Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Summary

Your Next Move Podcast Summary: "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is"

Episode Overview In the "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" episode of Your Next Move, host Tom Foster engages in a compelling conversation with Anu Dougal, the founder of the Female Founders Fund. Anu shares her journey from co-founding an e-commerce company in India to establishing a venture capital fund dedicated to investing in female entrepreneurs. The discussion delves into the challenges faced by female founders, the evolution of the venture capital landscape, and strategic insights into building successful, diverse businesses.

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Anu Dougal's Entrepreneurial Journey

Background and Motivation Anu Dougal begins by recounting her experience co-founding Exclusively, an e-commerce platform in India aimed at making Indian retail brands accessible globally. This venture exposed her to the predominantly male-centric landscape of venture capital, where she observed that less than 2% of venture capital funds were allocated to companies founded by women. This glaring disparity, coupled with a leadership team and customer base primarily composed of women, highlighted a systemic issue in the investment ecosystem.

“Less than 2% of venture capital went to companies started by women and a majority of partners at venture capital funds were also primarily white men.” (02:00)
— Anu Dougal

Identifying the Gap The lack of gender diversity in venture capital not only affected fundraising but also had a cascading effect on talent acquisition and business scalability. Anu emphasizes that the time-consuming process of raising funds diverted attention from critical business-building activities, hindering the growth and potential of female-led startups.

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Establishing the Female Founders Fund

Purpose and Vision Recognizing the urgent need to address this imbalance, Anu founded the Female Founders Fund with a mission to invest in and support female entrepreneurs. Her goal was twofold: to invest in high-potential companies and to create an ecosystem that facilitates greater interaction between female founders and traditional venture capitalists.

“Investors are really driven by fear of missing out, particularly on great returns.” (04:17)
— Anu Dougal

Operational Strategies With a lean team of five, the fund focuses on early-stage investments, offering not just capital but also strategic support. Anu outlines three primary areas of assistance:

1. Fundraising Support: Connecting founders with additional investors, refining pitch decks, and practicing pitches.
2. Community Building: Hosting 30-40 events annually covering diverse topics like public relations and hiring, tailored to the needs of female entrepreneurs.
3. Ecosystem Development: Facilitating interactions between female founders and traditional VCs to broaden deal flow and investment opportunities.

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Impact and Evolution in the Investment Landscape

Portfolio Performance and Success Stories Anu highlights several successful exits, including Eloquii, acquired by Walmart in 2018, and noteworthy portfolio companies like Maven Clinic, Tala Zola, and Bento Box, each valued at over $100 million. These successes validate the fund’s thesis that female-founded companies are not only viable but also high-performing investments.

“Eloquii was our first exit in 2018. And that was a great indicator again of the fact that there is money to be made investing in female founders.” (11:17)
— Anu Dougal

Growth and Future Plans Currently managing a second fund of $25 million, Anu notes the increasing interest from limited partners in supporting female-led ventures. While the increase from $5.85 million to $25 million signifies substantial growth, Anu remains cautious and strategic in scaling the fund to ensure sustained impact and performance.

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Supporting Entrepreneurs Beyond Funding

Comprehensive Support Systems The Female Founders Fund doesn't stop at providing capital. Anu emphasizes the importance of holistic support, including mentorship, networking opportunities, and practical guidance on navigating challenges unique to female entrepreneurs.

Events and Community Engagement Hosting numerous events throughout the year, the fund creates spaces for knowledge sharing and networking, fostering a sense of community among female founders. These events cover a wide range of topics essential for business growth, from PR strategies to effective hiring practices.

“We put on between 30 to 40 events a year. And I think those events, you know, touch on topics like PR, like hiring, a bunch of different areas where founders are looking for help or advice.” (05:21)
— Anu Dougal

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Navigating Challenges in a Post-Pandemic World

Adapting to Remote Interactions The pandemic necessitated a shift to virtual meetings, which Anu sees as a positive development. This adaptation has allowed the fund to invest and engage with founders without the constraints of physical proximity, broadening their reach and efficiency.

