A100’s Post

🌟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐭: 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 🌟 We’re excited to announce Kelly Ann Winget, founder of Alternative Wealth Partners, LLC, as one of our incredible speakers at the 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 event! Kelly Ann is a trailblazer in alternative investments, having raised close to $1 billion in capital across industries such as energy, real estate, and emerging markets. Kelly Ann is the first millennial, openly LGBTQ+ woman to launch her own private equity firm, making her a true pioneer in the world of finance. She’s passionate about breaking down barriers in capital access and is the author of the must-read book "Pitch the Bitch: Grab Your Financial Future by the Bags". Kelly is one the speakers at the Investors Panel “The Path to Success: Founders’ Biggest Wins and Hardest Lessons”. Follow our social media to learn more about other speakers or read more on our site. 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫: Use the code 𝐁𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 for a free ticket! Otherwise, tickets start at $29. BONUS: First 50 signups get access 5 must-have fundraising resources: ✔️ Investor Readiness Checklist ✔️ 50 Most Frequently Asked Investor Questions ✔️ The Venture Capital Due Diligence Questionnaire ✔️ The Psychological Playbook for VCs and Startups ✔️ A Comprehensive Guide for Creating Financial Model Assumptions The event will be recorded, so even if you can’t attend all sessions, you are not going to miss on any valuable information. I𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺. 🔗 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐰 https://lnkd.in/dUrdRkyq #FemaleFounders #KellyAnnWinget #AlternativeInvestments #BreakingBarriers #Entrepreneurship #LGBTQBusiness #WomenInFinance

#WomanCrushWednesday: Meet "The Oprah of Investing" "YC for Women" "Shark Tank for Women" Bridgette L. Smith 🦋 (Verified Page) →Today marks the First Wednesday of May, and I've got an extraordinary Woman Crush Wednesday to share. Bridgette will be speaking at an online Masterclass on how to become an investor for the Global Woman Club, where she's the New Director of Silicon Valley. →After her tenure at Google, Bridgette ventured into entrepreneurship, founding Purpose Led Ventures, Serenity and Sunshine Holdings, and Founder Pitch Week. These ventures are dedicated to uplifting undercapitalized and underrepresented women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ founders. Through her renowned "Investing With Confidence" and "Think Like an Investor" brands, she's empowered over 4,000 women to invest in private companies and build generational wealth. →Despite starting with zero knowledge in venture capital, Bridgette has built an impressive portfolio of startup investments, totaling 264 companies. When not investing, she serves as an Investment Consultant at US Capital and holds advisory roles at various prominent organizations. Prior to her entrepreneurial journey, Bridgette excelled in journalism, earning over 100 global media awards. →Bridgette's educational background spans prestigious institutions such as Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management. Currently residing in both Silicon Valley and Wisconsin, Bridgette continues to inspire and uplift women worldwide. 📌 If you find this valuable, please like, comment, and share! 👍🗣📩 🗣Who is your Woman Crush Wednesday? #investors #investing #financialfreedom #wealth #mindshift #founders #entrepreneurs #women #london ✈ #productchaste

Keely Cat Wells, founder of fitness app Fitbox, recently faced a surprising challenge when a VC suggested she find a male, able-bodied co-founder to secure funding. Refusing to comply, Wells, a black woman with a disability, opted to focus on her strengths instead. Despite the disheartening advice, Wells pressed on, refining her pitch and fostering relationships with potential investors. Her determination paid off with a $2 million seed round from supportive investors who recognized her vision and execution prowess. "I'm proud of what we've built, and the team we've assembled," Wells shared. "We're not just building a company; we're building a community. And I'm excited to see where this journey takes us." This story underscores the importance of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. It's a powerful reminder that women, people of color, and those with disabilities not only belong in tech, but are essential to its growth and success. Thoughts? Have you faced similar challenges in your career? How did you overcome them? #tech #diversity #inclusion #startup #femalefounder #entrepreneurship #SeedRound 💪👩🏾🦽

Why is backing female founders more than just a numbers game? Female-led teams receive an average of $700,000 in VC #funding, while all-male teams receive $3 million. This gap isn’t just a statistic; it sets #FemaleFounders up for a steeper climb, forcing them to achieve the same milestones with far fewer resources. It’s not just about who gets funded—it’s about how much and the barriers they face. Learn more from Kylie Frazer in Startup Daily: https://lnkd.in/gGVqzJbW

🌈 It’s time to take a stand for real change! 🌈 As an LGBTQIA+ founder, I’ve experienced first-hand the discrimination that too many of us face in the entrepreneurial world. We deserve better. That’s why I’ve launched a petition calling on Virgin StartUp and other organizations to implement inclusive practices for LGBTQIA+ founders. We must foster environments where diversity is truly valued, where founders from all backgrounds are treated with the respect they deserve. 🚀 Join me in making a difference—sign and share the petition today. Together, we can create a more inclusive, empowering space for all entrepreneurs. 💪🏽✊🏽 https://chng.it/BKTmTR2Ydc #LGBTQIA #Entrepreneurship #Inclusion #Diversity #Founders #Equality #StandUpForChange #PetitionForChange

I totally understand this sentiment. As a female VC, I've observed numerous challenges faced by many women in the industry: - Receiving a significantly lower carry percentage compared to male colleagues, often being tokenized as the "diversity poster girl" partner. - Being overlooked for board seats in portfolio companies, or if they do get board positions, they are often with the least promising companies. - Being excluded from female-focused VC activities under the pretext that their primary role is to source deals, thus limiting their networking opportunities. - Facing subtle yet pervasive biases during partner meetings, where their opinions are frequently undervalued or disregarded in favor of their male counterparts. - Experiencing a lack of mentorship and sponsorship from senior leadership, which hampers their career growth and advancement within the firm. - Being expected to handle administrative or operational tasks more often than their male colleagues, detracting from their time and focus on deal-making and strategic initiatives. That said, I find it hard to understand why leaving the industry solves anything. While there are many aspects of the industry status quo that I disagree with, I believe that the most effective way to drive meaningful change is by remaining within the industry and actively working to transform it from the inside. By staying, women in VC can leverage our influence, advocate for equitable practices, and support other women and underrepresented groups, ultimately creating a more inclusive and fair environment for everyone.

