Community Conversation: Exploring a Dedicated Investment Fund for Women

This is a public conversation led by The Startup Ladies about what the needs are in regard to funding women-owned businesses.

Why This Conversation Matters

Women-owned businesses continue to receive a disproportionately small share of investment capital despite strong performance, capital efficiency, and return potential. Many founders are told to “just raise money” without honest conversations about where capital actually flows, at what stage, and under what conditions.

The Startup Ladies is convening our community and public to explore a critical question:

Do we need a dedicated investment fund focused on women-owned businesses and if so, what would it need to look like to work?

This conversation is designed to gather informed community input, educate prospective investors and state partners, and assess whether there is real alignment to move toward building a fund.

What We’ll Cover in This Session

1. Do we need a dedicated fund?
We’ll start by grounding the conversation in reality:

• Where women-owned businesses are getting stuck in today’s funding landscape
• Whether existing capital pathways (angels, venture capital, banks, grants, state programs) are working—or where they fall short
• What data, lived experience, and market signals suggest about the need for a dedicated fund

2. How funding works today—and how it feels to founders
An honest discussion about:

• The current paths to funding available to women business owners
• What stages of growth are most undercapitalized (idea, pre-seed, seed, early growth)
• Where founders experience friction, bias, or structural barriers

3. What size fund and investments are actually needed
We’ll explore:

• What fund size would be meaningful versus symbolic
• Typical check sizes that women-owned businesses actually need to grow
• Stage focus (pre-seed, seed, follow-on) and why it matters
• How portfolio construction impacts risk and returns

4. What it really takes to raise and manage a fund
This is not a hypothetical exercise. We’ll talk candidly about:

• What it takes to raise capital for a private fund
• Who invests in funds and why
• The operational, legal, fiduciary, and governance responsibilities involved
• What ongoing fund management looks like in practice

5. How the community can help make this possible
If there is alignment to move forward, we’ll discuss:

How community members can support the effort through introductions, investor outreach, and awareness-building

What kinds of connections (LPs, partners, advisors, ecosystem allies) are most valuable

How founders, investors, and executives can contribute in ways that match their capacity

What This Is and What It Isn’t

This is a serious, facilitated conversation with real downstream implications.

This is not a pitch, a fundraising ask, or a commitment to launch a fund, yet.

This is about determining whether there is enough shared will, understanding, and support to justify taking the next step.

Outcomes We’re Aiming For

By the end of the session, we aim to:

Understand whether the community believes a dedicated fund is necessary

Identify the most compelling case to communicate to investors and state partners

Clarify what a viable fund would need to look like to succeed

Surface concrete ways the community is willing to help move this forward