“We are now comfortable with making investments without meeting a founder face to face.” (15:22)
— Anu Dougal

Evolving Entrepreneurial Trends While the pandemic didn't significantly increase the number of entrepreneurs, it influenced the types of businesses being founded. Anu observes a surge in digital health startups and tools supporting the creator economy, reflecting the changing needs and opportunities highlighted by the global crisis.

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Addressing Diversity Beyond Gender

Commitment to Racial and LGBTQ+ Diversity While the primary focus remains on supporting female entrepreneurs, the Female Founders Fund is equally committed to fostering racial diversity and supporting LGBTQ+ women. Anu stresses the importance of transparency by publicly releasing diversity statistics and encouraging other funds to do the same.

“We are very committed to also racial diversity. So every year we release our stats around diversity... to really encourage others to do the same.” (28:43)
— Anu Dougal

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Leadership and Personal Productivity

Efficient Team Management Anu shares her strategies for maintaining efficiency and alignment within a small team, including daily touchpoints and clear prioritization of tasks. She advocates for practices like walking meetings to incorporate movement and maintain productivity.

“We have a team touch base for about 10, 15 minutes every morning. And that I have found to be incredibly helpful just in terms of making sure everyone's priorities are aligned.” (29:30)
— Anu Dougal

Key to Success: Gentle Persistence Anu attributes much of her success to "gentle persistence"—the ability to persistently and politely push forward despite setbacks. She believes that showing up consistently is crucial to achieving long-term goals.

“Our team has adapted to a certain degree, which is gentle persistence. So never really taking no for an answer and finding a way to not aggressively but politely and gently persist.” (31:18)
— Anu Dougal

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Global Perspectives and Future Directions

International Investment Opportunities While the fund primarily focuses on the United States, Anu acknowledges the emergence of similar funds in the UK and Europe, indicating a growing global recognition of the importance of investing in female-led ventures.

“There are a few funds in the UK and Europe... if you Google there are a couple that have come up.” (31:52)
— Anu Dougal

Continuous Advocacy for Diversity Anu concludes by reaffirming the fund's dedication to closing the gender gap in venture capital and promoting broader diversity within entrepreneurship. Her vision includes not only supporting female founders but also creating a more inclusive and equitable investment landscape.

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Conclusion Anu Dougal’s insights shed light on the persistent gender disparities in venture capital and the transformative impact that dedicated funds like the Female Founders Fund can have. Through strategic investments, comprehensive support systems, and unwavering commitment to diversity, Anu is paving the way for a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Her journey underscores the importance of resilience, strategic vision, and the power of community in driving meaningful change.

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Notable Quotes

1. “Less than 2% of venture capital went to companies started by women and a majority of partners at venture capital funds were also primarily white men.” (02:00) — Anu Dougal
2. “Investors are really driven by fear of missing out, particularly on great returns.” (04:17) — Anu Dougal
3. “Eloquii was our first exit in 2018. And that was a great indicator again of the fact that there is money to be made investing in female founders.” (11:17) — Anu Dougal
4. “We are now comfortable with making investments without meeting a founder face to face.” (15:22) — Anu Dougal
5. “We put on between 30 to 40 events a year. And I think those events, you know, touch on topics like PR, like hiring, a bunch of different areas where founders are looking for help or advice.” (05:21) — Anu Dougal
6. “Our team has adapted to a certain degree, which is gentle persistence. So never really taking no for an answer and finding a way to not aggressively but politely and gently persist.” (31:18) — Anu Dougal

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Final Thoughts For aspiring female entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the venture capital ecosystem, Anu Dougal’s experiences and strategies offer invaluable lessons on overcoming systemic barriers, leveraging strategic support, and fostering an inclusive business environment. The Female Founders Fund stands as a testament to the potential unleashed when dedicated resources and unwavering commitment converge to empower underrepresented founders.

