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The Feminine Founders Fund, an early stage enterprise fund investing in corporations based by ladies, introduced in the present day that it has simply accomplished its third spherical of funding of $ 57 million, bringing its whole property beneath administration to greater than $ 95 million raised.
Along with energy gamers equivalent to Goldman Sachs, Melinda French Gates’ firm Pivotal Ventures and Twitter, who invested within the fund, FFF additionally acquired investments from know-how leaders equivalent to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, 23andMe CEO Annie Wojcicki and Home Social gathering CEO Sima Sistani.
“From day one we actually targeted on constructing the most important and strongest group of feminine operators and traders,” FFF founding accomplice Anu Duggal informed CNBC Make It. “After I began the fund in 2014, I went to at least one Tech occasion in New York Metropolis they usually all appeared just about the identical. There was no variety. And that is why we at all times needed a job in creating a brand new form of ecosystem that celebrates ladies. “
Founding accomplice of the Feminine Founders Fund Anu Duggal.
Picture credit score: Siobhan Becker
With this new funding, FFF claims to have the most important start-up capital fund particularly for ladies entrepreneurs.
“This fund is definitely a continuation of our present technique,” says Duggal, who explains that FFF has raised three funds thus far, together with the primary for $ 6 million and a second for $ 25 million. “So the large shift on this one [third] Fund actually is the test measurement. So our common test measurement will increase from $ 500,000 to $ 700,000 to $ 750,000 to $ 1,000,000. “
Since its inception in 2014, FFF has invested in additional than 50 women-run corporations, with over 70% of its portfolio together with BIPOC founders. The shutdown of this new fund, Duggal says, comes at an ideal time as feminine founders proceed to face challenges to draw funding, particularly amid the pandemic.
In 2019, startups with all-female founders acquired 3.4% of enterprise capital funding within the US, an all-time excessive, experiences Crunchbase. In 2020 that quantity fell to 2.4%. And thru March 2021, that quantity had stayed the identical, in line with Crunchbase.
“I firmly imagine that by not devoting sources to ladies, we’re lacking out on transformative concepts,” Gates mentioned in an announcement. “I invested within the Feminine Founders Fund as a result of we want feminine founders and donors across the desk if we’re to construct a extra affluent and inclusive economic system for everybody. New and progressive concepts come from all over the place; standard packages.”
With this new fund, FFF hopes not solely to extend investments in ladies entrepreneurs, in line with Duggal, but additionally hopes to proceed advising ladies founders on modifications in enterprise technique because of the pandemic and offering them with the mandatory networking alternatives and platforms to thrive.
“The significance of investing in women-run companies has been debated within the funding and enterprise worlds for years, and it has by no means been extra vital in the present day,” says Duggal. “Our objective with this new fund is to proceed to indicate that it’s potential to generate nice returns by investing in corporations based by ladies with the final word objective of respecting the investor ecosystem of their strategy to investing in ladies to advance by means of sturdy returns. ”
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