True Wealth Ventures has announced the close of a US$35M Fund II, focusing on investing in women-led companies. True Wealth Ventures’ investment thesis is that women-led companies perform better financially, yet remain an untapped market.
Just 2.3 per cent of total capital invested in U.S. venture-backed start-ups in 2021 went to companies solely founded by women, and only 14.8 per cent of that capital went to companies co-founded by women, according to a May PitchBook report. “While our primary mission continues to be getting early-stage capital to female founders whose core value proposition is improving environmental or human health, our secondary mission has been to facilitate more women investing into this asset class as LPs – limited partners,” says Sara T. Brand, True Wealth Ventures founding general partner.
“We not only believe this is the fastest way to change the gender inequality in the VC ecosystem, we also believe it is critical for our country’s innovation economy with the wealth shifting to women.” Fund II will invest across the spectrum of software, hardware and consumer packaged goods start-ups. First checks typically range between US$500,000 and US$1m. True Wealth Ventures LPs often co-invest an additional 50 per cent on top of the Fund’s investment, with total rounds most often ranging up to US$3.5 to US$4m.
True Wealth already has already made investments from Fund II since its first close in May 2021, including Flourish, a start-up headquartered in Austin, Texas, which educates women how to build sustainable habits in nutrition, hydration, sleep, stress, relationships and movement. The firm intends to invest in 15 companies from Fund II. Those start-ups must be women-led, meaning at least one woman with significant decision-making power must be on the founding or executive team. About 80 per cent of U.S. assets will be controlled by women by 2030, but women largely are not active in investing in VC funds today
“Investing in women-led companies personally resonates with women who know their peers have potential and should be backed much more than a mere 2.3 per cent,” says Kerry Rupp, True Wealth Ventures general partner. “There’s a feeling of, ‘If not us, then who?’ Women are twice as likely to invest in companies that will have a positive social impact, and 10 times as likely to invest in companies with diverse teams.”
Brand and Rupp posit bringing more women to invest as LPs likely will pave the way for more women general partners to join the investment-decision-making VC table to ultimately fund more women entrepreneurs. About 2.4 per cent of investment decision-making partners at VC funds are women. True Wealth Ventures emphasizes that women accredited investors should have the opportunity to benefit from financial gains yielded by investing in venture capital. However, most are not invited to invest. A majority of True Wealth Ventures Fund I women LPs, including the general partners themselves, previously had never had been invited to invest in a VC fund, according to a survey conducted by the firm.
The venture capital firm also believes that women are more likely to back femtech and silvertech companies than their male counterparts, presumably because the latter have less first-hand experience with the problems and opportunities in those sectors. True Wealth Ventures Fund I has invested in 12 companies, all of which remain active.
For more info, visit truewalthvc.com.
