VF GUIDE: THE BEST RESOURCES FOR EARLY STAGE FEMALE FOUNDERS
GUIDE FOR EARLY STAGE FOUNDERS
Our Guide to the Best Resources for Early Stage Founders features communities, courses, accelerators, pitch competitions, funding resources, and more to help you get started. Launching and building a start-up is no small feat but there are resources to help you. Our biggest piece of advice is don’t go it alone! Make the effort to utilize your available resources, and build your network and community. This guide includes the recommended vetted resources to help you along your journey.
Terminology
There are a lot of terms utilized in the venture community. We built a glossary of simplified terminology to help you understand the world you are delving into.
Step1: Solidify Your Idea
Before raising capital, you want to be sure your idea is solid. We recommend applying to programs that can help you develop your idea, mentor you, and even help you with establishing your company and funding. We’ve compiled the best of the best for female founders below.
Pre-Accelerator and Accelerators
The venture community encourages and nurtures founders through mentorship, community, and funding programs called accelerators.
Pre-Accelerator - a program that helps you develop your start-up concept.
Accelerator - a mentor-based program that helps you build community and provides guidance, support and limited funding in exchange for equity.
Our Top Picks for Pre / Accelerator
Dream Ventures Accelerator- a 7 week program led by VC’s Annie Evans and Kelly Arena who have raised a combined $25M for female founders. In this program, you’ll learn best practices to get the desired result, terminology, and documents during the fundraising process. The program ends with a dinner among top-tier VCs and angel investors in NYC. This is a very curated, high-touch program where you get direct interaction with Annie and Kelley.
FourthWave - a business accelerator program for female entrepreneurs, is taking applications for its 2024 session. FourthWave alumnae from the previous five cohorts have gone on to raise more than $100 million in venture capital, said Cheryl Beninga, co-founder of FourthWave. Apply Online
500 Global - a woman founded venture capital firm with $2.4B in assets under management that invests in founders building fast-growing technology companies. Their seed accelerator and founder program is one of the most recognized programs on the West Coast. They provide advice, community, a “start-up MBA” program, hands on help, a business network and help raising seed funding. They have rolling admissions.
PearX - PearX is Pear VC’s accelerator for early stage companies. Our exclusive, small batch, 14 week program produces the highest chance of startup success. 90% of our companies go on to raise a successful round from top tier investors. When you join PearX you get services that actually make a difference in your company. We hire your early team, help you find your first customers, and give you free office space.Apply Online
Y Combinator - offers 11 week programs twice a year. Founders arrive at YC at all different stages. Some haven’t even started working yet, and others have been launched for a year or more. Companies who go through the program leave with a solid business plan, community, network, early customers, intro to investors via their Demo Day and funding. YC invests $500,000 in every company on standard terms (2 separate safes).
The Founder Institute - the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. To date, FI has helped launch over 7,000 companies across 200+ cities and six continents.
Techstars - considered to be the most active seed stage investor in the world, provides an annual accelerator program. Each year, they choose over 500 early-stage companies globally to join one of their 3-month, mentorship-driven accelerators, investing $120K and providing hands-on mentorship and access to the Techstars network for life.
UCLA Anderson - Since 2018, the Venture Accelerator at UCLA Anderson’s Price Center has supported early-stage startups through three industry-agnostic programs per year along with year-round advising. These include the six-month, immersive Accelerate program; a two-month summer incubator called Activate for idea- and prototype-stage companies; and Showcase, a two-month program culminating in a demo day attended by investors, entrepreneurs, alumni, faculty, staff and media representatives.
Courses, Cohorts, & Mentorship
Several stellar organizations offer courses, co-horts, and fellowship programs to female founders. Although these often require payment to participate, its best to think of this an an investment in your startup. Money well spent.
Founder Launch Lab from Catherine McCord, Founder of Weelicious and One Potato is now offering a detailed 9-month program designed specifically for women entrepreneurs covering the entire journey of scaling a business from A to Z.
Female Founder Collective’s The 10th House is an exclusive network for female entrepreneurs, offering
bi-monthly cohorts focused on specific industries and providing relevant resources from investor sourcing tools, to tech experts, to scaling frameworks from those who have been there and done it before.NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center has empowered over 100,000 global entrepreneurs by providing free resources, expert guidance, top-tier talent, and mentorship, including many impact-driven founders who have collectively raised hundreds of millions in external capital. Sign up for their Milestone Circles, a 12-week program to accelerate business growth or Milestone Makers, a 12 week cohort where impact entrepreneurs to receive individualized business mentoring, executive coaching, customized training, and resources all at no cost. They also offer very informative online Classes for entrepreneurs.
Stella Labs- Stella is a social enterprise that supports the female entrepreneurial journey at every stage by providing rigorous action-based business training, high-touch mentorship, curated consulting services, and access to capital for female founders. Stella programs include Community, Labs, Angels, and their signature event Women’s Venture Summit. Stella programs are open to all while ensuring a supportive environment for those who identify as women.
Guild Academy, Dare to Launch - Join this program to take action together with a community of diverse entrepreneurs. Validate your idea and get a crash course in all things entrepreneurship to launch and fund your business. Present to investors and startup leaders and get selected for a trip to Silicon Valley.
Communities & Fellowship Programs
Cartier Women’s Fellowship Program - The fellowship program is the human capital support provided to our fellows. It aims to equip our fellows with the necessary skills to grow their business and to build their leadership capacity by drawing upon the experience and expertise of academics, practitioners, industry experts, and entrepreneurs and by enabling peer learning.
Create & Cultivate - the largest community for women. They create connections through one-of-a-kind experiences that create community and cultivate opportunity for every women to reach their highest potential. They host an annual Seven Figure Founder Retreat for founders who have made it to the top and are still growing.
Luminary - Luminary is a first-of-its-kind, gender inclusive, global professional education and networking platform created to address the systemic challenges impacting women and our allies across all industries and sectors. Their mission is to uplift, upskill, and propel our community forward through all phases of their professional journeys. Members have access to robust programming and events, an expansive network, curated content, activations around the country, in addition to our coworking space in NYC and an expansive partner network of coworking spaces across the US and abroad.
Project Female Founder is a modern approach to accelerating female founders in their success through a holistic program of investor readiness training + global ecosystem of support in community with UBS Client Advisors to build relationships and networks. This is an 8-week Investor Readiness Accelerator program with Fortuna Funding and a year-long activation in the Coralus (formerly SheEO) global community (founded by Vicki Saunders, also a UBS Global Visionary). The program will be delivered online and include global and regional components. You must apply via a UBS advisor.
Springboard Enterprises - is a trusted global network of entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors accelerating the success of accomplished, entrepreneurial women leading technology and life sciences companies.
The Fourth Effect - as a member of The Fourth Effect you have access to online education, community, pitch competitions, advisory and board development.
Tory Burch Fellows - each year the Tory Burch Foundation selects 50 women entrepreneurs for a yearlong program designed to grow their businesses through workshops, coaching sessions, network-building, and financial resources. The program ends with a company presentation and trip to New York City. Applications start in September.
WE aspires to help, guide and inspire young women to fulfill their entrepreneurial potential by providing skills & knowledge, exposure to role models, and through creating a supportive community. WE offers exclusive entrepreneurship programs, workshops, lectures, networking events, mentoring and like-minded community.
Funding Your Startup
The initial funding for your start-up can come from a myriad of sources. Many people start with a Friends & Family round or self-fund (bootstrap) their start-up. There are also grants, fellowships, and loans available to you as well.
Grants, Loans & Financing
Hello Alice - From a grant to jazz up your online storefront to a loan to help you stock up on inventory, the Small Business Funding Center connects you with the capital you need to launch and grow your small business. The juggle is real for hard-working entrepreneurs like you, so you can bank on easy applications and personalized recommendations here.
iFundWomen - the world’s largest funding marketplace for women-owned businesses. iFundWomen offers grants, loans, and crowdfunding to help you with capital.
