Dec 10, 2020, 04:07pm EST | 8,559 views
51 VCs Who Want To Invest In Women, Black And Latinx, And LGBTQ+ Founders
Allyson Kapin Contributor
Entrepreneurs
I cover women entrepreneurs, startup culture, and social change.
VCs have two big jobs to do: Invest in startups shaping the future of the world and generate big exits for their fund. Yet, if you look at the lionshare of funding, you’ll quickly see that most VCs are primarily betting on white, straight (cis) men based in Silicon Valley who graduated from Stanford.
In fact, despite thedata showing that investing in underrepresented foundersand VC funds committed to building a more inclusive portfolio, the funding gap is barely narrowing.
Funding for women-led startups declined in Q3 2020by over 30%, according to Pitchbook. This is particularly alarming considering that only 2.7% of funding went to women-led startups to begin with. Furthermore, the amount of funding being invested into startups led by Black and Latinx founders is even lower. According toProjectDiane’slatest data, Black and Latinx women founders have received less than 1% of venture capital funding.
And when Black and Latinx women founders do receive investment, they receive much less capital. The median seed round raised by Black women founders is $125,000 and the median seed round raised by Latinx women founders is $200,000. As of 2020, the national median seed round funding for a startup is $2.5M, according to ProjectDiane.
As the founder ofWomen Who Techand founding partner of theW Fund, I’ve been backing startups solving big problems who have traditionally been locked out of VC, and we constantly hear that the lack of access to investors and funding is one of the biggest barriers founders face.
“Just try pitching your startup to traditional Silicon Valley VCs as a Black, queer woman,” one founder said to me recently.
Frustrated by the lack of inaction by many traditional VCs, some investors are trying to change the system and close the funding gap. Check out these 50 investors who are mobilizing and deploying capital, building economic power beyond the 1%. While not all of these VCs are 100% focused on funding underrepresented founders, they say they are inclusive and intentional about investing in founders who are women, Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, over 50, and/or have disabilities.
The majority of the list (formatted alphabetically) was also curated to highlight VCs who often aren’t covered by traditional media.
**Most of these investors have noted that their DMs are open, so if you’re a founder who is seeking investments, it’s worth reaching out to these VCs and angels.
1.Alison Rosenthal,Leadout Capital
Funds: Software generalists backing DEI focused entrepreneurs
pursuing opportunities in large-end markets
Stage: Pre-seed (lead), Seed (lead + follow)
Average Check Size: $250K for pre-seed and $750K for seed. Funding Locale: North America
2.Ammar Amdani,Adapt Ventures
Funds: Companies led by women, BIPOC, people ages 50+, and LGBTQ+; Sector Agnostic with a focus on Fintech, Enterprise, SaaS, and Consumer
Stage: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
Average Check Size: $100K
Funding Locale: Global (US, LatAm, Europe, and MENA)
3.Assia Grazioli Venier,Muse Capital
Funds: Parenting, Motherhood, Telehealth, Education, Fintech,
Gaming, and Communities Stage: Seed
Average Check Size: $250K - $500K + late stage SPVs for strategic LPs
Funding Locale: US-centric but can be global
4.Aunnie Paon Power,Intelligent Impact
Funds: Women founders and Tech-enabled companies Stage: Early
Average Check Size: ZAR ~250K
Funding Locale: South Africa
5.Caitlin Herling,The Venture Collective
Funds: Purpose-driven software companies with positive global
impact. Preference for underrepresented founders. Stage: Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A
Average Check Size: $25K - $100K
Funding Locale: US and UK
6.Caroline Lewis,Rogue Women’s FundFunds: Women-led tech
Stage: Pre-seed and Seed
Average Check Size: $150K with follow on and additional funding for growth
Funding Locale: US undercapitalized markets
7.Cat Hernandez,The Venture Collective (TVC)
Funds: World Preservation (Sustainability), Human Empowerment (Future of Work, FinTech, EdTech), and Life Improvement (Health & Wellness)
Stage: Pre-Seed, Seed, and some Series A+
Average Check Size: $100K (Pre-seed) and $500K - $750K (Seed+) Funding Locale: US and Europe
8.Charles Hudson,Precursor VenturesFunds: All Sectors
