Launch of the 200 Billion Club aims to elevate female founders in the UK and improve equality within the world of venture capital.
Accelerate Funding for Female Founders
The 200Bn Club this week announces a unique programme to accelerate financing directed to female founders and connect them with leading VCs from seed to Series A.
Currently, gender equity within Venture Capitalism falls short, with female-founded startups securing the lowest share of investment in the European Union, despite generating more than twice as much revenue per dollar invested when compared to male-founded companies. The 200Bn Club aims to bridge this gap by providing hands-on support to female entrepreneurs, backed by 40+ UK-based VCs and corporate partners.
Built by founders, for founders, the 200Bn Club is a 12-week non-equity programme open to applicants from all industries. Founded by Dr. Amber Ghaddar and Bridget Greenwood, it is geared towards getting participants pitch perfect and VC investable at its conclusion. The programme is unique in that it provides weekly mock pitches with VCs where they are asked to give honest feedback on why they would NOT invest in the participating startups. This allows startups to gain valuable insight and quickly fine-tune their pitch and business model to get them ready for pitch day in front of 40+ VCs with open books at the end of the programme. Additionally, corporate partners such as CMS Law, Mischon and others will donate their time to give hands-on courses and training on Legal, IP and Regulations.
43 Top VCs With More To Come
So far, 43 top VCs with a combined £900Bn in assets under management, including HSBC Ventures, Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Esprit), and Frontline Ventures have pledged their time to provide mentorship and support to The 200Bn Club participants. Given the high rate of yield per dollar invested in female-founded startups, the involved VCs will have a direct line to a promising talent pool. The 200Bn Club curates the deal flow to maximise return for the VCs, ensuring that candidates are matched to the respective selection criteria upon completion of the programme.
The 200Bn Club programme will initially run online, consisting of five hours of expert-led masterclasses and workshops per week. Throughout the programme, participants will receive candid feedback on where and how to improve to receive investment, and if unsuccessful, will receive coaching on what they need to secure funding in the next cohort of applications. All 200Bn Club participants will get valuable face time with VCs every week and will take part in mock pitches throughout the course of the programme so that by the end of the programme they are able to give a compelling presentation and secure funding for their business.
Edel Coen, Head of Dealflow at Molten Capital (previously Draper Esprit), concluded, “As VCs, we are in the privileged position of making investments that have a real impact on the world we live in. But I believe we can do more to find and invest in founders that reflect our diverse society. Addressing female under-representation not only makes business sense but will also enable the next generation of founders to see themselves in the tech leaders of today. Partnering with The 200Bn Club can help us shape a new generation of female leaders.”
