Business strategy

Venture capital is not the answer for women founders – they need funding that fits

- September 17, 2025 4 MIN READ

For too long venture capital has dominated the conversation around women and funding. Every headline, every pitch competition, every “success story” seems to point to VC as the only path to scale. And yet, VC is not only a poor fit for most women-owned businesses, it has warped the collective understanding of what finance should… Read more »

Venture Capital

Beyond the funding funnel: Rethinking women, VC and the data shaping debate

- September 10, 2025 4 MIN READ

Over the past week, conversations about women founders and venture capital in Australia have been amplified by Blackbird’s latest portfolio data, reported by Startup Daily’s Simon Thomsen, alongside Elaine Stead’s thoughtful piece, The myth of the funnel. Both point to something important: The numbers we track matter, but the story they tell depends on how… Read more »

Lighter Capital CEO Melissa Widner
Funding

Why subjectivity could be the issue when it comes to VCs backing female founders

- June 21, 2024 < 1 MIN READ

The media depicts a depressing state, but is this painting an accurate picture? The 60 funds we surveyed (please let us know if we missed yours) 1835i, Black Sheep Capital, Folklore Ventures, Macdoch Ventures, Shearwater Capital, Tenacious Ventures, Airtree, Brandon Capital, Galileo Ventures, Main Sequence, Side Stage Ventures, Giant Leap, Marbruck Investments, Significant Early Venture… Read more »