Funded and Into the C-Suite
Outfront founders Nicole DeMeo and Jeanine Moss have personally witnessed how only a tiny portion (2%) of all venture investments go to female founded and led entrepreneurs. We’ve started six businesses from scratch, taken companies public, had companies acquired, supported dozens of mergers, attracted almost $500M in funding (for our own ventures, clients and portfolio co’s), and invested in new ventures. We’ve sat on both sides of the investment table. Two percent isn’t good.
We shake our heads when we see dozens of pitch decks from men that include only a tiny portion of the data, insight and traction that women are required to provide. We’ve seen men’s fundraising decks that don’t include cost-of-goods, marketing plans, growth milestones, or clear exit paths – and don’t get us started on “deal room” materials, which men often never have. Note: In our experience, women can’t get away with that.
So, what’s a gal to do?
First, a few quick tips:
Do your usual thorough job on the fundraising deck. As we do, get feedback, and keep it tight and brief.
In meetings, investors will invariably ask women about the risks, and men about the upside potential. Even women will do that to other women. Your job: turn the question around from risk to reward/results.
Over the past two years, new funds, family offices, and women’s organizations are taking aim at funding women, and particularly women of color. Find them. Follow our friend Geri Stengel, Forbes writer, who focuses on female entrepreneurs. Check out the venture capital fund where Nicole has invested and advises, How Women Invest (and all of their resources.) You’ll get lots of ideas.
If you’re a member of the SHECession (5.3 million net job losses for women since the pandemic), you’re part of what President Biden calls a national emergency. More than one in four women are considering downshifting their career or leaving the workforce after years of painstaking gains. Though we can’t blame you, it’s not good for the nation’s future.
An incredible body of research has proven that investing in women is a winning strategy. Boston Consulting Group says funding women entrepreneurs would pump $5 trillion into the global economy. Morgan Stanley comes up with a similar number and highlights it as a priority.
To learn more about what we’re doing and what you can do, follow us on LinkedIn as we speak on the topic regularly, read more on our blog, or read an important article about the female funding gap on Crunchbase written by our Nicole DeMeo and her fellow fund advisor at How Women Invest Heather Jerrehian.