Again in 2018, Startup revealed a listing of girls traders primarily based within the Pacific Northwest who have been writing checks to assist startups develop.
So much has modified in 4 years. We’ve put collectively a brand new compilation under, highlighting almost 60 girls enterprise capitalists throughout Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver B.C.
Enterprise capital {dollars} reached report ranges in 2021. However U.S. firms based solely by girls raised simply 2.4% of complete capital invested — a proportion that hasn’t grown in recent times, regardless of many headlines and a spotlight on the enormous gender hole in enterprise capital.
Proof means that the shortage of feminine leaders in enterprise capital ranks makes corporations much less prone to spend money on female-led startups.
There are indicators of progress. Our up to date listing has grown in comparison with 2018, and this yr we solely included girls in senior roles, equivalent to founders of corporations or managing administrators and companions. The 2018 listing additionally included angel traders.
“The panorama appears a lot, a lot totally different as we speak,” stated Leslie Feinzaig, founding father of Seattle-based women-focused enterprise agency Graham & Walker.
Greater than 15% of normal companions at VC corporations nationwide are girls, up from 12% in 2019, based on a PitchBook report from November.
“The significance of that improve, as modest as it might look, extends past the rise itself,” PitchBook stated in its report. “Research and dozens of anecdotes recommend that feminine founders have a tendency to hunt out feminine traders and that the possibilities of a female-founded firm efficiently securing financing can rise with a feminine investor within the room.”
PitchBook reported that startups based solely by girls accounted for six.9% of U.S. enterprise capital deal depend in 2022 via June, a decade excessive, even with the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on girls within the workforce. That quantity was 18.2% for firms with each feminine and male founders.
Nevertheless, for complete capital raised, female-founded startups have raised simply 1.9% of {dollars} to this point in 2022, barely decrease than final yr.
Feinzaig stated she sees extra girls founders elevating capital in Seattle, pointing to of us equivalent to Sandi Lin (Skilljar), Kieran Snyder (Textio), Maria Colacurcio (Syndio), Linda Lian (Frequent Room), and lots of others.
“There are lots of attention-grabbing applied sciences popping out of Seattle, with girls founders on the prime,” she stated. “That’s actually thrilling, and I feel we’ll see much more within the subsequent decade.”
Girls founders are the “lynchpin of this complete ecosystem,” Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon, CEO of All Increase, stated on Bloomberg earlier this yr. Dixon in March grew to become CEO of the nonprofit that goals to spice up feminine founders and funders.
Dixon advised Forbes in June that the present financial downturn might trigger traders to tug again on diversity-related initiatives. However she stated it’s an excellent larger alternative for checkwriters.
“I might actually encourage them to test in with themselves and perceive this chance they’ve … to proceed to boldly transfer ahead and make bets, to present alternatives to individuals who haven’t had that chance so we don’t lose all of the progress that’s been made,” she stated.
The listing is supposed to be a group useful resource and a residing doc, so please e-mail us at suggestions@geekwire.com with steered additions or suggestions. Buyers are listed under in alphabetical order.
Sarah Applebaum bought her begin in enterprise capital at Vancouver, B.C.-based Pangaea Ventures in 2012 as an affiliate. She spent two years as an investor at RenewableTech Ventures and returned to Pangaea as associate in 2020.
Elizabeth Bernstein was beforehand portfolio supervisor at Invesco US earlier than becoming a member of Cercano Administration (previously Vulcan Capital) in 2019. She additionally labored as an fairness analyst at Wells Fargo, Banc of America Securities, and Allianz International Buyers Capital.
Adriane Brown beforehand served as president and COO of Mental Ventures and president of Honeywell Transportation Programs. She is at the moment on the boards of American Airways, KKR, Axon, eBay and the Washington Analysis Basis. Brown is an advisor for The Black Boardroom Initiative, a brand new effort from Perkins Coie that launched this yr to improve the variety of Black leaders on public boards.
Minda Brusse co-founded First Row Companions in December 2019. She additionally co-founded The $1k Undertaking in April 2020, a volunteer collective offering money reduction for households impacted by the pandemic. She is a enterprise associate at 2048 Ventures and held management roles at Grubstakes and the Seattle Angel Convention as an angel and fund supervisor.
Naynika Chaubey joined Evok Improvements in November after working in power venture finance and personal fairness. She was beforehand vp at Bear Stearns, SoCore Vitality, and Wirsol Photo voltaic Americas. She additionally managed portfolios at US Renewables Group and Cascade Funding.
Ana Chaud joined Elevate Capital in February 2020 and is CEO of Lodestar. She additionally based Chaud & CO in 2019 and co-founded Backyard Bar in 2013. She was a board member of TiE Oregon, Entrepreneurs Group, and Micro Enterprise Providers of Oregon.
