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Introduction to Women-focused Startups
In the dynamic landscape of markets, a wave of new startups has emerged that have set themselves apart with a focus on issues that women typically face. The market for women has grown in conjunction with the growing economic power women have gained through tenacity and hard work to lower the wage gap. This has led to a shift to meet the demand of the evolving needs of this novel sector.
This process has marked a significant shift in the business world’s recognition of women not just as consumers, but as a formidable economic force driving innovation and change. As the gender wage gap continues to narrow, albeit slowly, women’s increased earning power and financial autonomy will fuel a demand for products and services matched specifically to their needs and aspirations.
Fujn has chosen five women-focused startups that best personify this flourishing sector and amplify the spirit of equalizing services and products tailored to women as compared to their mainstream counterparts. These startups were able to secure funding from numerous venture capital firms that have made it their goal to grow confidence and recognition of this sector to audiences that would not be aware of their missions.
Furthermore, the success of these startups reflects a broader trend towards gender equality in the workplace and society as a whole. Women will continue to break glass ceilings and demand equal pay for equal work, which the market has responded with innovations that support and accelerate this process. These companies are not only filling gaps in the market, but they are also actively contributing to the closure of the startup gap, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) gap and wage gap by creating new opportunities for women in their consumer bases their workforces, and their career paths.
Disclaimer: This list was chosen based on a combination of funding, approach, and innovation within the market dedicated to women and is in no way intended to give advice on the value of these startups.
These are the 5 startups we believe are revolutionizing the market focused on women
- Ellevest
- Female Invest
- Maven Clinic
- HerHeadquarters
- Work & Mother
1. Ellevest
Ellevest can be described as a trendsetting female-focused, fintech startup that brought a unique approach to women’s wealth management in the financial services industry. Ellevest was founded specifically to address the gender investing gap and give women the tools to control their financial future and succeed.
Ellevest is primarily known for its robo-advisor platform that is open to all but caters to women’s financial needs and adapted to their life’s journey. Ellevest’s algorithms factor in women-centric considerations such as longer life expectancies, career breaks for caregiving, and the persistent gender pay gap as well as their social impact. This approach allows for more accurate financial projections and investment strategies that resonate with lived experiences.
It has also evolved into a comprehensive financial wellness platform for women that includes banking products, career coaching, and financial education resources in Ellevest’s magazine. This holistic ecosystem is crafted to address the multifaceted financial challenges women face, from day-to-day money management to long-term generational wealth building.
Ellevest has had multiple large funding rounds with their latest raise being a $53 million Series B. This can only show the interest and activity that surrounds Ellevest and the continued success of the platform with its 3 million users on the platform and $2 billion AUM (assets under management).
2. Female Invest
Female Invest is a female-focused startup that was shaped in response to the absence of accessible and inclusive financial literature for women. To remedy this issue, Female Invest has become a comprehensive platform for financial improvement and education. It is not just a financial service, but a movement that can change how women interact with financial services and how they make decisions for their financial planning and well-being.
The platform is centered around the two pillars of financial learning and community with a diverse set of tools and resources to help users take the first steps to growing their financial knowledge. Learning can be transformational to a woman’s experience that enables her to make the decisions factoring in the appropriate risks and rewards of every strategy she goes through in her portfolio, which ultimately creates freedom. This is compounded by a global community that can create networks of learners and teachers that otherwise could not have met before.
Female Invest has raised $11.2 million in a Series A round as well as raising $12 million in pre-seed and seed rounds before. Female Invest continues to grow and has a large community of around half a million across 100 countries with a substantial paying user base.
3. Maven Clinic
Maven is the largest virtual clinic that is centered on the needs of women and families and offers a holistic and continuous approach to health care, which can range from personalized healthcare to preventive focuses as well as sleuth of other features that users expect from in-person visits to healthcare providers.
The core of Maven’s mission is to overcome the challenges faced by women’s health being underfunded, under-researched, and underserved relative to the broader healthcare market. This is being addressed via a virtual clinic with a global reach across 175 countries that can offer personalized telemedicine to women and families that can rival in-person experiences. These are not only claims but validated to reduce healthcare costs for both employers and insurers that want to bring the best plans for their employees and address gender gaps in healthcare to improve both women’s and their families’ patient experiences.
Maven Clinic has raised $90 million in their Series E, which had the participation of large venture capital firms, such as Sequoia Capital, in Q4 of 2022. This has brought Maven’s funding to $300 million across their 7 funding rounds and shows the need by the market and the confidence investors have in this service.
4. HerHeadquaters
HerHeadquarters is a platform dedicated to creating a network of women entrepreneurs and brands to partner with that allows for collaboration opportunities that benefit both parties. HerHeadquarters focuses on this goal to establish a forum for women-owned businesses and women entrepreneurs, which provides a niche networking environment that can uniquely provide better understanding and support to the challenges faced by women in business.
The most significant advantage of HerHeadquarters is the potential to exponentially increase both, brand awareness and revenue of participating businesses and entrepreneurs. By facilitating partnerships between complementary women-owned businesses, the platform creates opportunities for cross-promotion and market expansion as well as accreditation to put these opportunities to work. These collaborations accelerate growth by allowing businesses to tap into each other’s customer bases, share resources, and create innovative offerings that can attract new customers.
HerHeadquarters has raised $100,000 from NMotion and Invest Nebraska as well as an undisclosed amount from 2 other investors in a pre-seed round.
5. Work & Mother
Work & Mother offers a solution to working mothers in corporate environments, which addresses the need for spaces for mothers to pump breast milk at work or breastfeed. Pumping suites are its cornerstone solution to this need that offers a spa-like or gym-like experience for mothers that can be included as amenities in companies that want to achieve goals of inclusion and belonging for all.
Not only do these pump suites create better access to mothers, but they also help increase returnship and a continuation of women’s careers in the long run. Providing a friendly space that provides privacy and storage that can scale as businesses creates a large addressable market that is not often focused on in the context of balancing motherhood and work.
Work & Mother has raised $3.5 million in Seed Round funding.
Conclusion
These 5 startups exemplify the potential of women-focused missions in markets, as each addresses critical needs and challenges faced by women, from financial empowerment and health care to professional networking and workplace support for new mothers. As these companies continue to grow and evolve, they are not only providing valuable services but also paving the way for greater gender equality in various sectors.
Fujn believes that they will continue to play a crucial role in shaping a more inclusive and equitable future for women and pave the way for future women-focused startups to enter new verticals.
If you enjoyed this post, please check out Lila Ibrahim’s story here.