Transcript

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[Sarah Lynch]

I'm Sarah lynch and you are listening to your Next Move audio edition. Produced by Inc. And Capital One Business. Today's episode comes from the youe Next Move vault and is a conversation between Tom Foster, Editor at Large at Inc. And Anu Dougal, the founder of the Female Founders Fund. Its mission to invest in female founders. In their conversation they discuss Anu's background in venture capital, the twists and turns that led her to create the Female Founders Fund and what it takes to get a successful business off the ground. Here is Tom's conversation with Anu. Dougal, enjoy.

[Tom Foster]

Anu, welcome. Thank you so much for being here.

[Anu Dougal]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Tom Foster]

I want to talk for just a moment about your background before you started Female Founders Fund. My understanding is that you were a founder of a venture capital backed company yourself. Can you talk to us just a little bit about what about that experience led you to see the opportunity to do what you're doing now? Sure.

[Anu Dougal]

So my background prior to starting Female Founders Fund was I co founded an e commerce company in India called Exclusively in think of it as Guilt for Indian products. So taking Indian retail brands and making them accessible outside of India. It was an incredible experience. You know all the ups and downs of tech entrepreneurship. I would say one of the key takeaways for me from that experience was really around the fundraising journey and the fact that almost everybody we met throughout that journey was male. And you know, when we looked around at our team, our executive leadership, our customer base, we were really primarily female. So it didn't just didn't add up for me. And so just kind of looking into the numbers I saw this was clearly reflective of a larger issue which was the fact that less than 2% of venture capital went to companies started by women and a majority of partners at venture capital funds were also primarily white men. And so again looking at other industries, whether investment banking, financial services, there had just been so much of a push towards driving gender equality and it became pretty clear that that hadn't happened in venture capital. And so that was really kind of a nugget that I took away from that journey which eventually inspired me to start feeding off understand.

[Tom Foster]

Can you talk about what some of the other hurdles were that you experienced not just in finding investment but finding talent, for instance, what were all the sort of follow on effects of that inequality that you experienced?

[Anu Dougal]

So I mean, I think generally speaking, as a CEO or as a leader, you really have three key roles. You know, one is to set the vision, the second is to hire great people, and the third is to make sure you have money in the bank at all times and to constantly be thinking about that. And so, you know, when you think about the use of your time, you know, when it becomes more difficult or challenging to raise capital, it means that you are taking away from the other areas where, you know, as a leader, you should be spending your time. And so I think ultimately the biggest, I don't want to say sacrifice, but the biggest result of the fact that it is difficult to raise capital, capital as a female founder, is really the impact on your time and time that could be spent obviously building the business, scaling faster, all the things that, you know, leaders are looking to accomplish.

[Tom Foster]

So as you started Female Founders Fund, how did you want to change the process for female founders in how they would interact with potential investors? What about the, not just the existence of your fundamental, but the actual process? What about that was sort of on your radar?

[Anu Dougal]

Going back to the industry as a whole, you know, investors are really driven by fear of missing out, particularly on, you know, great returns. And so I knew that, you know, in order to make an impact, you had to be able to demonstrate that investors are truly missing out on great returns. So I think for from a fund perspective, the idea was obviously to be able to invest in really great companies, but then in addition to that, also to build an ecosystem which enable kind of more traditional VCs to actually interact with female founders to get on their radar to, you know, start becoming part of their deal flow. In addition to kind of looking at the founders we were backing and seeing that, you know, this is a true investment opportunity that investors should be taking seriously.

[Tom Foster]

One of the questions that came up numerous times was asking about the kinds of support that Female Founders Fund and other companies, other funds like Female Founders Fund, that have arisen in the past few years. What kind of support do you offer for the entrepreneurs that you work with?

