💸 Mala Gaonkar Launches the Largest Woman-led Hedge Fund in the Industry’s History
FemWealth Issue #93
Happy 2023, FemWealth Friends!
Welcome to this year’s first edition, jam-packed with the latest and greatest in women-led startups, VC, finance, and women’s health.
ICYMI 💌
In the Spotlight 💸
Mala Gaonkar, an Indian American businesswoman and portfolio manager, launched SurgoCap Partners after a multidecade career at Lone Pine. The firm started trading this week with $1.8 billion under management — the largest debut of a woman-led hedge fund in the industry’s history.
It aims to bet on how tech enhances productivity in other sectors such as financials, industrials, health care, and enterprise data.
Gaonkar, who signed the Giving Pledge to commit the majority of her wealth to philanthropy, is saving $100 million of capacity for smaller endowments, foundations, and nonprofits that help underserved communities or address climate change.
Read more: Hedge Fund Debuts in Biggest Launch Led by a Woman (Bloomberg)
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: 💸 Perceive Biotherapeutics Attracts $78M Series B Financing to Advance Diversified Pipeline - The biotech company, led by K. Angela Macfarlane (CEO) and Anne Rubin (President), is pioneering novel technologies and therapeutics in ophthalmology.
💸 Doorstead closes on $21.5M to make sure you always have a tenant for your rental property - Co-founded by Jennifer Bronzo (COO), Doorstead is a property management startup that offers “guaranteed” rental payments to homeowners. It has raised $21.5 million in a Series B round of funding.
💸 Glowbar closes on $10 million of growth capital - Founded and led by Rachel Liverman, Glowbar is a New York-based skincare brand providing affordable, custom, clinical-grade facials. The brand currently owns and operates 6 studios in New York and Connecticut, with plans to double its studio count by the end of 2023.
💸 France-based Sonio raises €10M from EIC Accelerator for AI-powered prenatal screening software - Cecile Brosset is Sonio’s co-founder and CEO.
💸 Carallel raises $8.2M to expand caregiver support services - Led by Shara Cohen, the Chicago-based startup offers digital health and support tools for family caregivers.
“The healthcare industry relies on an uncompensated, often invisible workforce of family caregivers. Carallel addresses this challenge through a unique, proven care model that combines frictionless access to compassionate support and expert guidance with purpose-driven technology to improve both the well-being of caregivers and those in their care.” - Shara Cohen
💸 Herself Health Raises $7M in Funding and Opens Its First Clinic to Transform Advanced Primary Care for Women - Co-founded and led by Kristen Helton (previously, she co-founded the integrated biosensor company Profusa and led Amazon Care), Herself Health is a US-based healthtech company designed to deliver advanced primary care to women over 65. Mindy Grossman, previously President and CEO of WW (formerly Weight Watchers) and current partner at the Consello Group, is joining the company’s board.
“With the launch of Herself Health, we are breaking the mold of one-size-fits-most healthcare, which traditionally falls short of providing the best care for women of this generation. Our innovative and patient-obsessed care experience empowers women to keep growing bolder in mind, body, and spirit at any age.” - Kristen Helton
💸 Multisig Wallet Solution Developer MSafe Raises $5M in Seed Round to Offer Enhanced Security for Web3 Financial Services - Wendy Fu, a former Meta exec and founding member of Novi wallet, is MSafe’s founder and CEO. The company developed a multi-signature wallet solution in the Aptos / Move ecosystem. It has raised a $5 million seed round led by Jump Crypto, with participation from Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Superscrypt, Redpoint Ventures, SV Angel, Shima Capital, Spartan Group, and more.
💸 LunaJoy Raises $2.4M in Seed Funding for Its Virtual Clinic Focused on Women’s Mental Health - Co-founded by psychiatrists Sipra Laddha and Shama Rathi, after struggling with postpartum depression, the US-based mental health startup focuses on the needs of women during different life stages, including puberty, pregnancy, and menopause.
💸 Singapore-based Alterpacks turns food waste into food containers - The Singapore-based startup, co-founded and led by Karen Cheah, turns food waste into takeout boxes and other containers. It raised $1 million in a pre-seed round led by Plug & Play APAC and Seed Capital, joined by Earth Venture Capital and angel investor Alice Foo.
VC: 💸 Stella McCartney and LVMH back $200mn climate-linked venture capital fund (FT $) - Led by Sophie Bakalar, Collab SOS’ new $200M VC fund invests in early-stage startups working on sustainable materials, energy generation, and supply chain initiatives. British fashion designer Stella McCartney is a founding investor.
💸 Mendoza Ventures announces a close on its $100m early growth FinTech fund - Senofer Mendoza is a co-founder and GP of the Boston firm focused on FinTech, AI, and Cybersecurity. The firm will back early growth-stage startups with diverse teams.
