Women in Venture Report from Female Funders & Hockeystick

Female Funders releases “Women in Venture,” Canada’s most comprehensive report on women in VC and angel investing

Female Funders also announces inaugural cohort of investor accelerator program

TORONTO, ON, July 11, 2018

Today Female Funders and Hockeystick released “Women in Venture,” Canada’s most comprehensive look at women in venture capital and angel investing. The report, which was produced in partnership with and National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), found that just 14 percent of all partners at Canadian venture firms are women. As such, most VC dollars are controlled by investment teams with no women in senior roles—84 percent of dollars committed to the country’s top funds are controlled by teams with no women general partners (GPs).

“While Canada is leading the conversation about women in entrepreneurship, we also need to consider who’s on the other side of the table,” said Lauren Robinson, Executive Director of Female Funders and COO at Highline BETA. “Deal flow often comes from pre-existing networks, which explains why when investment teams include women, they are more likely to invest in female entrepreneurs. Until we have women on both sides of the table—among both entrepreneurs and investors—we won't see real change.”

In addition to traditional venture capital funds, angel groups also play a critical role in Canadian startup financing. In 2017, these groups of accredited investors made 505 angel investments, totalling $162.6 million. But despite the growing number of women accredited investors—in the last decade, the total number of women earning at least $250,000 jumped by 49 percent, which is three times the 16 percent increase in men seen in the same time period—Female Funders found that on average, women make up less than 15 percent of angel groups’ membership.

The report accompanies an announcement from Female Funders that it is kicking off its Summer 2018 Angel Academy cohort. Participants will complete an eight-week blended learning program, and then receive ongoing mentorship and support to ultimately make their first angel investment. Twelve firms—including iNovia Capital, OMERS Ventures, ScaleUp Ventures, and Vanedge Capital—will participate as 2018-2019 investor partners, hosting virtual office hours and providing targeted mentorship to participants as they learn to build deal flow and evaluate investment opportunities.

“Being a woman in tech is hard. Being a female entrepreneur is hard. Luckily, we're starting to talk about it as a community and make changes for the better. But we talk less about the challenges of being a female investor,” said Elizabeth Caley, Chief of Staff at Meta. “I'm excited to join the next cohort of the Female Funders program because clearly, diversity is a strength. I’m proud to join and learn from a community dedicated to strengthening tech ecosystems around the world.”

The “Women in Venture” report was created to establish a baseline look at women in venture capital today by analyzing public data on VC firm websites, and on other platforms including LinkedIn, Crunchbase, and Hockeystick. It looked at 33 Venture Capital firms that either made investments in 2017 or announced the close of a fund in the last 12 months, and the self-reported makeup of 22 angel groups in 2017.

View the report in its entirety here.

To learn more about Female Funders, visit femalefunders.com. To learn more about Highline BETA, visit highlinebeta.com.

Social media links: Twitter: twitter.com/femalefunders Facebook: facebook.com/femalefunders Instagram: instagram.com/femalefunders/

About Highline BETA Highline BETA is a startup co-creation and new venture development company. By leveraging the operating model of startups, the best practices of the country’s premier accelerators, and the strategic lens of VCs, Highline BETA works closely with enterprises to launch market-leading ventures. Highline BETA has partnered with leading enterprises, including Royal Bank of Canada, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Morneau Shepell to build the future of their industries. They do this in three ways: Corporate programs—Highline BETA programs help innovation teams speed paths to partnership, investment, or launch; New venture development—Highline BETA partners with enterprises to launch new ventures; Funding—Highline BETA provides seed and pre-seed funding to co-created companies and to startups that are tackling corporate challenges.

About Female Funders Female Funders provides corporate and technology executives with the edge they need to become great angel investors. Through their blended education programs, curated investment opportunities, and global community, Female Funders is creating the angel investors of tomorrow.

For additional information, contact: Jamie Gillingham Eighty-Eight Account Manager jamie@eightyeightagency.com 1 416 944 2722