Highline BETA has announced the relaunch of Female Funders, an education program dedicated to helping women pursue angel investing.
Highline BETA, a startup co-creation and venture development company, acquired Female Funders in July last year.
The re-launched program, called Female Funders Angel Academy, will focus on three key pillars aimed at helping women pursue angel investing. The pillars include education, investment opportunities supported by expert and peer guidance, and a network of women executives, investors, and innovators.
“There are a handful of incredibly talented women investors today—but we need more,” said Lauren Robinson, executive director of Female Funders and COO of Highline BETA. “We talk a lot about the growth of female entrepreneurship, and we see the tides starting to shift. But without representation on both sides of the table, among both entrepreneurs and investors, we won’t see real change. Women corporate and technology executives have the networks and expertise to impact startups and to source great investment opportunities that others may overlook.”
“Women corporate and technology executives have the networks and expertise to impact startups and to source great investment opportunities that others may overlook.”
Female Funders is partnering with the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) to develop an education plan for women who participate in the Female Funders Angel Academy program. The program’s first cohort will spend eight weeks in a self-paced training program, which will cover the mechanics of a successful deal, sourcing high-potential startups, and creating an investment thesis and portfolio strategy.
A year after completing the program, cohort members will have the opportunity to make their first investments in startups they sourced independently or through the Female Funders syndicate, and also have the chance to co-invest alongside Highline BETA.
The Female Funders cohort will receive guidance from Highline BETA’s executive team and Female Funders advisors throughout the investment process. Members will also receive access to curated deal flow of early-stage, high-growth startups through Highline BETA’s accelerator programs.
“We are proud to be partnering with Female Funders to reach Canada’s technology and corporate executives,” said Yuri Navarro, executive director of NACO. “Women executives have the networks and industry expertise to become exceptional angel investors and to help entrepreneurs at the most critical stages of a company’s development.”
To celebrate the relaunch of Female Funders, Highline BETA is hosting a Female Funders and Founders Lounge at the BC Tech Summit taking place this week.
Photo via Burst.