Stage: Early Stage
Average Check Size: $100K-$200K
Funding Locale - San Francisco, New York, and Toronto
9.Christine Chang,IGNIA
Funds: Solutions for the emerging middle class in LatAm Stage: Seed to Series A+
Average Check Size: $1M - $3M
Funding Locale: Latin America
10.Damaris Mendoza Loera,500 Startups Latin AmericaFunds: Industry Agnostic
Stage: Pre-seed
Average Check Size: $60K + follow on
Funding Locale: Latin America
11.Del Johnson,DelJohnsonVCFunds: All verticals
Stage: Angel, Pre-Seed and Seed Average Check Size: $25K Funding Locale: US and Global
12.Elisa Miller-Out,Chloe Capital
Funds: Enterprise SaaS / Marketplaces across Climate, Education,
Health, Finance, Home Stage: Seed
Average Check Size: $100K Funding Locale: Global
13.Freia Lobo, Angel Investor/Scout
Funds: Consumer, Developer tools, open to any pitch from female
and underrepresented founders Stage: Pre-seed and Seed Average Check Size: $10K - $25K Funding Locale: US
14.Gesa Miczaika,Entrepreneur FirstandAuxxo
Funds: Women Founders, Sustainable Growth, Impact-driven Founders
Stage: Pre-seed and Seed Average Check Size: €50K Funding Locale: EU, UK
15.Hadiyah Mujhid,HBCUvc
Funds: B2B future of work and UN Sustainable Development Goals Stage: Seed (Post-Product)
Average Check Size: $25K - $50K
Funding Locale: US
16.Hema Vallabh,FIVE35 Ventures
Funds: Women focused tech-enabled businesses
Stage: Seed and Series A
Average Check Size: Seed max $500K + Series A max $2M Funding Locale: Pan-African
17.Henri Pierre-Jacques,Harlem Capital
Funds: Underrepresented-led startups and is industry agnostic Stage: Seed and Series A
Average Check Size: $500K-$1M
Funding Locale: US
18.James McDaniel, Angel Investor
Funds: Companies run by underrepresented founders Stage: Pre-seed
Average Check Size: $1K - $5K (micro-investments)
Funding Locale: US
19.Janine Sickmeyer,Angel Investor
Funds: B2B SaaS, Marketing, Creators, Mental Health Stage: Pre-seed
Average Check Size: $25K - $50K
Funding Locale: Overlooked founders anywhere
20.Jen Consalvo,Established VenturesFunds: All Sectors
Stage: Seed and periodically Series A Average Check Size: $10K - $120K Funding Locale: US
21.Jenna Nicholas,One Planet VC
Funds: Across sectors, with a particular focus on Future of Mobility,
Media, Marketplaces, and Education Technology
Stage: Seed and Series A
Average Check Size: $100K - $1M
Funding Locale: US, but open to international investments
22.Jenny AbramsonandHeidi Krauel Patel,ReThink Impact
Funds: Companies led by women (having at least one woman in top position); Digital Health, EdTech, Environmental Sustainability, and FinTech for Good
Stage: Late Seed-Series C Average Check: $2M-$10M Funding Locale: US
23.Jenny Fielding,The FundFunds: All verticals
Stage: Pre-seed
Average Check Size: $50K-$100K
Funding Locale: NYC, LA, The Rockies, and Europe
24.Josh Cohen,City Lights Venture
Funds: Education, Safety and Care, and Climate
Stage: Seed to Series A
Average Check Size: $50K (Seed) and $2-4M (Series A) Funding Locale: US
25.Joshua Haynes,Masawa Fund
Funds: People and organizations focused on making mental health matter, with focuses on Natural Approaches (Nutrition, Natural Medicine, Mindfulness, Exercise, Community), Technology (Human Tech, Software, Hardware), and Workplace Wellness (Mindfulness, Stress Management, Resilience Practice).
Stage: Pre-seed to Series A Average Check Size: $50K - $2M Funding Locale: Primarily Europe
26.Juliee-Marie Somerset,Investor
Funds: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, FinTech, Social Impact, and Clean Tech with a focus on underrepresented-led startups.
Stage: Pre-seed and Early Stage Average Check Size: $500K-$1.5M Funding Locale: Global
27.Kindra Tatarsky,Touchdown Ventures
Funds: Disruptive Tech across Consumer, Construction,Industrial
Automation, Healthcare, TMT, and Fintech
Stage: Seed to Series B
Average Check Size: $1M - $5M with flexibility
Funding Locale: US, Brazil/Latin America, Europe, Asia
28.Leah Fessler,NextView VenturesFunds: All Sectors
Stage: Pre-seed and Seed
Average Check Size: $100K - $2M Funding Locale: US
29.Lolita Taub,The Community FundFunds: Community-driven
Stage: Pre-seed and Seed
Average check size: $50K
Funding Locale: US but can invest globally
30.Mac Conwell,RareBreed VenturesFunds: Generalist (No Life Sciences) Stage: Pre-seed and Seed
Average Check Size: $250K
Funding Locale: US (outside of SF, NY, and MA)
31.Mallun YenandLeyla Seka,Operator CollectiveFunds: B2B software and tech companies.