[Anu Dougal]

Sure, that's a great question. So as a fund, we're very small. We have a team of five, three people on the investing team, two people on the operating team. And I would say the three areas that we tend to lean in the most for, our founders is really focused on where their majority of their time is being spent. So number one, working with founders to kind of Fill out their round after we make an investment. So connecting them with other great women if they're looking for more diversity on their cap tables, and then sitting down with them and helping them think through who are potential investors for your next round of funding and making introductions so that they get to know those investors and helping them think through what are the metrics that, you know, are important to think about. As you know, you start planning for that next round of financing, working with them on their pitch deck, their practice, their practice pitch, and then back channeling throughout the, throughout the fundraising process. So I would say, you know, fundraising is one core piece of it as well. As, you know, we put on between 30 to 40 events a year. And I think those events, you know, touch on topics like pr, like hiring a bunch of different areas where founders are looking for help or advice. And I would say that's another aspect of what we do, which I think founders really appreciate.

[Tom Foster]

I think. Let me ask you about those events. Are those events for your portfolio companies, executives of your portfolios exclusively, or is that also for the wider community of.

[Anu Dougal]

No, it's for our founders.

[Tom Foster]

Founders out there.

[Anu Dougal]

It's for our founders.

[Tom Foster]

Got it, Got it. I ask because I'm curious. So as I said, over the last few years, there have been a number of companies, number of funds that have arisen following the model that created with female founders fund. And I'm curious to what extent that has created a wider community, not just among investors who are focused on companies with female founders, but among female founders themselves. And to what extent has a community arisen and people sort of sharing their learnings and sort of benefiting from one another's experience?

[Anu Dougal]

You know, when I started the fund in, started working on it in 2012, you know, if you went to a tech event in New York, there was really no diversity. And I think as a female founder or a founder of color, it was very difficult to kind of find your squad, a group of others who, you know, you could kind of share your kind of ups and downs, get advice. And so I do think that, you know, if you look at the New York tech ecosystem today, I mean, it's incredible how much more diversity you see at tech events, how many more initiatives have launched to really encourage female founders, founders of color, to network and to really get integrated into the ecosystem.

[Tom Foster]

To what extent are there certain industries that have sort of indexed higher for female founders and is that changing? Do you find that there are sort of certain concentrations of industries that you invest in more and, you know, whether that is the environment or sort of on purpose on your part?

[Anu Dougal]

Yeah, I would say we actually put out a piece on the fact that you know, during the pandemic, one industry in particular that female founders, I think, I think they punched above their weight class in is digital health. You know, if you look at companies like Maven Clinic, Kind Body, tia, Real Tempest, these are, you know, great examples of companies led by women where they identified really an opportunity to serve the customer better and to build a product or service that really put those customers needs first.

[Tom Foster]

You mentioned a moment ago that female Founders fund. I think you said, you know, we are a small fund, we have five employees. You're working on your second fund now, which is, I want to say $25 million fund. How does that stack up against both other funds focused on female founders and sort of the wider world of venture capital funds focused on the wider audience. Can you give us a sense of the context of that?

[Anu Dougal]

Yeah, so I mean I think it's been incredible to see the rise of more funds with this focus, particularly in the, in the past few years. I would say for us, you know, we're one of the larger funds that has the capacity to lead co lead seed deals and really take kind of a lead position in terms of ownership in the category, you know, for when you think about growth, you know, going from 5.85 to 25 is obviously a big jump. So you know, we just continue to be thoughtful around how we scale over time.

[Tom Foster]

So from 5 to 25. Yes, absolutely. That's a huge jump. To what extent do you see that number potentially grow, you know, making a similar large leap when you presumably go out and raise fund three? I'm curious just you know, to what extent you're sort of unlocking the ability or the willingness for folks to invest in your fund. To what extent are is pool of money that is willing to go into investing in female founded companies increasing?

[Anu Dougal]

You know, I would say it's increasing not, not exponentially but you know, it's definitely on the radar of a lot of limited partners at large institutions. Goldman Sachs came out with a great initiative a few years back, launched with GS to invest in female founders and female fund managers. So I would say there's, there's definitely more awareness.

[Tom Foster]

At least one of your companies, Eloqui, was acquired by Walmart. Have there been other significant exits? And can you just talk a little bit about that? How is that going so far? What is the performance of your portfolio companies looking like so far?