💸 Governor Hochul Announces Launch of $30 Million Pre-seed and Seed Matching Fund Program - The Governor of New York announced the launch of a $30M Pre-Seed and Seed Matching Fund Program offering early-stage start-ups $50,000 to $250,000 in growth support matched with funds from private sector investors.
💸 IMPAQTO Capital announces first close of $2MM fund to invest in early-stage impact startups in the Andean Region - The fund will invest in innovative and scalable companies generating positive impact in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Chile using revenue-based financing instruments that provide an alternative to traditional equity and debt financing. The firm’s debut fund applies a gender lens to promote equality in all phases of the investment process. Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter is a General Partner of IMPAQTO Capital.
“IMPAQTO Capital Fund I is unique in the region due to its focus on closing the ‘missing middle’ gap in access to capital for impact startups, providing alternative investment structures and activating local investors in order to strengthen the impact investing ecosystem in the region.” - Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter, General Partner of IMPAQTO Capital.
💸 Borski Fund receives €5 million investment from Visa Foundation - Founded by Simone Brummelhuis and Laura Rooseboom, Amsterdam-based Borski Fund aims to promote inclusive innovation, inclusive economic growth, and the empowerment of female leadership. With a current fund size of €40 million, Borski Fund’s portfolio includes digital fashion house The Fabricant, hormone-based mini lab for women biotech startup Inne, and p2p marketplace The Next Closet.
“Research shows that diverse teams create an environment for inclusive innovation and no tunnel-vision in decision-making and business policy. Before this vision, we must facilitate a feminisation of the workplace and of positions of leadership. From the board of directors of large multinationals to bank managers granting access to credit, and to female VCs, women are needed to project equality and diversity in access to power.” - Simone Brummelhuis
🙌 Meet 23 women who made partner in 2022 in Europe's male-dominated VC ecosystem where men outnumber women by 6 to 1 (BI $) - Features Laura Connell and Terese Hougaard of Atomico, Deepali Nangia, Olga Shikhantsova, and Andrea Zitna of Speedinvest, and Yvonne Bajela and Ash Arora of LocalGlobe, a.o.
Key insight: In Europe, women hold only 13.5% of GP positions.
Business & Tech: 👏 Intelligent Foods Acquires Gobble In A Nine-Figure Deal Naming Ooshma Garg CEO - Ooshma Garg, the founder of Gobble, became the CEO of all food brands at Intelligent Foods.
👗 Katrina Lake is back as interim CEO of struggling Stitch Fix, 17 months after stepping down - Katrina Lake, the founder of the publically-listed subscription-based online personal shopping service, returns to her role as CEO in an effort to save the struggling company.
🎧 Pleo CTO Meri Williams on Elon Musk, unsustainable hiring and diversity in tech - Features Meri Williams, a veteran technologist and the new CTO of Pleo.
Women’s & Family Health: 👀 Female Founders Are Energizing Investment In Women’s Healthcare: Expect More In 2023
“With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, expect women to be even more energized to protect and improve women's health. Whether founders or investors, women recognize the negative impact on healthcare outcomes that the decision will generate.” - Geri Stengel
👶 Jeni Mayorskaya Creates Stork Club To Help People Control Their Reproductive Lives - Features Jeni Mayorskaya, Founder and CEO of the San Francisco, California-based Stork Club, a maternity care platform that provides insurance coverage and options to people who want to have children.
👱♀️ Meet The Entrepreneur Helping Women In Chemo Keep Their Hair - Features Kate Dilligan, founder of Cooler Heads, which developed the Amma cap, a portable scalp-cooling device preventing hair loss during chemotherapy.
Startup Resources 👩🏽💻
🤑 How to Build A Winning Paid Membership Program - By Connie Chan, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz
🫶 How to build community by Camille Rickets, formerly of NotionHQ and First Round
🗣️ How to pitch your story to get coverage without a PR agency by Yin Wu, founder of cap table platform Pulley
Career Opportunities ✨
Vising Analyst at Seedcamp, a London-based, early-stage VC firm
Communications Manager at Foundersland, a Berlin-based non-profit organization and the fastest-growing community of women of colour founders across Europe
Social & Content Lead at The Lowdown, a London-based women’s health startup.
Save the Date 🗓️
RISE InVC by INCLUDED VC, 17th-19th January. The first edition is dedicated to amplifying the voices and success of Black VCs. Register here.
WVC:E Summit, 2nd & 3rd October 2023, Station F, Paris
What I’m Reflecting On 💭
The Internet Is at Risk of Driving Women Away - By Gina Neff, Professor of Technology & Society at the Oxford Internet Institute and the Department of Sociology at the University of Oxford.
From Queen Elizabeth to Sanna Marin, young women in politics have always faced prejudice - By Emma Crewe, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of London
Thank you for reading FemWealth! If you enjoyed this issue, please share it with a friend.
Wish you a super exciting start to the new year!
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth