👸🏻 Celebrating the Legacy of Queen Elizabeth II
FemWealth Issue #77
Happy Sunday, FemWealth Friends!
“Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.”
“I have to be seen to be believed.” - Queen Elizabeth II
An era draws to an end with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Crowned in 1953, aged 27, she was a constant and graceful presence in a changing world. Her reign spanned world-altering historical and social events and overlapped with 15 British prime ministers (only three female) and 14 US Presidents.
Even though the throne was not her destiny in her early years, she led a life of service and duty, working almost until her dying day at the age of 96. Earlier this week, she swore in the new British Prime Minister, Liz Truss.
In addition to her role as Queen, she was also a mother of four, grandmother of eight, and grand-grandmother of 12. Remarkably, she changed the rules of succession, making sure the firstborn heir, regardless of gender, inherits the throne (previously, the system meant a younger son could displace an older daughter).
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee (70 years on the throne) in June this year, the only monarch in British history to reach this milestone. Her leadership will continue to influence, especially women, for generations.
Read more: Death of Queen Elizabeth II: The moment history stops
How Queen Elizabeth II Also Made History For Women In Leadership
Queen Elizabeth II: A life in pictures
Watch: Queen Elizabeth II: A constant presence in a changing world
Listen: Woman’s Hour special following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
FemWealth Favorites ❤️
Politics & Leadership: 🇬🇧 Who is Liz Truss? From teenage Lib Dem to Tory PM - Liz Truss has been appointed the UK’s new prime minister by the Queen. She is the third British female prime minister (out of 56 in the country’s history).
🇺🇳 7 Women To Watch At The UN General Assembly - Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova, Barbados’ PM Mia Mottley, UK’s PM Liz Truss, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, and New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern are expected to be among the speakers at the UNGA in New York later this month.
Startups: 💸 Arize lands $38M to grow its MLOps platform for the enterprise - The US-based startup, co-founded by Aparna Dhinakaran (CPO), has raised $38 million in a Series B round led by TCV with participation from Battery Ventures and Foundation Capital.
💸 PlanGrid’s Tracy Young has a new startup and $35 million in funding - Co-founded by Tracy Young (who previously co-founded and led the construction software startup PlanGrid, which Autodesk acquired for approx. $875 million in 2018), TigerEye builds enterprise sales tools. With a plan to launch next year, the San Francisco-based startup has raised $30 million in Series A funding led by Initialized Capital and Next47.
“I know first hand that I can build a great business, and I can honestly say that I can be a great leader — and I happen to be a woman.”
“I am truly starting this company as an activist — if the world needs another company led by a woman, here I am. My parents... were refugees of war — they didn’t get to choose what they worked on, but I get to.” - Tracy Young
💸 Localyze, a SaaS for staff relocation, gets $35M as it gears up for US launch - The Hamburg-based Localyze, co-founded by a trio of women Hanna Asmussen (CEO), Lisa Dahlke (COO) and Franzi Löw (CTO), has raised its Series B funding led by US VC fund General Catalyst.
💸 Jobbatical raises €11.6M as worker migration goes paperless - Co-founded and led by Estonian entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks, Jobbatical manages employee relocations, particularly for high-growth tech.
💸 Code First Girls raises £4.5m Series A to tackle tech’s gender gap - Code First Girls (CFG), an edtech company co-founded in 2014 by Alice Bentinck (also a co-founder of Entrepreneur First), and now led by Anna Brailsford, provides free virtual sessions for women and non-binary people to learn how to code. The company is headquartered in London and offers courses to women in France, Switzerland, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Poland. CFG’s investors include Michelle Kennedy (CEO and founder of Peanut), Claire Davenport (CEO of notonthehighstreet.com), Rona Ruthen (former VP at Monzo), Rosaleen Blair CBE (founder of Alexander Mann Solutions), and Clare Johnston (CEO and founder of the Up Group).
💸 Millie Raises $4 Million Seed Round And Opens First Clinic To Redefine Maternity Care - Co-founded by Anu Sharma (CEO), Talia Borgo (Clinical Director), and Sarah Reynolds (CTO) the maternity clinic - “built by moms and care providers who’ve been there” - is on a mission to reimagine the standard of maternity care in the United States. The company has raised an oversubscribed, female-powered $4 million seed round, led by TMV and BBG Ventures, and joined by Venn Growth Partners, Looking Glass Capital, Learn Capital, Hustle Fund, and Michelle Kennedy of Peanut a.o.
💸 Stack banks $2.7M to teach teens, parents about crypto - The subscription-based app designed with Gen Z in mind was co-founded by Natalie Young (CTO) and Angela Mascarenas (CCO).
💸 Nigerian blockchain payments startup Bitmama closes $2M pre-seed as it scales to new markets - The US- and Nigeria-based company aims to democratize Africa’s highly fragmented payment system by leveraging blockchain-based solutions. Ruth Iselema is the founder and CEO of the company.
💸 She bootstrapped a global health app: now she wants to help Ukrainian tech - Features Victoria Repa, a Ukrainian entrepreneur and founder of BetterMe — a physical and mental health app that has grown to $80m annual revenue.
VC & PE: 💸 Kapor Capital, under new leadership, closes its largest fund to date - The new $126 million fund aimed to back early-stage founders of color and social impact ventures was raised by managing partners Uriridiakoghene “Ulili” Onovakpuri and Brian Dixon. They succeeded the firm’s co-founders Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein earlier this year.
💸 Student-run VC Dorm Room Fund spins out from First Round Capital, raises $12.5M fund from Marc Andreessen, Underscore VC, Insight Partners, others (Fortune $) - Founding partner Molly Fowler is spinning DRF into its own independent firm and has raised $12.5 million from third-party LPs, including venture capitalists like Ann Miura-Ko. The firm backs student founders in the US.
💸 Kim Kardashian’s Newest Business Venture: Private Equity ($WSJ) - Reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian and a former partner at Carlyle Group Inc. have launched SKKY, a new private-equity firm focused on investing in and building consumer and media businesses.
💸 Meet One Of Africa’s Youngest VCs - Features Maya Horgan Famodu, founder and partner of Ingressive Capital, a $10 million venture capital fund headquartered in Nigeria.
👉🏼 The slow rise of intersectional VC — and why it’s important
“One of the most important factors that could improve the fundraising experience of diverse founders is also diversifying the VC industry. That is more diversity among the decision-makers, and even more funds started and led by people from diverse backgrounds.” - Dora Palfi, co-founder and CEO of coding platform Imagi
👩🏻💻 WVC:E Behind the Deal - Top European VCs share why they backed some of their most promising portfolio companies. If you want to meet them, join the Women in VC Europe summit in Paris on September 26-27. Enter the FemWealth community discount code wvceFW20 for a 20% discount when purchasing your ticket.
🎧 Founder of Gen Z VCs Meagan Loyst on Building A Global Community of Investors, Hosting Events and Developing Your Own Perspective As An Investor - Meagan Loyst, founder of the global community Gen Z VCs and an investor at Lerer Hippeau, in conversation with Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest
Business: 👏 TCW Hires Goldman Veteran Katie Koch as CEO of $220 Billion Firm - Katie Koch, 42, joins the $220 billion asset manager after 20 years at Goldman, where she was most recently chief investment officer of the bank’s public equity business.
🇯🇵 Japan’s female bosses mapping a course for other women - Features Kathy Matsui of MPower Partners, a firm she recently started in Tokyo with two female partners, Yumiko Murakami and Seki Miwa. Matsui, a former vice chair of Goldman Sachs Japan, is best known for her “womenomics” drive since the 1990s.
“(...) when we think about startups, they're trying to use innovation to create disruptive businesses, life-changing technologies. And if you're excluding half the population from your potential talent pool as a startup, you're already trying to win a marathon on one leg rather than two.” - Kathy Matsui
Media: 👩🏽💻 How Naomi Shah Is Building Meet Cute Into A Media Empire - Features Naomi Shah, founder and CEO of Meet Cute, an entertainment company that produces original, scripted rom-coms delivered in bite-sized podcast format and prioritizes diverse storytelling and characters by sharing stories across the full spectrum of love.
“Our new model of entertainment brings the largest network of up-and-coming writers, directors, and actors into the mix, flipping the script from a more traditional hit-driven Hollywood model. With the goal of building a community around inclusive and representative stories, Meet Cute creates original entertainment that you can consume anywhere, anytime.” - Naomi Shah
💪 Charli And Dixie D’Amelio Turned TikTok Fame Into A Billionaire-Backed Personal Brand That Hinges On Their Personal Lives - The D’Amelio sisters are launching an eponymous brand to cash in on their digital fame. D’Amelio Brand has raised $6 million from Fanatics billionaire Michael Rubin and serial entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt (Demand Media, Autograph). The pre-revenue, pre-product, pre-employee company has a post-money valuation of $100 million. | Also read the Forbes Top Creator 2022 list
“We know nothing lasts forever; there’s going to be ups and downs. And we're just here to do as much as we can and enjoy this time and learn as much as we can and be a positive part of social media in the business world.” - Charli D’Amelio
Celebrity, Fashion & Beauty: 🧶 Gigi Hadid On Her New Brand Guest In Residence, Disrupting The Cashmere Industry, And How Motherhood Changed Her - Features supermodel and fashion icon Gigi Hadid who is now the creative director and founder of her first brand, Guest in Residence, a cashmere and knitwear company launched this week. Fashion stylist and editor Gabriela Karefa-Johnson and knitwear designer CJ Kim are part of the team.
👏 Hero Cosmetics Acquired By Church & Dwight For $630 Million - Features Ju Rhyu, founder of the acne-focused skincare brand Hero Cosmetics, which she recently sold for $630 million. Rhyu will stay on as Hero’s cofounder and CEO.
“It’s a huge win personally, for the team, and for the consumer ecosystem. But it’s also a win for entrepreneurs because it shows that you can take a small idea and turn it into a successful business that is both high growth and highly profitable.” - Ju Rhyu
Women’s Health: 🧠 Coming Into Focus. ADHD in Adult Women
“...women aren’t suddenly waking up with a neurological disorder. It’s likely been there all along, masquerading as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, “she’s difficult,” “she’s an airhead,” “she’s unlucky,” “she’s lazy,” and other labels that tend to mark a girl as she moves through her life.” - Carla Ciccone
Sustainable Mobility: 🌊 X Shore’s CEO on how to reach net zero boating - Features Jenny Keisu, CEO of Swedish electric boating company X Shore
If we are to get to a situation where we have a planet that we can share, we need to reduce the materials that we are using and hence you should co-own boats, not having one that you’re using for two weeks on your vacation or only on your weekends.
Sports: 🏊🏽♀️ Finally, there is no ‘wrong’ hair for swimming - The International Swimming Federation (Fina) has approved the Soul Cap for use in elite competition.
“Having the option to wear a swim cap that properly fits gives people the chance to feel confident when going swimming, and reduces the potential for stressful moments in the changing rooms or poolside.” - Alice Dearing, British Olympic Swimmer and co-founder of the Black Swimming Association
What I’m Reflecting On 💭
How A Lack Of Senior Women In VC Hinders Female Founders - By Sarah Kocianski, a Fintech and Insurtech Strategy Consultant
“(...) there needs to be an acknowledgment that biases do exist and that one way of negating their impact is to have greater diversity among the people making the final decisions on who gets funding. Practical steps to getting to this point include investors of all genders being willing to admit they don’t know or understand something — whether that’s pitch specific or related to a female-founder’s journey to that point — and less diverse investors being willing to stand up and be allies.”
Thank you for reading FemWealth! 🥰 Have a lovely Sunday & a successful week ahead!
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth