For the technology industry to continue to evolve and grow, there needs to be equal access to venture funding for women-led and women-founded startups.

According to data from Pitchbook, all-women teams in the U.S. received just $1.9 billion of the $85 billion total invested by venture capitalists last year, which is equal to about 2.2 percent of the total pot. Additionally, the average deal size for a woman-led company in 2017 was just over $5 million. For a male-led company, that number is a little less than $12 million.

At the same time, McKinsey observed that companies with racial, ethnic and gender diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above national industry medians. That’s huge. So, when men invest in mostly male-led companies, they are actually leaving money on the table, meaning that investors do not see as much of a return of their investments as they could.

At CTA we firmly hold that we are in a race for talent. It is imperative that we take full advantage of the diverse talent the U.S. has to offer to compete and the most successful and innovative companies will be those led by diverse teams.

It’s as critical that we don’t miss out on the innovation the next unicorn startup has to offer because they lacked investment. Women and diverse founders do not attract the same level of venture funding as other founders. That’s why CTA is excited to announce we will invest up to $10 million into venture firms and funds focused on funding underrepresented founders, women-led startups, and diverse leadership teams.

Read more.

Tweet

Contact me