Authors note: At the suggestion of someone whom I have a lot respect for, I’ve furthered the analysis to include startups with women-only founding teams. This addition further accentuates the disparities in the funding environment.
On the heels of learning of a number of inspiring initiatives about women’s equality, including Emma Watson’s brilliant speech to the US General Assembly, and recently reading about some of the shameful circumstances facing women and entrepreneurship, I decided to take a look at the numbers behind women-founded companies and their respective place in the greater entrepreneurial ecosystem in New York.
Relying on some data from our friends at CrunchBase, coupled with some internet research, I have taken a quantitative perspective on the how the presence of a woman on a founding team affects startup funding across various funding stages in New York.
The analysis covers 18 months stemming from 2013 through June of 2014.
What happens when we run the same analysis for women-only founding teams in NYC:
Unfortunately, this report is not a solution to the problems. However, this can hopefully serve as another method of drawing awareness to this huge disparity. It is probably sufficient to say that moving past the awareness stage and focusing on viable solutions that level the playing field should be of paramount importance.
Recent initiatives, including Susan Lyne heading AOL’s new venture fund focused on investing in women led startups and 500 Startups’ 500 Women syndicate, are steps in the right direction. More can be done and I am interested in learning what AlleyWatch can do to help. We’re always open to suggestions from the community.
Quick Findings:
Aggregate Funding in NYC
The average startup financing in NYC is $4.4M but $3.4M if there is a woman founder on the team Tweet this
A funding round in NYC with a woman on the founding team is 23% less on average Tweet this
16.67% of all startup fundings in NYC had a female founder on the team Tweet this
Women founders accounted for 112 out of 672 NYC startup financings Tweet this
6.25% of the # of total funding deals went to women-only founding teams in NYC Tweet this
A funding round in NYC with a women-only founding team is 17% less on average Tweet this
Angel and Seed Funding in NYC
The average angel financing in NYC is $990K but $1.06M is there a woman founder on the team Tweet this
An angel round in NYC with a woman founder is 6.54% higher on average Tweet this
17.78% of all angel fundings in NYC had a female founder on the team Tweet this
Women founders accounted for 88 out of 495 NYC angel financings Tweet this
6.46% of the # of angel funding deals went to women-only founding teams in NYC Tweet this
An angel/seed round in NYC with a women-only founding team is 22% more on average Tweet this
Venture Rounds (Series A, B, C, etc.)
The average venture financing in NYC is $12.72 but $11.07M is there a woman founder on the team Tweet this
A venture round in NYC with a woman founder is 12.98% less on average Tweet this
13.07% of all venture fundings in NYC had a female founder on the team Tweet this
Women founders accounted for 23 out of 176 NYC venture financings Tweet this
5.68% of the # of venture funding deals went to women-only founding teams in NYC Tweet this
A venture round in NYC with a women-only founding team is 6.74% less on average Tweet this
There has been a lot of recent chatter about women in tech and we’d like to see some more action. AlleyWatch has produced an upcoming 3 part series focused on some critical resources that every woman in tech needs for which we would like establish a FINANCIAL partnership with the right organization(s) that has a genuine interest in gender parity in the tech ecosystem. This perpetual, evergreen, content marketing initiative will provide unprecedented exposure with prominent branding for the right organization(s) at scale and will reach more people in a few days than every tech event in NYC this year combined. Please email us to find out more and find out what you can do to take part in the conversation.