SoGal Foundation, along with its partners, offer several cash grants that range from $5,000 to $10,000 to Black women and nonbinary entrepreneurs. To qualify, you must have a legally registered business, identify as a Black woman or Black nonbinary person and plan to seek investor funding to scale.
NOW Account - offers a better alternative funding solution for your existing business. Upload invoices and convert receivables into cash. Sign up now and mention VENTURE:F in the “how you heard about us” field.
NOTE: This is an abbreviated list of funding resources. To see the full list go to Venture:F Guide to Grants & Funding which is our complete overview of funding resources for women, updated on a quarterly basis.
Additional Crowdfunding Platforms
Fundable - searchable platform of opportunities.
Indiegogo - millions of people around the world visit Indiegogo to find clever and unconventional things that solve everyday problems large and small.
Kickstarter - exists to help bring creative projects to life. A home for film, music, art, theater, games, comics, design, photography, and more.
StartEngine - allows startups and investors to find their perfect fit.
Wefunder - Get equity and front row seats to the startups and small businesses you love—for as little as $100.
Angel Investors
Once you’re ready to raise an initial round, have your pitch deck ready and have practiced your pitch to perfection, you can start raising funds from angel investors. Here are some angel groups you can pitch.
37 Angels - they invest in 10 high potential start-ups annually. Apply to pitch.
Angel Capital Association - search for angel funds in their directory
Cherub - join the community to share your fundraise with angel investors.
Goldenseeds - one of the oldest and largest women angel networks. Apply to pitch.
The Helm - pitch your project to be considered for the fund portfolio or angel network. Apply online.
The Council - invests in founders who are reshaping outdated industries. Apply online.
Play Money enables everyday Angels to build diversified startup portfolios alongside inspiring emerging fund managers & elite angel groups without making investing a full-time job and at just about any budget. Reach out.
Portfolia - invests in 10 companies per fun. They are currently investing in aging & longevity and femtech. Apply online.
She's Independent - mission-driven angel group that cares about addressing the power gaps and lack of gender representation that exists today within the investing and startup ecosystems. Introduce yourself.
Capital Advisory
There are also women who help raise funds for women. Check out these capital / fundraising advisors.
Oceanhill Advisors - Jessica Copenhaver is Passionate about building impactful, mutually beneficial relationships and the power of capital markets to drive progress. Connecting thoughtful allocators with unique, best-in-class, access-constrained fund managers and extraordinary founders. Advising and Supporting GPs and founders looking to access flexible, global sources of capital in a challenging market.
Sidelines VC - Sidelines is an investment platform that powers connections between today's new investor class and tomorrow's billion dollar enterprises. Sidelines connects enterprising companies, led by underrepresented founders, to high-net-worth individuals and executive advisors, to build relationships, access capital, and increase the odds of building world-changing solutions.
Venture Capital
Many venture capitalists start investing at seed stage. Choosing the right investor who will not only invest in your company but partner with you to guide you and help you grow is key. While women are still fighting an uphill battle when it comes to venture capital, the good news is that more and more VC’s view female-founded companies as solid investment ops (see the research that supports this and be sure to include it in your conversations with investors). Additionally more women are launching or taking the helm at venture funds.
One word of advice - do not take a “spray and play” approach to pitching funds. Do you research. Understand the funds’ thesis and familiarize yourself with their portfolio. If they already invested in a company similar to yours they will likely pass on investing, unless your company provides a unique solution that complements their other portfolio company. And ask for an introduction where possible.
NOTE: To find the right VC’s for your company you can search our Venture:F Directory of Angel & Venture Funds featuring women who invest in women. You can sort the list by category to find women VC’s who invest in your market segment.
Legal Forms and Agreements
When it’s early days, paying an attorney to create your forms isn’t always an option. The accelerators know this and have solved this problem for you!
Raising a round using a SAFE - here’s all the forms you need thanks to Y combinator
Working with an advisor? Here’s a form to formalize your working agreement thanks to the Founders Institute
Providing equity to your service providers? Here’s a form to formalize that agreement thanks to Founder’s Institute
Now that you’ve learned the basics, remember, this Guide will be here for your reference anytime. We update guides periodically as new information becomes available.
