When Oriana Papin-Zoghbi was looking for venture capital funding to develop a new type of test for ovarian cancer, she found her pitch did best with women investors. “They were able to resonate with the problem we are trying to solve,” she said. Avestria Ventures, a fund focused on women-founded start-ups, led an early investment of $5 million in Ms. Papin-Zoghbi’s company, AOA Dx. And two years later, Good Growth Capital, a firm founded by women, led an additional $17 million investment. Raising the next round of funds is expected to be difficult.  It's not the first time that women ent ..read more

GrantWatch is celebrating American women entrepreneurs!  Women in leadership bring unique strengths to the table like fostering collaboration and driving innovation. Decades of research show that when women lead, businesses are profitable and teams are collaborative.  They inspire greater fairness and dedication and create environments where everyone can thrive. Despite the obstacles they face, women continue to break barriers and rise in leadership roles across politics, education, and corporate sectors. Here is a listing of currently available GrantWatch Women and Small Business g ..read more

Over the past few decades, we have witnessed a remarkable surge in the presence and influence of women entrepreneurs. Women have been redefining the entrepreneurial sphere, breaking through barriers, shattering stereotypes and making significant strides in various industries and sectors worldwide. With the changing times and increasing awareness, the 21st century has become an era of empowerment for women, fostering an environment that encourages and supports their entrepreneurial aspirations.  Discover how women-led businesses have emerged as a powerful force, contributing significantly ..read more

Won't this surprise you!  UC Berkeley graduates have founded more venture-backed companies than undergraduate alumni from any other university in the world, according to the 2024 PitchBook university rankings.  Venture capital is paying attention to Berkeley-generated companies. And they claim they are just getting started. Big note:  Berkeley was ranked first for female graduates who started businesses, first for female-founded companies and first for the amount of capital raised by women.  “That UC Berkeley is No. 1 globally across five major categories, including three ..read more

According to the Wells Fargo 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses Report, between 2019 and 2023, Black/African American women-owned businesses saw average revenues increase 32.7%, compared to 12.1% for all women-owned businesses.  In spite of this impressive growth, systemic disparities in funding and mentorship opportunities persist. Fortunately, new programs are addressing these gaps. Read on to learn how black women entrepreneurs make significant contributions to the economy ..read more

Engaging in the same networking activities as men, such as golfing or having a beer together, the logic seems to go, will increase women’s exposure to work opportunities.  A new study by Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management professors Brian Uzzi and Yang Yang suggests this advice isn’t quite right. While it’s true that highly connected women tend to land better jobs and build their businesses faster, the most successful women also have something they cannot get through “beers with the boys”: close ties with female peers. Here's the key: “Men really need a network that’s ..read more

Highly successful leaders create healthy habits throughout the day, but what creates success are the habits they’ve developed in their nighttime routines.  Are you intentional with your nighttime habits?  These folks are.  They set themselves up for success each night by creating routines that help them wake up energized, ready to accomplish their goals and clear on how they’ll spend each day. Take it from SPANX founder Sara Blakely who spends the evening with her children and then puts them to bed. Every night, she takes a bath and lights a candle as a way to power down from a ..read more

There are a lot of things that women founders can do better than men. Like a "anything you can do, I can do better" attitude.  It works. With that spirit, Audrey Chocron and Cynthia Phitoussi – co-founders and managing partners of SeedIL, a VC fund focusing on seed and pre-seed Israeli startups – began meticulously researching the local startup ecosystem and became particularly interested in startup accelerators and incubators, and new immigrant entrepreneurs like themselves.  They spoke to CTech about founding and managing SeedIL Ventures which just raised $18 million for its secon ..read more

The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative presents its Case for Investing in Women Entrepreneurs, which launches the resource mobilization campaign for the second phase of We-Fi, post-2022.  Recognizing the urgency of investing in women, the Case for Investing is not only a testimonial to We-Fi’s track record but, more importantly, the need for the global development community to recognize the economic potential of women entrepreneurs.  ..read more

According to Gusto, women make up nearly half of all new entrepreneurs since 2020. Women represented nearly 50% of startups in the U.S. in 2021 — up nearly 30% since 2019. Experts believe the pandemic drove more women to take the plunge into working for themselves, and that drive has only continued to result in more growth with more female business owners.  Gusto's survey found that 64% of women who started their business in 2022 cited the need for more flexibility ..read more