Gaingels’ Post

We're excited to announce that we've completed the first close of our €50M fund, raising €15M to support LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs across Europe and beyond. This is the first fund of its kind in European tech, and we’re dedicated to backing founders who often face unique challenges in securing capital. We’re looking to invest between €250k and €1.5M in around 25 startups, from pre-seed to Series A stages. Half of the fund is reserved for follow-on investments to support these companies as they grow. The need for this fund is clear: 35% of LGBTQ+ founders feel their identity affects their ability to raise capital, and 75% don’t disclose their LGBTQ+ status to investors. By creating a supportive and inclusive environment, we aim to change this narrative and build stronger, more open relationships between founders and investors. We’ve already invested in companies like Frontnow, which optimizes pre-sales in e-commerce with AI; Omni, offering vegan dog food and cultivated cat food; and PaxtonAI, an AI legal assistant. Our leadership team includes Til Klein 🏳️🌈 🇪🇺 from Zurich, an ex-BCG partner and FinTech founder; Jochen Beutgen from Berlin, a veteran venture capital investor with 20+ years of experience; and Mari Luukkainen from Helsinki, a former growth operator and pre-seed investor. We invite you to join us in transforming the venture capital landscape and backing LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs! Learn more at www.identity.vc or feel free to reach out to us directly! https://lnkd.in/dy8rfbDX

The Case for Her's newest investee, Unconventional Ventures hits its second close of its €30 million fund that will drive more investments to underrepresented funders and women’s health! 🤩🙌 Unconventional Ventures invests in startups in the pre-seed and seed stage led by diverse founders identifying as women, people of color, immigrants and/or LGBTQ+, building scalable impact tech companies in the Nordics and beyond. Among their current investment portfolio, UV claims 75% are founded by all-female teams, and over 25% have a founder or co-founder from an ethnic minority. Moreover, 67% of the portfolio focuses on combating climate change, while 20% addresses female health-related challenges. 🚀💥 Some of their portfolio companies are Meela & LEIA Health We are thrilled to see more venture capital firms taking charge in amplifying their focus on women’s health, especially on underrepresented funders!  👏😍🎉 Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/db6hbdJY The Inner Foundation Atomico EIFO Investinor Meela LEIA Health Nora Bavey Thea Messel #InvestinHer #FundsForHer #WomensHealthMatters #FemaleVC #VentureCapital

Berlin-Based VC Fund identity.vc Raises €15M to Back LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs in Europe Berlin-based venture capital fund identity.vc has successfully secured €15 million for its inaugural fund, with the goal of supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs in Europe. The fund, which aims to reach €50 million, plans to invest between €250,000 and €1.5 million in 25 pre-seed to Series A companies, reserving 50% for follow-on investments. Research by identity.vc indicates that 15% of European startups have an LGBTQ+ founder, while a report by Proud Ventures revealed that 35% of founders believe their LGBTQ+ identity impacts their ability to raise capital. By directly addressing this issue, identity.vc aims to cultivate a more inclusive tech ecosystem where founders can openly express their identity. The fund has already made four investments, including Berlin-based AI solution Frontnow and Omni, a vegan dog food company. # Thank you Elena Rossi for your submission!

Next week Mari Luukkainen, Principal at identity.vc I Backing LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs, will be joining us for a fireside chat at Epicenter Helsinki's upcoming event, "Wok€ - Investing in Diversity for Tomorrow’s Returns" - the latest in the HIRED series. Mari is at the forefront of Europe's venture capital scene, focusing on empowering LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs through identity.vc, Europe's first VC dedicated to investing in early-stage startups led by LGBTQ+ founders. With over two decades of experience in growth operations and venture capital, Mari has been instrumental in scaling companies like Freska, Paxful, and Yousician. As a former Principal at Icebreaker.vc, Mari managed a portfolio of over 100 startups, steering them towards successful seed and Series A funding rounds. Their profound impact includes skyrocketing Freska's ARR from €200K to €13M in just two years and amplifying investments in diverse founding teams. Mari's dedication to fostering diversity and breaking conventional norms in entrepreneurship has earned them prestigious accolades, including the 2022 Investor of the Year at the Nordic Women in Tech Awards and the 2023 Diversity Role Model of the Year at the Nordic Startup Awards. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear Mari share insights on the significance of diversity in venture capital, the challenges and triumphs of supporting LGBTQIA+ founders, and the broader impact of inclusive investing on innovation and societal progress. https://lnkd.in/dG8fZeUD