Hope Cochran joined Madrona in January 2017 and spent two years as a enterprise associate earlier than changing into the primary feminine managing director on the agency in 2019. She was beforehand a CFO at King, maker of Sweet Crush, in addition to Clearwire and Evant. She serves on the boards of AI2, Hasbro, MongoDB and NewRelic.
Karen Cone, enterprise associate at Sybilla Masters Fund
Karen Cone held varied senior government positions earlier than becoming a member of Sybilla Masters Fund in September 2018. She was CEO at TowerGroup and a normal supervisor at Microsoft. She can also be on advisory boards for Girls in Cloud and early stage progress expertise corporations.
Emer Dooley was government director of the Alliance of Angels seed fund for almost 15 years. She joined Inventive Destruction Lab in 2020 to guide the group’s Seattle accelerator. Dooley additionally teaches on the College of Washington’s enterprise faculty.
Edith Dorsen, a former funding banker and advisor, helped begin Portland, Ore.-based Girls’s Enterprise Capital Fund in 2011 and later launched a second fund to spend money on firms with administration groups inclusive of girls.
Leslie Feinzaig based Graham & Walker in 2020. The ladies-focused enterprise agency initially began as Feminine Founders Alliance, which Feinzaig launched in February 2017. She additionally based Enterprise Kits in 2016. Feinzaig beforehand held product administration roles at Microsoft, Julep Magnificence, and Massive Fish.
Eileen Foley has greater than 25 years of expertise in technique, operations, and administration. She additionally held gross sales and product improvement roles earlier than becoming a member of Sybilla Masters Fund in November 2018. She beforehand based Colcannon LLC, a Irish-inspired artisan meals firm.
Diane Fraiman joined Voyager Capital in 2008. Fraiman, primarily based in Portland, Ore., was beforehand a advertising government at firms together with Sanctum, Informix, and Tektronix. She’s invested in firms equivalent to Elemental Expertise, Act-On, Skyward, and others.
Stacey Giard helped launch Tola Capital in 2010. Giard beforehand spent eight years at Microsoft in product administration and senior advertising roles. She served as board director for Convercent, Gila, Assignar, and is at the moment on the board for VergeSense.
Terry Gillespie spent almost 15 years at Western Wi-fi Company the place she held a number of government titles equivalent to director, senior vp, CFO, and others. She was beforehand controller at McCaw Mobile.
Michelle Goldberg, angel investor and associate at SoGal Ventures
Michelle Goldberg spent 20 years as a enterprise capitalist at Bellevue, Wash.-based Ignition Companions. She’s at the moment a restricted and enterprise associate at SoGal Ventures, a female-led millennial VC agency primarily based in New York Metropolis. Goldberg has backed Lovevery, Common Customary, and TomboyX.
Sheila Gulati spent 10 years at Microsoft in varied enterprise and advertising management roles earlier than co-founding Tola Capital in 2010. Tola invests in enterprise software program firms all over the world. Previous investments embody ybris and OSIsoft.
Julie Harrelson helped launch Bend, Ore.-based Cascade Seed Fund in 2019. She beforehand held exec roles at varied firms, and can also be managing associate at 44North Ventures.
Nancy Harrison is an skilled biotech investor who was beforehand president of Methylation Sciences. She joined Vancouver, B.C.-based Amplitude in 2020.
Tina Hoang-To, founding normal associate at Kin Ventures
Tina Hoang-To has greater than 15 years of expertise in investments, operations, technique, and tech finance. She moved to Seattle from the Bay Space and based Kin Ventures in October. She beforehand based Marriage ceremony Spot in 2013 and was a associate at Apparent Ventures and government vp at TCV.
Angela Jackson co-founded Portland Seed Fund in 2010. The agency has invested in additional than 100 seed-stage firms within the Pacific Northwest. Jackson additionally helped run the enterprise accelerator at Portland State College of almost a decade.
Brenda Irwin spent 13 years as a life sciences enterprise capitalist for Enterprise Improvement Financial institution of Canada. She launched Vancouver, B.C.-based Relentless Enterprise Fund in 2018 to again early-stage well being tech startups.
Robin Jones, government associate at Elevate Capital
Robin Jones held management positions at Motorola Ventures, Geoloqi, Esri, and Socrata. She based Moica in 2020, served as COO at Public Market, and is at the moment CEO at Monsoon Inc. Jones joined Portland, Ore.-based Elevate Capital in 2016.
Anne Kennedy joined Sybilla Masters Fund in 2013. She based Past Ink in 1997, which supported the net launches of firms equivalent to Zillow, Jib-Jab, and Avvo. She is co-author of International Search Engine Advertising and marketing, one of many first books on worldwide digital advertising, and serves on a number of advisory boards.
Karin Kidder joined First Row Companions in September and held director roles in advertising and communications at Microvi Biotech and Bellevue Arts Museum. She has been a member and investor at Grubstakes, SeaChange Fund, and E8 Angels.
Shelley King was a vp at Genome Atlantic and CEO of a nonprofit referred to as Synapse earlier than she launched Pure Merchandise Canada, which invests in Canadian pure product firms. She launched a brand new early-stage fund, NPC Ventures, in 2021.
Beth Kolko has been a professor on the College of Washington for greater than 20 years. She based Shift Labs and Hacademia earlier than changing into a senior enterprise associate at Pioneer Fund in February 2019 and a enterprise associate at Pack Ventures in January 2022.
Caroline Lewis hung out at Hitachi, Propeller, and Nike earlier than becoming a member of Portland, Ore.-based Rogue Enterprise Companions in 2018. Rogue created a girls’s-focused fund and Lewis took over as managing associate in 2019.
Melinda Lewison helps run the funding arm of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She was a former product supervisor at Microsoft and an affiliate at Rustic Canyon Companions.
Loretta Little joined Washington Analysis Basis in 1989 and have become managing director a decade later. Little is concentrated on Washington-based funding alternatives in life sciences. Previous investments embody Phytelligence, Nexgenia, and Accium Biosciences.
Jenn Lynch, associate at Portland Seed Fund
Jenn Lynch joined Portland Seed Fund in 2013 and was promoted to managing director in 2017. The longtime product supervisor additionally helps handle the Bend Enterprise Convention Development Fund in Bend, Ore.
Deepthi Madhava spent greater than a decade at Deloitte earlier than becoming a member of Oregon Enterprise Fund as investor-in-residence and enterprise associate in January 2021. She additionally serves on the board for Oregon Entrepreneurs Community
Amy McCullough hung out at Microsoft and JPMorgan Chase earlier than changing into a associate at Bellevue, Wash.-based Trilogy Fairness Companions in 2007. Her agency focuses on seed and Sequence A startups within the Pacific Northwest. Previous investments embody Owlet, Skilljar, and Boundless.
Brianna McDonald has led the Northwest operations for Keiretsu Discussion board since 2006. The skilled investor community contains of almost 400 members. It funded greater than 93 firms final yr, with a median funding of $859,000.
Kate Mitselmakher based Bloccerate in 2018. The Seattle-area agency invests in blockchain startups. Mitselmakher beforehand labored for Gartner and is on the board of BlockApps and ZenLedger.
Gillian Muessig launched Sybilla Masters Fund in January 2018. She beforehand co-founded Moz and Outlines Enterprise Group. She was additionally founder and co-host of VC Confidential and CEO Coach Podcasts for 13 years.
Susan Namkung, director at Girls’s VC Fund II
Susan Namkung is a former company M&A lawyer who joined Portland, Ore.-based Girls’s VC Fund in 2013 as principal. She grew to become a director in 2017 when the agency launched it second fund to spend money on extra firms with administration groups inclusive of girls.
Jill Nelson, government associate at Elevate Capital
Jill Nelson based Ruby Receptionists in 2003 earlier than becoming a member of Elevate Capital in February 2020. She was the primary lady to be named Oregon’s Expertise Government of the Yr in 2017. She beforehand labored in gross sales at Businessland and as a enterprise dealer at IBA.
Lisa Nelson is a Microsoft veteran who beforehand led the corporate’s enterprise capital arm as managing director. She joined Flying Fish final yr. Nelson has extra 25 years of expertise as a senior government. She led investments in startups together with Pixvana, Zipwhip, and Make.TV.
Brigid O’Brien was a analysis bodily scientist for the U.S. Military earlier than becoming a member of In-Q-Tel as a managing director. She joined BHP in 2020 and appears for early-stage firms working in decarbonization and sustainable useful resource extraction.
Yoko Okano spent seven years at Google as an affiliate and strategist earlier than co-founding First Row Companions in December 2019. She has been an angel investor since 2015 and beforehand helped lead Grubstakes, a Seattle-based group of angel traders that fund and mentor startups. She was additionally fund supervisor for Seattle Angel Convention XIV and labored in product advertising for Smartwhere.
Maria Pacella spent 11 years at GrowthWorks Capital, one of many largest managers of retail enterprise capital funds in Canada. She joined Vancouver, B.C.-based Pender Ventures in 2017. The corporations invests in B2B enterprise firms in addition to well being tech.
Vanessa Pegueros beforehand labored at AT&T, Nextel Communications, JPMorgan Chase, Expedia, US Financial institution, DocuSign, and OneLogin. She joined Flying Fish in November 2018 and in addition serves on the board at Presidio and Forterra.
Genevieve Pinto was a associate at McCarthy Tetrault for a decade earlier than becoming a member of Vancouver, B.C.-based Renewal Funds, which focuses on sustainable shopper merchandise, and meals and environmental tech. She additionally co-founded The RAISE Collective, which aimed to help girls traders and entrepreneurs.
Meredith Powell, enterprise associate at Voyager Capital
Meredith Powell based three startups earlier than becoming a member of Voyager Capital in 2017. She was additionally world chief advertising officer at Microsoft for a yr and has served on a number of boards.
Susan Preston, managing member at SeaChange Fund
Susan Preston is a longtime investor and at the moment a managing member of SeaChangeFund, a Seattle-based angel group, and the Aspect 8 Fund, a cleantech funding group. Preston has held greater than 35 board positions with public and privately held firms.
Amy Rae was a vp at Ziplocal and director at Canpages earlier than becoming a member of Vancouver, B.C.-based Vanedge Capital in 2011. She was promoted to associate final yr. Rae focuses on software program enterprise and utilized analytics applied sciences.
Vani Rao, enterprise associate at Sybilla Masters Fund
Vani Rao held vp and director positions at KeyBank, BBVA, and Lighter Capital earlier than becoming a member of Sybilla Grasp Fund in September 2020. She can also be a managing associate at EdgeVenture Group.
Heather Redman held government roles at Getty Photos, Atom Leisure, Summit Energy Group, and Indix. In 2016 she co-founded Flying Fish, an early-stage software program tech funding agency backing firms throughout the Pacific Northwest. Previous investments embody Streem, MessageYes, and Advert Lightning.
Christina Reszka joined Frazier Healthcare Companions in October 2019 as a principal on the expansion buyout crew. She was beforehand principal at Norwest Fairness Companions for 10 years and in addition labored as an funding banking affiliate at Craig-Hallum Capital Group.
Lauren Robinson spent six years at Nationwide Financial institution Monetary earlier than becoming a member of Highline VC in 2013. She helped launch Vancouver B.C.-based Highline Beta in 2018. The agency is a hybrid company enterprise studio and a enterprise capital agency that invests in early-stage startups.
Kariah Es Sabar beforehand led LifeSciences BC and senior administration positions at massive pharmaceutical firms. In 2016 she joined Quark, a Vancouver, B.C.-based enterprise agency targeted on life sciences.
Julie Sandler labored as a product supervisor at Microsoft, TeachStreet, and Amazon earlier than becoming a member of Madrona Enterprise Group in 2011. She joined Pioneer Sq. Labs in 2017 as a managing director and co-founded its enterprise capital arm a yr later. Previous investments embody Integris, Poppy, and Rover.
Jennifer Savage joined Illuminate in 2019 to spend money on seed-stage B2B software program startups. She held advertising management roles at Flowroute, Smartsheet, DocuSign, and Microsoft.
Anu Shukla had greater than 25 years of high-tech business expertise earlier than becoming a member of Elevate Capital. She is founder and CEO of software program startups together with Rubric, MyBuys, Offerpal Media, and RewardsPay. She can also be the co-founder and government chairman of Botco.ai, a totally automated advertising platform powered by AI.
Rohre Titcomb co-founded 5 Bamboo, Seattle Cascades, and 5 Final earlier than becoming a member of Graham & Walker (previously Feminine Founders Alliance) in 2019. She grew to become a associate earlier this yr. She was additionally venture supervisor of Lady Rising, a non-profit group aiming to vary how the world values and invests in ladies.
Martina Welkhoff is a two-time founder who launched Girls in XR in 2017. The agency backs gender-diverse firms in spatial computing (VR/AR) and synthetic intelligence. Welkhoff was a former board president at Seattle Girls in Tech and serves on the board of Obsess.
Rochelle Whelan spent 9 years at Intel in advertising roles earlier than becoming a member of Seattle-based Keeler in 2007. Keeler backs Seattle and San Francisco-based pre-seed and seed stage tech firms. Whelan has served as a board member of the Alliance of Angels, the College of Washington Buerk Heart for Entrepreneurship, and Lady Scouts of Western Washington.
Melissa Widner was normal associate at SeaPoint Ventures and managing director at NAB Ventures earlier than taking the CEO reins at Lighter Capital, an “various VC” agency primarily based in Seattle that gives revenue-based financing to software program firms.