Jenny Lefcourt, partner at Freestyle VC and cofounder of All Raise, says that even as a serial entrepreneur herself, she long underestimated how little venture capital funding goes to female startup founders compared to the money men get. She believes unconscious biases, an industry built on intuition, and historical dynamics all contribute to this inequity. They also affect the low numbers of women in decision-making roles at VC firms. Lefcourt explains the ways the industry can actively reduce this gap.
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
2:05 – Lefcourt’s Path to VC Funding
4:48 – Where Are All the Women?
8:33 – Why it’s Crucial to Invest in Female Founders
10:42 – Resistance to Gender Diversity in VC
14:30 – Impacts from the Pandemic
19:23 – Progress
22:14 – Outro