Colorful Capital co-founder William Burckart is featured in a new piece today in Barron's PENTA on "Finding LGBTQ-Focused Investments Can Be Difficult. Here’s Where to Begin." The article covers a lot of ground and, in particular, reinforces the economic case of investing in #LGBTQIA+ led ventures. From the article: "There are economic reasons to consider LGBTQ investments: Multiple studies show correlations between diversity among firm leadership and company performance as measured by internal rates of return, risk management factors, and firm valuations. “From a purely financial benefits perspective, there’s real value in beginning to embrace and integrate that kind of diverse thinking,” Burckart says." A big thank you to Rob Csernyik for a great piece. An additional thank you to Abby Schultz for continuing to reinforce for readers of Barron's PENTA the need for investors to take a system-level approach to managing systemic risks like LGBTQIA+ inequity. #impactinvesting #VC #venturecapital Read the Barron's article here: https://lnkd.in/eQ-cTSVC Want to learn more about how the LGBTQIA+ community plays an important role for investors seeking impact and financial returns? Check out a new op-ed in New Private Markets from Priya Parrish, the CIO of Impact Engine and a member of the Colorful Capital Advisory Group. From the piece: "While sexual orientation may be harder to see on the outside, LGBTQ+ founders and entrepreneurs still face significant hurdles when it comes to equal access to financial and social capital. But our track record as successful innovators shows that eliminating these barriers would be a boon for the whole of society." Read Priya's article here: https://lnkd.in/ex2tVbEY Copying in the rest of the brain trust: Co-GPs Megan Kashner and Soltan B., and Sloane Ortel, Zach Stafford, Steven Godeke, Otho Kerr, Katrina Ngo, Christopher Barrett Politan, Lara Metcalf, and Carlos Vargas, Ph.D. https://lnkd.in/eQ-cTSVC

The next Unicorns should be LGBTQ-owned — and I’m not talking about the horses. 🦄 Queer founders produce 36 percent more jobs and 114 percent more patents than the industry average, and one report released by Morgan Stanley last year found that 45 percent of all U.S. investors want opportunities to invest specifically in LGBTQ diversity and inclusion. This number spikes to 76 percent for investors who have at least one LGBTQ person in the household. But in venture capital, the investment buzz is nowhere near as potent: Less than 0.5 percent of overall funding goes to queer founders. In our recent political climate, outness can be seen as a liability to investors wanting to de-risk as much as possible; as such, many founders admit going back into the closet when it comes time to raise funds, and that’s, well, shitty. In my newest finance column for Out magazine, I spoke to the founders of various LGBTQ VC organizations to better understand our progress gaps. Discrimination and the antiquated perception that queer people are weaker are sadly still factors. But so is a lack of awareness among queer people themselves that many funding arms, incubators, accelerators and LGBTQ-friendly organizations already exist. A unicorn is a long-standing moniker for a company that achieves a valuation of a billion dollars or more. Often, those companies reach the stratosphere not only because of a good idea, but also because the founder was able to get into the right rooms with the right people at the right time. More queer unicorns would cultivate both economic parity and a better world, and there’s a whole community of investors and mentors who want to help starry-eyed founders make it happen. Thank you to my sources for your time - Brian Richardson Megan Kashner Patrick Driscoll Ben Stokes Tristan Schukraft - and their organizations: Chasing Rainbows Colorful Capital StartOut #lgbtq #pridemonth #pridemonth2024 #lgbt #venturecapital https://lnkd.in/gZz6txV9

Welcome to the start of Pride month.🌈 8 million adults in the US identify as being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, however there remains a huge percentage of people lacking safe access to healthcare experts. It is estimated that “upward of a third of trans people are actively discriminated against in healthcare settings”- Jerrica Kirkley, MD Co-Founder and CMO at Plume. LGBTQ+ patients often face stigma in their healthcare experiences, and in turn this discrimination fuels an understandable distrust of the medical industry. We’re proud to work with amazing startups such as FOLX Health, whose digital healthcare services are designed for the LGBTQ+ community, with a completely online model which centres patient comfort. 📲 Pre- 2020, there weren’t any investor-backed digital health companies in the U.S. exclusively focused on serving LGBTQ+ individuals (Rock Health). 🚩However it is estimated that less than 1% of venture capital goes to openly LGBTQ+ founders. So whilst it is amazing to think how far we’ve come, there is certainly a longer way to go... Here’s a great list of VCs who centre LGBTQ and other historically underrepresented founders in their portfolios and a shout out to Asya Bradley 🌈 who I know shares the same mission. #vc #inclusivity #LBGTQ #healthtech #digitalhealth #founders #startups

The difference in investment reported between male and female-owned venture capital funds exposes a glaring gender imbalance in the VC world. Beyond being unfair to female-led funds, this disparity has wider implications, stifling diversity in startup teams and hindering overall financial performance. The identified trend of "gender washing" underscores the need for genuine efforts in addressing gender imbalances at all levels, not just in junior roles. The findings here reinforce the urgency for collaborative industry action to dismantle systemic barriers, promoting inclusivity and fostering a more innovative and equitable future.