We’re Launching Bumble Fund to Invest in Women Founders
There’s plenty of data that shows startups led by women outperform their male-founded counterparts, growing faster and producing more revenue. Still, a staggering gender gap persists in the world of venture capital.
In 2017, startups with women at the helm received just 2% of all venture capital funding. For black, Latinx, and other women from underrepresented groups, that statistic is even more bleak. Black women are both the most educated and most entrepreneurial demographic in the U.S., but received only 0.2% of all venture funding for their startups last year.
Bumble — a tech company founded with equality in mind, with an 85% female workforce — wants to be part of the solution. We’re launching Bumble Fund to help those women largely ignored by the venture capital establishment.
Bumble Fund will focus on early-stage investments, primarily in businesses founded and led by women of color and those from underrepresented groups. Bumble’s chief operating officer Sarah Jones Simmer will lead Bumble Fund’s investment strategy along with senior advisor Sarah Kunst.
Initial commitments include:
- BeautyCon, the world’s most in-demand, influential and diverse beauty experience, uniting a global community of thought leaders, creators, fans and brands;
- Cleo Capital, a venture fund empowering female founders to invest;
- Female Founders Fund, an early-stage fund investing in the exponential power of exceptional female talent;
- Mahmee, a HIPAA-secure platform that makes it easy for hospitals, health systems, and their patients to coordinate comprehensive prenatal and postpartum healthcare from anywhere;
- Sofia Los Angeles, a swimwear company founded and led by Anasofia Gomez, one of the winners of our inaugural Bumble Bizz Pitch Competition.
Bumble Fund will continue to identify promising businesses and founders to support, including via Bumble Bizz, the business networking platform within the Bumble app.
Download Bumble, create a Bizz profile, and stay tuned for an opportunity to pitch this fall.