Stage: All Sectors
Average Check Size: $500K-$1.5M
Funding Locale: Primarily US
32.Maria Toler Velissaris,SteelSky VenturesFunds: Women’s Health Tech
Stage: Series A
Average Check Size: $1M-$1.5M
Geography: US and Israel
33.Marie Rocha,Realist VenturesFunds: Biotech, Software, and SaaS Stage: Pre-Seed and Seed
Average Check Size: $100K Funding Locale: US
34.Martha Cosgrove,Boeing HorizonX Ventures
Funds: Companies with at least one woman in C-Suite or Leadership Team
Stage: Pre-Seed through Series B Average Check Size: $10K Funding Locale: Global
35.Ma Thompson,Skyview Ventures
Funds: Tech, Software, Consumer
Stage: Pre-seed to Series A
Average Check Size: $250K - $1M
Funding Locale: United States - Primarily West Coast
36.Meghan Stevenson-Krausz,INCA Ventures
Funds: Fintech; Anyone creating a positive impact in their community, with a focus on women founders and founders with Indigenous and African roots in the Andean region.
Stage: Seed
Average Check Size: $50K-$200K
Funding Locale: Andean Region (Peru, Colombia, etc.)
37.Melissa Bradley,1863 VenturesFunds: All Sectors
Stage: All Stages
Average Check Size: $250K Funding Locale: US
38.Paige Craig,Outlander LabsFunds: All Sectors
Stage: Pre-seed
Average Check Size: $50K-$300K Funding Locale: Southeast part of the US
39.Shefali Roy, Angel Investor
Funds: FemTech, Legal/RegTech, Digital ID, Creator Economy, B2B Marketplaces, FinTech/DeFi. Preference for women-led/BIPOC founders.
Stage: Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A
Average Check Size: £5K - £50K
Funding Locale: Europe, India, and SouthEast Asia
40.Simone Brummelhuis,Borski Fund
Funds: Mainly Healthcare and Transformation of Industries toward
Sustainability
Stage: Seed and Series A
Average Check Size: $100K-$750K Funding Locale: EU
41.Stefanie Thomas,Impact America Fund
Funds: Economic Justice, Fintech, Future of Work, SMEs, and SaaS +
Marketplaces
Stage: Seed to Series A
Average Check Size: $250K - $500K
Funding Locale: US
42.Stephanie Bauer Marshall,Citrine AngelsFunds: All Sectors
Stage: Early Stage
Average check size: $25K - $50K Funding Locale: US - DC/MD/VA
43.Timothy Wolf Starr,The Pride FundFunds: Startups led by LGBTQ+ founders Stage: Seed
Average Check Size: $50K-$100K Funding Locale: US
44.Tanya Rolfe,Her Capital
Funds: Women-led companies focusing on Consumer Tech, Social
Impact, and General Tech (HRtech, Legaltech, Fintech, Edtech) Stage: Pre-seed to Series A
Average Check Size: $25K (Pre-seed) - $2M (Series A)
Funding Locale: Southeast Asia
45.Taryn Goodman Gallery, Cultivation Sandbox VenturesFunds: Agriculture Value Chain Startups
Stage: Seed through late-stage companies, primarily in Series A and selectively in earlier (seed) and later stages (Series B-D, etc.)
Average Check Size: Up to $7M Funding Locale: North America and selectively in Europe, Israel, Asia, and Australia
46.Tracy Chadwell,1843 Capital
Funds: SaaS, CPG, Fintech, Silvertech (aging) Stage: Series A and Series B
Average Check Size: $500K
Funding Locale: North America
47.Valentina Terranova,Draper Cygnus and EmbarcaFunds: Deep tech
Stage: Pre-seed to Series A Average Check Size: $250K - $1M Funding Locale: LatAm
48.Veronica Reaves-Parks,MaveronFunds: Consumer, Purpose, and Profit Stage: Seed and Series A
Average Check Size: $100K - $8M Funding Locale: US
49.Victoria Peibone,AstiaFunds: All Sectors
Stage: Series A/B Average Check Size: $2M
Funding Locale: Global
Note: Astia Angels is stage agnostic with an average check size of $250K.
50.Virginie Raphael, Angel
Funds: Tech-enabled solutions to unlock systemic innovation Pre-seed, Seed
Average Check Size: $10K
Funding Locale: North America + Europe
51.Vivien Ho,Pear.VC
Funds: Digital Health, Marketplaces, and Future of Work (Industry-
Agnostic)
Stage: Pre-seed and Seed
Average Check Size: Up to $3M Funding Locale: US, LatAm, China
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I'm the Founding Partner at theW Fund, a VC rm directly investing in outstanding tech startups led by innovative women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC),...
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