Barriers to women-led deep tech scaling

Build Her Capacity, Not Her Legend Women are just 15% of UK founders. Ambition isn’t the problem. Infrastructure is. If we want more women to scale, admiration isn’t the lever. Design is. What actually moves the needle: 1. Founder-friendly fundraising ↳ Daylight pitch slots, clear timelines, first meetings on video to cut commute tax ↳ Standard scorecards so polish doesn’t outrank proof 2. Bias-resistant rooms ↳ Mixed decision panels, same questions for every founder, data before “gut feel” ↳ Judge traction and unit economics, not availability for late-night dinners 3. Events built for real life ↳ On-site support options, private wellness spaces, meaningful hybrid access ↳ Publish agendas early so caregivers can plan and actually show up 4. Liquidity that doesn’t choke cash flow ↳ Net-15 for pilots, staged prepayments, procurement that takes weeks not quarters ↳ If you want innovation, stop starving it 5. Work by outcomes, not optics ↳ Async updates, written decisions, no “presence tax” for those with caregiving ↳ Measure results, not hours 6. Parental policies that include founders ↳ Planned coverage, investor-aligned timelines, zero penalty for being human ↳ Treat continuity as a design problem, not a character test 7. Ecosystems that compound ↳ Back women-led funds and operator angel groups, sponsor peer councils ↳ Make introductions a weekly habit, not a once-a-year panel 8. Accountable capital ↳ Publish deployment metrics, tie incentives to inclusive deal flow ↳ What gets measured gets resourced The talent is here. The market is here. Build the infrastructure and watch the curve bend. What’s one lever you can pull this quarter to make scaling women the default, not the exception? ♻️ Share this with someone who controls budgets or deal flow ➕ Follow Helene Guillaume Pabis for human-first leadership, clarity, and momentum ✉️ Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dy3wzu9A

Why women-led businesses scale differently. And why traditional growth advice doesn't serve us. I've built and exited multiple 7-figure businesses. I've mentored thousands of female CEOs through their own scaling journeys. And here's what I know for certain: The playbook written by men, for men, doesn't work for us. Not because we're not capable. Because we're operating in a completely different context. Here's what traditional scaling advice ignores: → The mental load: We're not just running businesses, we're managing households, caregiving, and invisible labor → The confidence gap: We often second-guess decisions men make without blinking → The visibility penalty: Our leadership is questioned; our expertise is doubted → The relationship dynamics: Scaling changes our partnerships, friendships, family structures → The biological reality: Pregnancy, postpartum, hormonal shifts, these impact capacity in ways the "hustle harder" crowd won't acknowledge So when someone tells you to "just hire faster, launch bigger, scale aggressively”... They're not accounting for your reality. Here's how women-led businesses actually scale sustainably: → We build capacity BEFORE we build revenue targets → We systematize earlier because we can't afford to be the bottleneck → We protect our energy like the finite resource it is → We create boundaries that honor both ambition and life → We scale in seasons, not sprints This isn't slower. It's smarter. Because chaotic growth that burns you out isn't success. It's just expensive exhaustion. If you're a female entrepreneur and traditional advice feels like it's not built for you: It's not. Build differently. __ If you're new here, hi I'm Danielle Canty and I love helping women build million-dollar businesses without burning out. Follow along and make sure you add yourself to my email list where I drop weekly business scaling insights (link in my profile)

When will men get it? Women don’t get funded the same way #men do. It’s not because their companies perform worse. It’s because the system wasn’t built for them. I'll make this easy to understand, not with emotion, but with facts. 📊 1. The room is still mostly men. Most VC firms are led by men. And people fund what feels “familiar.” When the faces across the table look like yours, the check is easier to write. Women founders are often seen as “different,” and different gets labeled as “risk.” 🧠 2. Investors ask men and women different questions. Studies show men are asked growth questions: “How big can this get?” Women are asked risk questions: “How will you avoid failing?” That difference alone can shape the size of your round, or whether you get one at all. 💰 3. The network problem is real. Warm intros matter in #VC. Many women simply aren’t in the same closed networks where deals are born, private dinners, golf courses, investor retreats... Talent isn’t the issue. Access is. 🚫 4. Stereotypes about “what women build.” Female founders are often assumed to be running small or “lifestyle” businesses, even when they’re scaling global companies in climate tech, infrastructure, health, and manufacturing. Male founders are “visionary.” Women are “cute.” Companies with at least one female founder performed 63% better than all-male founding teams in their portfolio. 📉 5. The pipeline compounds the gap. At seed stage, women get smaller checks. Smaller checks mean slower scale. Slower scale means fewer exits. Fewer exits mean fewer pattern matches. And the cycle keeps feeding itself. Why this is stupid? 📈 Women-led startups deliver higher revenue per dollar invested. Women‐led startups delivered $0.78 in revenue for every $1 invested, versus $0.31 for male‐led startups (~2.5×). We are more capital-efficient. We outperform. This isn’t a pipeline problem. It’s a power problem. Female founders generated 35% higher return on investment compared to male counterparts (in tech / venture settings). VC needs more women decision-makers, bias-aware funding processes, and a new definition of what “investable” looks like. It’s time to stop admiring the problem and start shifting the capital. 👇 If you’re in VC, PE, or family offices, ask yourself: Are you funding what works… or what looks familiar? How many of the companies in your portfolio are women owned? If that number is 0, the problem isn't #women. Get it? #WomenInBusiness #VC #FounderLife #StartupFunding #FemaleFounders #Investing #Innovation #Sustainability #ESG #Founder

