Top 10 Leading Business Angels for Women Entrepreneurs

Current research shows that the rate of growth in the number of women starting businesses is six times the rate for men. This means more and more business opportunities are opening up for women entrepreneurs.

If you’re a woman entrepreneur looking to get your business off the ground, there are plenty of support networks out there that can help. From venture capital firms to government grants and incubators, there’s a growing ecosystem for women entrepreneurs. So where do you go?

That’s where the business angels come in. These are individuals who have invested their own money into promising startups and want to see them flourish. They are looking for equity in your company in return for their support, plus they’re helping with strategic advice and access to networks that can help you accelerate your growth.

The demand for female business angels is growing significantly, which is why it’s important to keep track of who’s who in this niche field.

This article introduces you to ten leading business angels who invest their own money in promising women-led startups so they have the potential to propel their success and grow in future.

1. Golden Seeds

Golden Seeds is a global network of investors who provide strategic and financial support to women entrepreneurs. Founded in 2004, the goal of Golden Seeds is to increase the number of female-led businesses by connecting high-growth, early-stage female entrepreneurs with like-minded investors.

The network currently has over 340 members across 50 countries, with over 200 investors in the network. As of mid-2017, the network has helped more than 100 female-led businesses raise more than $70 million in funding.

Golden Seeds has an active community of over six million people who engage with the network’s members and entrepreneurs on social media channels. Golden Seeds focuses on working with female-led startups to help them raise funding for their business.

The network aims to connect women-led companies with investors who are looking for female-specific investments. The network is currently expanding its network to include entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities.

2. Pipeline Angels

Founded in April 2011, Pipeline Angels is a private business angels group of experienced angel investors who provide financial, strategic and mentorship support to women entrepreneurs and their startups.

The organization is based in San Francisco and New York City and currently has 14 members who invest in and advise an array of early-stage companies across a variety of industries. Each Pipeline Angel has the flexibility to invest in various companies, which helps them better match their investment focus.

Pipeline Angels invest their own money, but also provide a strong network and support structure for the entrepreneurs they invest in. The organization offers tailored access to its members’ networks, as well as access to experts in areas such as product strategy and marketing, legal and financial planning.

They are currently accepting applications for their signature training for new investors and their signature pitch summit for entrepreneurs seeking funding.

3. Built By Girls Ventures

Built By Girls (BBG) Ventures is a global network of investment professionals and business angels who provide access and support to women entrepreneurs. The organization was founded in 2015 with a focus on expanding the number of female-led businesses raising capital.

It currently has over 100 members across 17 countries, with over $20 million committed in funding for female-led businesses. Investors in the network are predominantly female, with the majority between the ages of 35 and 55.

They come from a variety of backgrounds, including business, law, media, investing and philanthropy. Members are encouraged to invest in a wide range of companies and industries, including consumer, enterprise and services.

Last year, according to this article by Forbes, BBG Ventures closed $50 million early stage fund for women founders.

4. Belle Capital USA

Belle Capital USA is an early stage angel fund that has raised over $400 million for women-led businesses. It was launched in 2015 by the French investment firm Belle Investissement. The investment firm has raised over $650 million in financing for female entrepreneurs across the world.

As of mid-2017, Belle Capital has invested in more than 100 companies, which include health and wellness, home improvement, education, consumer products, beauty and food and beverages.

Majority of companies in the portfolio are privately held and have less than $40 million in revenue but over $1 million in revenues, capable of reaching $20 million or more within 3 to 5 years.

They invest $100,000 to $1.5 million in tranches depending on achievement of milestones in the previous rounds. They invest up to 25% of their committed capital in follow-on investments.

5. Springboard Enterprises

Springboard is aware that we all benefit when one woman succeeds. Springboard is a reputable global network of business angels, business owners, financiers, and consultants that helps talented, entrepreneur women who are running technology and life sciences enterprises succeed.

The organization has invested in more than 900 companies and successfully had 27 IPOs for startups with more than $37 billions in value creation mainly in women-led companies across a range of industries, including consumer, health and wellness, consumer technology, business-to-business (B2B) and clean energy.

They are solely committed to giving women-owned businesses an equitable chance at finance, resources, and the network they need to advance their enterprises.

6. 37 Angels

37 Angels is a global business angels network that focuses on women entrepreneurs. The organization was founded in 2015 in order to help increase the number of women-led companies in the market and provide support to these businesses.

Each year, they invest in 10 high potential firms with male and female founders, chosen from the 2500 they review annually. They have a strong track record as eight were bought, and 40% of their portfolio has raised their next round.

It currently has over 300 members across 50 countries, with $800 million in funding committed to its portfolio. Key characteristics of members include the fact that most have graduated from top business schools, hold advanced degrees and have a minimum of seven years of work experience.

The network also looks for leadership experience in their professional lives.

You can submit a proposal to their network using this link.

7. 500 Women

500 Women is a global business angels network that focuses on women entrepreneurs.

500 Women obtains money for female founders thanks to @500Startups. They’ve already made investments in over 100 businesses created by women, including TaskRabbit and SlideShare.

As of mid-2017, the network has made over 100 investments in companies that serve the female demographic, including healthcare and beauty products. Majority of the companies in the network have less than $10 million in revenue and are privately held.

They intend to give $1 million to 10 businesses with female founders over the course of the following 12 months. The business must have at least one female founder who owns at least 10% of the company in order to qualify for 500 Women.

8. Global Invest Her

Global Invest Her is a global business angels platform that helps women entrepreneurs access funding and connects them with growth-oriented investors. Their mission is “Get 1 million Women Entrepreneurs Funded by 2030.”

Since 2016, they’ve collaborated with companies like AXA, EY, Dell, Enterprise Ireland, and ecosystem partners to help female founders, encourage more investors to invest in them, and reach out to them.

They now concentrate on both B2B and B2C, assisting additional stakeholders in the funding ecosystem (investors, corporations, accelerators, governmental organizations, and networks for women entrepreneurs) to scale their efforts in support of more female founders receiving finance globally.

9. Jump Fund

JUMP Fund is a global business angels network fund focused on women entrepreneurs. When they first started in 2013, we had two key objectives: to encourage women to become angel investors and to give Southeast-based female entrepreneurs access to funding.

Since then, they have raised two funds, made investments in over 30 women-owned businesses, exited a number of those businesses successfully, and engaged the capital of over 100 women (plus a few good men). High-growth, scalable, women-led businesses in the Southeast of the United States make up their portfolio.

The network connects female entrepreneurs with funding and investors, while also providing mentorship and access to a database of investors. The JUMP Fund also aims to empower women through education and advocacy efforts.

They fund female-led businesses with their main offices in the Southeast region of the United States, more specifically in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia.

10. Broadway Angels

Broadway Angels is an angel investing group made up entirely of successful female company executives and investors. They all have years of expertise managing and investing in the world’s top technology firms.

All of them are currently or have previously served as Senior Executives or General Partners at prestigious consumer and technology companies.

They mostly have been the lone female senior executive or partner in their firm and developed fantastic professional lives and portfolios, as well as incredible connections with business owners and executives.

Final words

Women are making tremendous headway in the business world, but they still hold less than 10% of executive roles in Fortune 500 companies. There is still a lot of work to be done, and one way to get the ball rolling is to get involved in angel investing.

The number of business angels that focus on women entrepreneurs are rapidly growing in the US and the world and this blog post has aimed to provide the top 10 leading angel investors’ networks actively investing on women entrepreneurs.