This female founders’ story starts in a kitchen — but the women weren’t there to cook.
Portland business leaders Mara Zepeda, Paige Hendrix Buckner, and Genevieve LeMarchal were sitting around the kitchen table discussing a familiar topic. They met regularly to talk about sales strategies for growing their companies. The conversation always came back to funding and how a lack of access often prevented women from becoming entrepreneurs. Despite their success in business, women kept facing rejection from venture capital firms and lenders.
“The women decided that they could do something about it,” said Robin Klemm, a longtime angel investor and technology consultant.
Shortly after that meeting in the kitchen, the entrepreneurs approached Klemm with their idea: They wanted to start a fund that would help women get access to critical debt financing and…