Angel investing has long been a boys club. Women today make up only 7.5% of the country’s 225,000 angels — individual investors who take equity stakes in startups — according to professor Jeffrey Sohl, director of the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire.The good news, says Sohl, is that women angels — who control a significant chunk of the $22 billion invested by angels each year — are more likely to bet on other women. And the ranks of female angels are likely to grow.
Women angels across the country are increasingly launching investment groups to educate wealthy women on the fine points of dealmaking. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City (kauffman.org) offers seminars called the Power of Angel Investing to help such women link up with entrepreneurs.
Dorez on March 21st, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Thanks for these encouraging statistics about women angel investors. I have often wondered if there ARE any women who aren’t afraid to invest in women-owned businesses. When I was young (I’m in my 50’s) there weren’t very many wealthy women and few female business owners. But, that’s begun to change and I’m glad about it.
My daughter started her fashion business with the help of family and friends. But it wasn’t enough to really launch the company. I had formed a long-distance friendship with an online friend. She noticed how hard I was working to help my daughter and she decided to take a chance on us. She didn’t have cash, but she used her good credit to cover a lot of our expenses. I was surprised and overwhelmed that someone I’d never even met in person would have that kind of faith in us. My daughter and I went to all kinds of business folks (including banks, the SBA etc) and no one was willing to help. Why is that????
At any rate… now we’ve turned my daughter’s company into a family business and we’re starting to get some publicity too. It’s a roller-coaster ride, but we’re learning a lot and having fun. More importantly, we’re breaking the cycle of poverty that’s plagued our family for years. Thanks to a perfect stranger… our own ‘angel’ investor. One thing that has come out of this experience is that my daughter has decided to start some kind of organization (when she’s successful) to help other women business owners. She doesn’t want anymore women to go through what she’s been through.