It really is quite black and white. Except it isn’t, is it? It’s just very white. It is time to address the lack of #diversity in startup investment. Increase funding for women. ALL women. Every ethnicity background All ages beliefs shapes preferences Across the talent spectrum and any other spectrum. When should any of these factors - except talent - be criteria for deciding investment? The ONLY way ‘All Women’ should be split into smaller segments for funding purposes is: -those who are willing and able to scale their business to produce the multiple returns that warrant the risk for investors and -those who are not. We are not there yet. I hope one day we will be. Increasing fractional segmentation into positive discrimination is a short term fix. It is not the long term answer. Positive discrimination is still discrimination. It is not inclusive. As an example, the push to include Black founders is leaving Asian founders out in the cold. People are resorting to this out of desperation, reaching out and pulling others up the ladder or pushing them up from below. I’m working to make funding choices more about other factors going forward. So reduce the need to focus on gender or skin colour. We know that diversity improves business results. Diversity of skills. Diversity in perspectives from different background and experiences. So it IS logical to increase diversity even taking fairness out of the equation. How can we make this happen faster? This isn’t a box-ticking exercise. Let 2025 be the year it starts to turn! First steps are: 1. Create a public manifesto 2. Build awareness 3. Decide metrics 4. Create a pipeline of investable business models run by strong founders. 5. Have courage, take the plunge, invest. What’s your experience of diversity? Is it like one of the 3Ds - death, divorce and diversity…or are things really changing? #femalefounders #innovation #startups #breakthebias --- Let's Fund More Women Invest in Women Taskforce investHER-UK ProspHER Business and Babies Fundfast Female Founders Rise TechFoundHer Women's Diversity Network --- Becky Lodge Elizabeth A. Dr Linda Odogwu Zandra Moore Bridget Greenwood Serena Fordham BA (Hons) CMgr FCMI ✨️ Erika Brodnock MBE Emmie Faust Grace Carter Máirín Murray Cindy Gallop Tara Attfield-Tomes Gwen Myslinski Sanjay Lobo MBE👫🌍 Jem Stein Dr Uzma Choudry Dr Lorna Treanor FRSA 🌞Sarah Morgan Bev Fawdington Jennifer Stojkovic Jennifer Faith Nash 🇿🇲🇬🇧🇺🇸 Mel Bound Nara Daubeney PhD Roxanne Goodman Bukky M. Babajide Barbara Gottardi Carla Ottersen Karli Büchling Katherine Church Natalie Haigh Jennifer Hoffman

"People take me less seriously than white male VCs." - An anonymous female VC partner. Ask women around you and I am sure that you will get similar testimonials. VC remains a male-dominated industry (77% of investors are male), and sadly, some women are leaving as a result. At Five Seasons, 43% of our investment team are women. We're committed to promoting gender diversity with the following initiatives: ➤ Training our team on biases ➤ Implementing a policy on parental leave ➤ Providing additional coaching ➤ Encouraging networking in women-led events like WVC:E Do you have other ideas to build an inclusive culture in VC? Let me know in the comments!

The recent election results show how women are still not recognized for their leadership. A convicted felon, despite his lack of qualifications, won over a highly qualified woman—whether you agree with her or not, she was far more qualified. This is a reality women face in business too, where only 2% of venture capital funding goes to women, compared to their male counterparts. As of recent reports, funding for Black women and individuals on a gender journey in the venture capital space remains disproportionately low. For Black women specifically, startups led by them represented just 0.34% of total venture capital raised as of 2021 and stated in https://lnkd.in/e7MqMpKG More broadly, startups with at least one Black founder have been receiving only 1.2% of total venture funding https://lnkd.in/evhEgN4S The trans community receives less than 1% of VC money.https://https://lnkd.in/e8Gmz5S5 At ICW®, we’re committed to changing this for all women and anyone on a gender journey. By empowering women to become successful CEOs, we can help them gain the recognition, funding, and decision-making power needed to drive change. When women control the purse strings, they fund the future. Let’s keep pushing for equity. #WomenInLeadership #FundWomen #ICW #GenderEquity #womenentrepreneurs #transentrepreneurs #lgbtqia A photo of my girls for attention and also my #why

🌟 Breaking Barriers, Building Futures 🌟  Janet’s mission is clear: to amplify the voices of underrepresented entrepreneurs and break the cycle of inequality in funding. 💼✨ From organizing trade missions for women founders to partnering with global giants like Morgan Stanley and Google for Startups, she’s creating spaces where dreams flourish and opportunities abound.  💬 “It’s not just about funding; it’s about building a community, fostering confidence, and empowering change,” she says.  Here’s to a future where every entrepreneur, regardless of gender or background, has a fair chance to thrive! 🙌  #EmpoweredEntrepreneurs #BreakingBarriers #DiversityInBusiness #WomenInLeadership #BlackFounders #VentureFundingEquality #SupportAndThrive #InspiringStories