[Anu Dougal]

Eloquii was our first exit in 2018. And that was a great indicator again of the fact that there is money to be made investing in female founders. I would say from a performance perspective, both Fund 1 and Fund 2 are doing very well. If you look at fund the portfolio kind of value drivers include Maven Clinic, Tala Zola and Bento Box. And all of those have raised significant amounts of capital, are valued at over 100 million. And fund two, we also have some great winners. Billy is obviously a great example of a potential exit which was unfortunately blocked by the ftc. Other companies that I think are really driving performance include costar, Violette, Real Tempest. So I would say, you know, we're, we're definitely in a strong position as it relates to performance.

[Tom Foster]

Okay, I want to jump back into a couple of audience questions. A question that again popped up several times. I'll read you. Do you fund pre revenue startups? If so, what are some of the criteria you look at and how can one connect with your fund? Versions of that question have popped up multiple times from folks who are watching today. How does a pre revenue company who needs some investment engage with a fund like yours?

[Anu Dougal]

So there are two ways. Hello, at Female Founders Fund or a new at Female Founders Fund. And we do invest in pre revenue.

[Tom Foster]

You do invest in pre revenue. Can you talk a little bit about what some of the criteria you look for in pre revenue companies and what might make them viable candidates?

[Anu Dougal]

Yeah, I mean, I would say there's no hard and set rules. We're really looking to invest in great founders, you know, with big vision, relevant backgrounds and early signs of traction. So just it varies from industry to industry.

[Tom Foster]

At what point should you ask for funding? When do you know the timing is right?

[Anu Dougal]

You know, there's no hard and fast rule. I would say, you know, the most important thing you can do as a founder is really to try to find product market fit. For some founders that involves raising a small round of friends and family capital. For some founders, you could go direct to kind of institutional capital. I would say it's hard to kind of provide a specific answer to that question, which I know is hard.

[Tom Foster]

I would love to know just sort of from your journey, can you talk about a moment, maybe identify the one moment in your career that changed the trajectory of your business?

[Anu Dougal]

I don't think there's a specific moment in time. I think being able to close the first fund was a huge effort. Two years, over 700 meetings. And I think that being able to kind of get not only to 5 million, which was the goal, but to 5.85 million. And to really prove that there was support for this work at a point when the concept of female founders didn't really exist was a huge validator. And then second, I would say the Eloquii exit was definitely one that, again, huge validator for the fact that we were on the right track.

[Tom Foster]

Yeah, just validating the thesis not only to yourselves, I imagine, but externally as a huge proof point that you can hold up for others. Yeah, yeah. So I'd love to talk a little bit about. So here we are in summer of 2021, coming out of a pretty absurd year and a half, an unprecedented year and a half. I'm curious how the pandemic changed how you work. I mean, how did it change the ways that you are able to engage with the community of founders out there? I imagine it could have had negative, but maybe also some positive effects. It might have, in certain ways, opened up avenues for you to connect with founders that you might work with. Can you talk a little bit about how that, how that changed over the past year and a half?

[Anu Dougal]

So I would say, you know, the biggest learning and the biggest positive that came out of it for us was the fact that, you know, we are now comfortable with making investments without meeting a founder face to face. You know, there's obviously inherent benefits to that IRL meeting and to kind of understanding someone's body language and that kind of in person experience. But I think, you know, throughout the pandemic, we were forced to really get comfortable with getting to know people through zoom. And I think that kind of opened up our eyes to the fact that this is a different method which can be successful. And I think for us, we're still kind of adjusting and figuring out what our plans will be for the fall. But I think it was a great lesson in the fact that you can figure out a way to accomplish what our main objective is, which is investing in great founders, without needing to necessarily meet them in person, which is a big deal, something we've never done before.

[Tom Foster]

Have you seen any evidence of people becoming more entrepreneurial in this moment that we've all seen the stats and the stories about people quitting their jobs, people sort of looking for fulfillment in ways that maybe they realized they weren't getting in their existing arrangement. Has that played out, you know, in any way that you have seen where people are saying, you know what, I'm going to go start this thing that I always wanted to start?

[Anu Dougal]

I wouldn't say it's necessarily led to more entrepreneurship, at least when I look at our deal flow, there's not an exponential increase in it. I think what's more interesting to note is the types of companies people are building are really addressing some of the pain points that have come out of the past year. So again, going back to digital health, you know, the opportunities in healthcare that have obviously been revealed, you know, I think obviously people are spending a lot more time at home and so better solutions to kind of at home work experience from a software perspective. And then I think the creator economy which to a certain degree does, you know, result in more entrepreneurship. But I think, you know, that's something that was already happening pre pandemic. So tools and ways in which, you know, creators can and really have a livelihood working from home.

[Sarah Lynch]

We're going to take a quick break and be back with more from Tom and Anu.

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[Tom Foster]

As your company has helped sort of open up opportunity for female founded companies and helped prove out the thesis that female founded companies are a great investment. To what extent have you seen the wider investment community sort of engage in kind with female founded companies and themselves invest more in female founded companies.

[Anu Dougal]

So I mean, I think there are a couple ways to answer that question. The first would be, you know, really recognizing that diversity is important not just at the seed stage but at later stages as well. And you know, I know when starting the fund there are very few women at the partner level at any fund in the Valley in New York. And I think that there has definitely been a huge initiative to kind of change that and to make sure that there are different points of view around the table. So, you know, I think every fund now has at least one, if not two female partners, which I think is a great sign. I think other than that, you know, it's been, it's been a really exciting year for female founders. You know, you had the Bumble IPO earlier this year. You also saw 23andMe go public. Another company, Figs, which is clothing for doctors and nurses, go public. So, you know, just the momentum behind some of these companies that have been built by women has been incredibly encouraging.

[Tom Foster]

There was also a moment in the past couple of years where multiple high profile female founders and leaders of high profile startups. Female leaders of high profile startups. Steph Curry at Away, Ty Haney at Outdoor Voices, Audrey Gelman at the Wing ran into some trouble in the press and several of them lost their jobs, lost their companies. Was that a trend or did that just sort of happen and looked like a trend? Was there something there are women or female founders being held to a different standard somehow?

[Anu Dougal]

So I definitely think that female founders are held to a different standard. I think they're, generally speaking are a lot more expectations because there are so few of them. And so I think there's more scrutiny and as a result of that, you know, you, you see what some of these companies and founders experienced in the last 18 months. I think, you know, it's also important when you look at these founders and these companies think about, you know, how do you create a structure where you have board support? How do you think about the mental health of these founders when, you know, you have reporters that are kind of following you for 18 months or two years trying to, trying to find that takedown story? So I think it's very hard and I think the media has, unfortunately, while they have also recognized the achievements of these founders, they've also been very quick to find ways to bring them down.

[Tom Foster]

Is that something that you work with your portfolio companies on? And you mentioned early on that these events you hold for your community PR was one of the things you mentioned that you work with them on. Can you talk a little bit about that? I mean, what are some interesting tips that you and strategies that you talk about with your portfolio companies about how to manage that process?

[Anu Dougal]

I wouldn't say we have specific tips around this. I think it's more about how do you tell your story in a way that's authentic and how do you build a brand that, you know, particularly if it's a consumer facing brand that really resonates and has a specific point of view in terms of cases where, you know, founders are kind of struggling with media or press. We're not the experts in that. I would say, you know, we, we definitely have a couple PR firms that we highly recommend that have done a great job in the past.

[Tom Foster]

That number you mentioned early on, we've all, I think heard versions of this, this number that 2% or 2 point something percent of venture capital dollars have gone to female founded companies. How much has that number changed I believe the original number was the 2% number was from some years ago, some, you know, seven or eight years ago. What does that number look like today? How much traction are you getting in that regard?

[Anu Dougal]

Yeah, so I think the number has gone up to 3%. I think the pandemic had a somewhat negative impact on it. So don't have the exact percentage right now. But I think that, you know, we still have a long way to go and I think the industry is now aware of this and I think some of the successes I mentioned earlier are a great validator again of the fact that putting money behind backing these founders can have a great outcome.

[Tom Foster]

It's fascinating because I've also seen numbers that say that women are actually more prolific founders of companies, perhaps not historically the type of venture capital backed hyper growth companies, but are actually more prolific entrepreneurs than men. Is that something that you have seen and something that you're sort of trying to tap into and convert into fast growth entrepreneurship?

[Anu Dougal]

I wouldn't necessarily say that's a trend that's relevant for us per se. What we're seeing is more kind of second or third generation entrepreneurship. So founders that have worked at large tech companies now here in New York we have the rent, the runways, you have Glossier, you have a bunch of other companies, Warby Parker, that have achieved success and you have those employees that have been part of that growth story and they understand the skills and really what it takes to build a company. So we've seen a lot of that which has been really exciting.

[Tom Foster]

I want to go back to a few viewer questions. What are some key takeaways for fundraising as a social enterprise?

[Anu Dougal]

So from a fundraising perspective, couple tips. So one would be be able to explain how and why you as a founder are uniquely situated to solve this problem or this opportunity. I would say second, really know your numbers. So a lot of founders kind of underestimate how important those underlying unit economics financials are. And I think it's incredibly important to understand what are the levers that can really drive your business and then third, market validation. So I think understanding why is it that your product or service is needed and whether it's customer surveys, whether it's putting out a small beta, I think all of those can be incredibly important as part of that fundraising story.

[Tom Foster]

Companies that have been around for 10 plus years, can they still be considered early stage and seek the kind of seed capital you're talking about?

[Anu Dougal]

So I would say as a seed investor, you know, the one thing that we want to make sure we have alignment on with the founders or the companies that we're backing is that there is an expectation of growth. So, you know, we're looking for you to double, triple your business, you know, year over year and also be aligned in terms of, you know, the exit opportunities. As a fund, we also have investors and so we've promised them certain returns. And so I think for a founder, if you feel like you're at the point where, you know, you're seeing exponential growth and you want to hire a team and really double, triple revenue, those are the types of businesses that seed investors and VCs like, like female Founders Fund are looking for.

[Tom Foster]

Is it possible for somebody who's got a company that's been around for a certain number of years that presumably has not been growing that way and maybe the vision has changed or evolved and suddenly the opportunity opens itself that that kind of growth could be a possibility? Does the fact that that company has been around for so long, can that sort of become a, maybe not a disqualifying event, but a pretty big hurdle to get over?

[Anu Dougal]

No, I think it's all about how you tell the story. You know, it could be a company, for example, pre pandemic that was growing slowly and all of a sudden their products are in high demand. And as long as you can tell that story and show that, you know, you see a trajectory of growth, I don't think it's a negative.

[Tom Foster]

To what extent have you seen changes in the wider landscape of leadership roles for women in corporate America and how that has affected women's willingness and ability to go into entrepreneurship from those kind of other corporate leadership roles?

[Anu Dougal]

It's a good question. We definitely, I would say looking at our portfolio, have backed kind of a mix of founders. So, you know, some who've come from large tech companies, some who are kind of first time entrepreneurs, I think they're definitely as a result of, you know, seeing more female founders achieve success. I think it's inspired a lot of women who work at corporate companies to think about taking that leap, which I think is great. You know, again, we don't really interact that much with corporate America. So my vantage point and my perspective is more based on, you know, the founders that we meet with and the founders in our network. For the founders in our portfolio, you know, they're definitely on a specific trajectory. When we make an investment at the seed stage, we have the expectation that between 12 to 18 months you'll raise another round of institutional capital, the Series A. And so, you know, when we work with them and Kind of guide them and advise them. The idea is within each industry, whether it's healthcare direct to consumer enterprise, there are certain metrics that you need to hit to get to that next round of financing. And so just kind of working with them to get there. And you know, sometimes there could be a bridge round in between if you aren't able to get to those metrics. But that's the advice that we tend to give to our founders.

