There is a growing conversation about gender diversity and women’s voices in venture capital and fundraising. One person who emphasizes the importance of supporting female founders is Nina Wass, founder of VC firm Fund F.
But how can we move beyond tokenism, what strength does diversity bring, and what can we do to address the current challenges in fundraising for all founders?
To find out more, we spoke to Nina Wöss this time at Final Fantasy Virtual Arena.
Birth of Fund F
First, let’s take a closer look at Nina’s professional background. How she became interested in early stage investing and her previous experience in venture capital. It was here, of course, that she learned more about the ongoing gender disparity in technology and venture capital. She co-founded Female Founders, a community focused on empowering women entrepreneurs, and later founded Fund F, a venture capital firm founded two years ago to support women-led startups. Co-founded.
Benefits and challenges of gender diverse teams
Gender diversity is more than just checking a box, there are strategic benefits to increasing gender diversity within founding teams. Wass explains that the products startups design need to reflect the diverse users they serve, and it’s important to have diverse voices represented within the technology team. Second, she emphasizes that research consistently shows that diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams when it comes to creativity and business performance. For her, gender diversity is not only a moral issue, but also makes economic sense.
Ali Patterson also raises a complaint shared by many. It’s tokenism in the industry, where women and minority speakers are often only invited to speak about diversity rather than their actual expertise. Nina shares her frustration, noting that despite her extensive experience in venture capital, she is often only asked to serve on diversity committees. She advocates for a more inclusive space that incorporates diversity into the fabric of discussion, rather than token gestures.
But raising capital is more difficult than ever, and funding cycles are often lengthy, especially for first-time founders. Female founders face additional challenges because many are first-time. Despite the challenges, she believes talented founders can always raise money. This is where Fund F plays an active role, often acting as a lead investor and helping startups put together funding rounds.
Impact of winter fundraising
We also take a closer look at what’s been happening recently in the field of fundraising. The recent “funding winter” has changed the startup landscape, leading many founders to adopt a more revenue-first approach. Nina is cautiously optimistic that the lessons learned during tough times will stick. She looks back at past deals where profitability was often overlooked, such as electric scooters and food delivery startups, and hopes to work even harder in the future. However, she points out that it is still easier for serial entrepreneurs to raise capital based on reputation alone, a luxury that most first-time founders do not have.
To answer some of these challenges, Fund F takes a generalist approach to investing, but with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthtech and fintech. Financial inclusion is a major concern for Fund F, particularly regarding how women engage with the financial system, including saving, investing, and building personal wealth. Although there are no contracts in this area yet, Nina is optimistic about the opportunities it presents.
Impact of Fund F
Of course, this is not their only focus. When asked what Fund F looks for in a founder, Nina emphasized resilience, charisma, and strong communication skills. She also values empathy and the ability to articulate the problem the startup is trying to solve. Nina believes that a founding team’s ability to communicate its vision to investors, employees, and customers is critical to success.
Nina ended by talking about the long-term impact that Fund F hopes to achieve. She envisions a future where women-led startups achieve unicorn status, creating a virtuous cycle of wealth for founders and employees who then reinvest in new startups. For Fund F, diversity extends beyond the founding team to the company’s board composition and capitalization table. Our goal is to create lasting change in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting diverse teams that can inspire future generations.
This is a very insightful interview, so be sure to check out the full video above. Also, check out more great virtual arena interviews on our website.
