In 2016, Leslie Feinzaig started Venture Kits, a startup that helped kids develop skills they might use as an entrepreneur through hands-on play. She networked, appeared on mommy blogs and grew her sales every month — but when she sought venture capital to grow her business, she couldn’t find an investor.
Feinzaig — a Harvard Business School and Microsoft alum — thought she was doing everything right. She entered numerous pitch competitions, and whenever an audience vote determined the winner, Feinzaig said Venture Kits would always take the top spot. But when the decision was left to a panel of potential investors, she never won.
“I think my company really resonated with its customers, but it was not a sexy company to invest in,” she said.
Feinzaig felt she needed a sounding board, a place where she could feel comfortable openly discussing why VC funding eluded her. So she started a Facebook group, and added all the women she knew who had founded their own companies.
I don’t know why it was important to me, at the time, to find a group of women. I just felt instinctively that it was.”
“There were plenty of spaces where male and female CEOs could congregate, and those weren’t scratching the itch,” Feinzaig said. “I don’t know why it was important to me, at the time, to find a group of women. I just felt instinctively that it was. There was a need for me to compare experiences with women specifically.”
While she eventually gave up on Venture Kits, the Facebook group has since grown into what is now known as the Female Founders Alliance, a Seattle-based peer network which aims to accelerate businesses through collaboration. The organization recently announced that it would run a program called Ready Set Raise, which aims to help women gain funding for their companies.
The program is designed for women looking to raise a seed or Series A round of funding for their startups, and accepts applications from companies anywhere in North America. Mindful of the barriers that can prevent mothers and remote founders from moving to Seattle and attending such programs, Ready Set Raise will mostly be conducted online, with a week of immersion onsite in Seattle. During that week, Female Founders Alliance will provide free childcare for any mothers in attendance.
The need for such programs is obvious: In 2017, just 2.2 percent of funds invested by venture capital firms in the U.S. went to companies founded solely by women.
“That’s not a gender gap; that’s a market inefficiency,” said Feinzaig.
To address this gap, the Female Founders Alliance focuses on making “legitimizing introductions,” creating opportunities for women to tap into the historic boys club of networking and dealmaking that traditionally drives venture capital investments.
The Female Founders Alliance, she said, is designed to change the way women help each other in business — by replacing vague, high-level advice with concrete steps to advance a business.
“We expect our members to help other members move their business forward. For example, that they introduce each other to investors and media or pass forward speaking opportunities that they don’t need to take.”
This was created for you. Please take us up on it.”
Feinzaig also aims to educate venture capitalists on the issues facing women in business.
“We aim to make them more aware of implicit bias before we put the companies in front of them,” she said.
Applicants for Ready Set Raise will need to present their pitch deck and fill out a questionnaire about their team, market and business model. Feinzaig said she has already received applications from Oregon, British Columbia, New York, Virginia and across Washington state, and encourages any female founder to apply.
“I can’t tell you how many women have emailed or submitted their web entry forms asking if they meet the precise criteria for Ready Set Raise,” she said. “They’re criteria, not requirements. Stop censoring yourself. We created this to give companies with at least one woman as a founder the opportunity to pitch to investors. This was created for you. Please take us up on it.”
Early bird applications close July 31, and up to 12 companies will be admitted to the program.
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