Let’s talk about the math no one likes to admit out loud: We make up 20% of tech founders, but women get less funding. LIKE WAY LESS. <2%. <1% for female founders of color. Less time. In many households, female founders also carry the responsibility of being the primary childcare giver. Fewer resources. Why do we give Moms so much to do? Because Mom's figure it out. That can be furry moms, too. Women get stuff done. Because we have to. We've always had to. Despite this, we are still expected to run lean teams, grow fast, and not miss a beat. Here’s what I see: > Smart, experienced women building incredible companies—while also being exhausted. > They’re stuck duct-taping systems together. > Doing their own marketing. > And making decisions in isolation because there’s no room for failure and no budget for support. So no, I didn’t start AI Growth Ops to be another agency. I started it to give women-led companies something most of them are missing: a real operations backbone that doesn’t require them to burn out to grow. Because scaling isn’t about doing more with less. It’s about doing the right work—with clarity, support, and the right tech in your corner. If you’re trying to build something bold and need a smarter way to do it—you don’t have to do it alone. In fact you shouldn't do it alone. Not only does AI Growth Ops exist to help, so does The Know ATL, founded by Heather Gibbons. A few weeks ago, she and the rest of us at ATL Tech Collective got together to call women founders to act. To support each other. To build community together. "There's a spark here and it's been ignited. I don't know how it will shape out. But one thing I want you to take away from here is the concept that all ships rise. We need to support each other, collaborate, share resources and connections. Holding things close doesn't serve anything." - Heather Gibbons Reach out to Heather to learn more about The Know ATL and how we can continue to build a community of women supporting other women.

What’s stopping more female founders from scaling? Access. Access to capital. Access to connections. Access to knowledge. I created #PathwaytoSiliconValley and the Women’s Leadership (Un)Conference because I kept seeing the same barriers: 💰 Women receive SIGNIFICANTLY less investment. 💡 They have less access to networks that can help them drive change. 🚀 They are often told to “think bigger” instead of being funded to scale. This is why I focus on getting female founders in the right rooms. The right network can change everything. Here’s what I’ve learned from working with hundreds of women entrepreneurs: 1️⃣ It’s not just about pitching better—it’s about finding investors that align with your values and understand your business.  2️⃣ The best investors invest in you. Ask investors what they offer -- beyond the check.  3️⃣ Your biggest competitive edge is listening to your intuition and knowing how to leverage your network. If you’re a female founder looking to scale, you don’t need permission. You need the right connections. That’s what I’m here to help with. #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #femalefounders #disruptionmagazine

A famous deep tech investor told a female founder to remove her PhD from LinkedIn. His exact words: "Scientists make the worst CEOs. Remove it and you'll become investable." This happened last year in San Francisco. At a fund that claims to back technical founders. The VC saw "PhD" on her profile and immediately labeled her a scientist who couldn't run a company. Gave her unsolicited advice on the spot. Told her scientists are terrible investments. She didn't change a thing. She kept building. She kept her PhD exactly where it was. And she eventually got an apology... after she succeeded. But here's what bothers me: How many of these conversations happen behind closed doors? How many young founders, especially women, hear this and actually listen? How many remove credentials they earned because someone told them it was a red flag? The irony is painful. Deep tech funds exist to back scientists and technical founders. That's literally the thesis. Yet here's a well-known partner at one of the largest deep tech funds telling a scientist that her scientific background makes her uninvestable. The reality: plenty of non-scientists are also bad at running companies. Your background doesn't determine your ability to lead. Your execution does. If this happens in San Francisco, imagine what's happening in other circles. To every scientist-turned-founder reading this: Don't let anyone tell you your expertise is a liability. The people who built the most important deep tech companies in history were scientists first. Keep the PhD. Build the company. Let the results speak. #VentureCapital #DeepTech #Founders #WomenInTech #Startups

I'm happy to share the release of the #WiSER White Paper, "Igniting a Global Sustainable Economy," following the impactful discussions at the WiSER Annual Forum during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week - ADSW 2025. This report highlights the critical role of female entrepreneurs in driving climate solutions and provides actionable strategies to bridge gender gaps in finance, scalability, AI, mentorship, and accessibility—especially for women in the Global South. Why This Matters: Women-led ventures are key to unlocking innovation in sustainability, yet systemic barriers persist. This paper outlines 5 recommendations: 🔹 Increase Gender-Focused Investment : Boost funding, financial literacy, and microloans for female-led climate projects. 🔹 Scale Women-Led Ventures : Streamline policies and partnerships to accelerate growth. 🔹 Harness AI & Digital Tools: Bridge the AI literacy and access gap to empower business expansion. 🔹 Strengthen Mentorship and Networking: Build cross-sector collaborations to provide women with the resources to succeed. 🔹 Empower Women in the Global South : Address legal and financial barriers, invest in STEM education, and improve access to markets and resources. Dive into the full report below or on Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company)’s website for insights on turning these strategies into action: https://lnkd.in/dyAFPEP2 Thanks again to my fellow roundtable participants: Lawratou Bah, CFA, Mirella Amalia Vitale, Natasha Shenoy, Hajar Alketbi, Manal B., Mariam Alnaqbi, Shaima Al Mulla