[Tom Foster]

You've used the term diversity a number of times in this conversation. Your fund is female founders fund. We've been talking about female entrepreneurship primarily in this conversation. But I'm curious to what extent you think think about your mission as broader than that and as seeking diversity in entrepreneurship and in fast growth entrepreneurship, particularly in the broader sense, whether that's diversity around ethnicity or sexual orientation or geography or any number of other metrics. Is that something that is embedded in your mission as well?

[Anu Dougal]

I would say, you know, again, we're, our primary focus is really moving that 2% versus 98% gap, which is already a big one. As a fund, we are very committed to also racial diversity. So every year we release our stats around diversity. Black women, Latinx women, women who are lgbtq. We're very open with those numbers in an effort to really encourage others to do the same.

[Tom Foster]

One of the things that comes up quite often in these conversations is in speaking with somebody with your track record, how do you sort of get it all done? Can you talk a little bit about just sort of your daily routine and what it is that you do that sort of allows you to get the most out of every work day in.

[Anu Dougal]

Terms of efficiency, starting the day remotely. You know, we do a team touch base for about 10, 15 minutes every morning. And that I have found to be incredibly helpful just in terms of making sure everyone's priorities are aligned. So we all have a bunch of projects that we're working on or initiatives and, you know, it's important to make sure everyone's on the same page in terms of, for this day or this week. This absolutely needs to happen. And I found that to be a really good tool to ensure that, you know, things get done. Quite frankly, for me personally, you know, it's pretty basic, a to do list which I check off or I work on every morning before starting work and making sure that those top three things, you know, every day I'm able to kind of get through. Another thing that I found to be helpful just in terms of getting more movement in your day, is taking calls while walking and Also, you know, now that we have a little bit more flexibility, you know, walking meetings, so I find a really nice way to kind of get more movement in your day while also getting work done.

[Tom Foster]

I love the idea of walking meetings and I keep hearing people talk about walking meetings and I, I would love to do that but my habit is that I'm taking lots of notes when I'm in a meeting. How do you do that? Are there tools you use to make sure that you are sort of keeping track of what is being accomplished in a walking meeting?

[Anu Dougal]

So I'm not a big note taker to be honest. And I think, you know, being able to end the meeting with very concise follow up, whether it's with a founder or, you know, an investor in terms of, you know, what are my to do's and what are their to dos and kind of sending them a quick email after that has been really effective for me.

[Tom Foster]

If you could tell other business owners your one key to success, what would that be?

[Anu Dougal]

So we have a motto at work which I use a lot and I think our team has also adapted to a certain degree, which is gentle persistence. So never really taking no for an answer and finding a way to not aggressively but politely and gently persist. Because I think 50% of success is really about just showing up and I found that to be very helpful for us.

[Tom Foster]

Do you work with founders outside the.

[Anu Dougal]

Us so we've made a couple of investments outside of the U.S. but our focus is really United States.

[Tom Foster]

Is there a similar movement occurring in other parts of the world to sort of open up funding avenues for fast growth female entrepreneurs?

[Anu Dougal]

I think there are a few funds in the UK and Europe. I don't have their names off the top of my head, but I think if you Google there are a couple of that that have come up.

[Tom Foster]

Is the discrepancy similarly stark in other parts of the world?

[Anu Dougal]

I believe so. If not worse.

[Tom Foster]

If not worse. I want to thank you so much for your being here today. Thanks for the generosity with your time and your insight.

[Sarah Lynch]

That's all for this episode of youf Next Move. Our producer is Matt Toder. Editing and sound design by Nick Torres. Executive producer is Josh Christensen. If you haven't already, subscribe to your Next Move on Apple, podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. Your Next Move is a production of Inc. And Capital One Business.