Flow Capital : The Hidden Truth Behind Female Founders and Funding

Begin the Conversation

Acknowledging and discussing these biases is the first step in establishing a more inclusive and equitable fundraising process. Whether you are a founder or funder, start having conversations with your own team members to uncover what biases we may have, how we can stay aware of these biases, and how we can overcome them.

Females Funding Females

A number of funds, such as Female Founders Fund, Golden Seeds, and Voulez Capital, have established the women-pitch-only-against-other-women approach, focusing efforts and funds towards extraordinary female founders.

Alternative Debt: A Pitch-Less Approach

How can female founders raise millions of dollars while reducing gender bias, minimizing equity dilution, and without giving up board seats or personal guarantees? Alternative debt.

Alternative debt lenders cater to post-revenue companies in the growth stage of their company operations. Two popular forms of alternative debt include venture debt and revenue-based financing. As opposed to solely focusing for potential, alternative debt lenders focus on performance. During the initial screening process, lenders start by looking at three things:

• Annual revenue
• Positive unit economics
• A clear path to profitability

By focusing on the historical metrics and financial projections of the company, lenders spare little room for evaluating companies based on subjective potential. Flow Capital, a North American-based venture debt lender, had adopted a pitch-less investment process where data is gathered in an online application form and companies are selected based on specific metrics.

Lenders and funds that don't consider a pitch invest in 8 to 12 times more women than average, even if they do not have an explicit gender mandate and are investing on pure financial performance.

Become an Ally

Everyone has a role in promoting equality. Here are some articles that provide steps you can take to become an ally at work: