How Angel Investing Syndicates Could Unlock FemTech's Potential
Why I believe angel investing syndicates could accelerate funding for early stage FemTech start ups.
Here’s my blog on a high level view of angel investing through a syndicate for context.
Investing landscape
Here’s a simplified view** of how investing generally looks like for most startups.
** this diagram highlights general trends but does not capture all funding pathways at every stage
Things to note in the model above:
The big $$$ is on the VC side, where startups typically have traction (e.g., customer retention, validation of the market, showcase customer value).
Most decision-makers in the VC world are men, while ~47% of angel investors in the U.S. are women (🔗Inc article).
TLDR: funding is difficult for FemTech start ups:
“FemTech industry accounts for only 1.4% of capital invested in health care.” 🔗 FemTech Industry 2021 Report
“Almost 90% of investment decision-makers are male.” 🔗 FemTech Industry 2021 Report
Most VCs focus on companies with proven growth, leaving many FemTech startups struggling to secure funding early on.
Why angel investing matters for FemTech startups
While there’s plenty to say about why FemTech gets a minority of VC funding (a topic for another blog post), I want to focus on the top of the funnel: funding for pre-seed startups.
🌶 If we had to bet on who’s most likely to fund FemTech startups—people who understand the impact, empathize with the user experience, and benefit from these innovations — it’s folks who identify as women. The good news? Nearly half of U.S. angel investors are women. The question is: how do we get more women to invest in FemTech?
Barriers for women becoming angel investors
I haven’t done an official poll, but here are some blockers I believe discourage women from angel investing:
Being an accredited investor
Lack of knowledge about investing
Access to deal flow (finding startups raising funds)
Risks of investing
High minimum check size (minimum amounts required to invest in each deal is too high)
These challenges are significant hurdles, but aren’t unique to women. They’re hurdles for many looking to become angel investors. Fortunately, many of these issues are addressed through angel investing syndicates (🔗Read my blog on angel investing syndicates.)
Why FemTech needs angel investing syndicates
Angel investing syndicates democratize access to investing by:
Lowering check sizes so investors don’t need substantial wealth to participate.
Providing resources and education to accelerate learning for those new to investing.
Sourcing deals so individual investors don’t have to navigate the process alone.
So, what if we applied this model specifically to FemTech?
🌶 I believe syndicates focused on FemTech could unlock unrealized investment $$ potential for early-stage startups. There are plenty of assumptions to unpack, and I’d love to hear what I’m missing in this hypothesis.
Building a women-led investing ecosystem
Beyond funding, I’m excited about the idea of more women becoming angel investors. It’s not just about the money—it’s about:
Learning the landscape of problems, solutions, and challenges in FemTech.
Gaining insights into what makes a successful company in this space.
Building a network with founders and other angels.
Developing strategies for identifying startups that can grow from pre-seed to unicorns.
Understanding the pain points founders face and the competitive landscape.
Discovering new job opportunities.
Investing gives women skin in the game and deep exposure to this field.
By creating a robust engine for angel investors in FemTech, we can expand the top of the funnel and help trickle funding down to VC and corporate levels.
Current angel investing syndicates for FemTech sector
To be honest, I haven’t found many angel investing syndicates specifically for FemTech. If they exist and I’ve missed them, please share! Or maybe syndicates generally avoid focusing on a specific vertical to help diversify — and if that’s the case, I’d love to learn what’s stopping VC’s in healthcare or women’s health to have a specific FemTech syndicate?
If this gap can be addressed, who in the U.S. (especially in the Bay Area) can I convince to start a FemTech-focused syndicate? Connect me with them!