In 2016, women-founded startups got just 2.19 percent of venture capital funding.
But that’s not the case for venture capitalists Cayla Weisberg and Gerri Kahnweiler’s portfolio: 100 percent of their funding went to female-founded startups.
That’s because they’re the investors behind new firm InvestHer Ventures, the first VC firm in Chicago (and one of just a handful in the Midwest) that only invests in startups with at least one female founder. Since launching last spring, they’ve made eight investments and they’re gearing up to make six to eight more deals within the next year.
While InvestHer Ventures started out as a way to directly address the funding gender gap, the two investors have a less confrontational approach to investment discussions (fewer pitches peppered with questions, more conversations), and take a hands-on approach to helping portfolio companies get to the next round of funding through sales and business development coaching. The idea is to not only fund female founders, but make sure they’re on the track to startup success beyond the early stage.
“We recognize that traction is a big piece that our companies want help with, and funds want to see,” said Weisberg. “Being able to provide those tools is helping those companies scale, which we realize is critical to the success of future rounds.”
Weisberg and Kahnweiler first met at a wedding shower Kahnweiler was hosting for a mutual friend. They happened to sit next to each other, and got talking about startups and their shared frustration with the consistent lack of support for female-founded ventures.
“It was like two worlds definitely collided,” said Weisberg. “We both had the same mission, but it came from two totally different professional backgrounds.”
Weisberg had experience in startups, working in business development with Lightbank portfolio companies, while Kahnweiler had worked in philanthropy for 15 years with the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. The duo considered launching an accelerator or…