It was an honor to spend time this week at the 2024 Clinton Global Initiative and with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton discussing a topic I am so passionate about: investing in women.
I started Ingeborg Investments five years ago. Since then, I am proud to have backed 15 female fund managers who in aggregate manage more than $2.5B in AUM and to have invested in more than two dozen female-led companies, including Bobbie, Midi Health, Helaina, Zūm, Ellevest, Evvy, Julie Products Inc., The Mom Project, Hearth, Attn: Grace, Aunt Flow and Millie.
At Ingeborg Investments, we find it thrilling to see women starting businesses to serve women’s unmet needs. Their wins will help fuel the change we want to see in the world. Our three observations:
1. THE INTEREST IS REAL: we’re seeing the conversation getting louder and more visible on the need for innovations to improve every stage and facet of women’s lives – from hygiene to healthcare; from early career to retirement; from the morning after to motherhood to menopause.
2. THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY IS REAL: to give just one example: last fall, we put out a research report on investing in motherhood. The bottom line? Motherhood is a massive market – a $2 trillion investment opportunity in the United States alone. And, don’t forget many studies show female founders outperform men.
3. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL: The venture industry is still overwhelmingly male. And that reality has consequences. Today, all-female founding teams still receive just 2% of VC dollars. Incredibly, those numbers have barely budged in 15 years. In 2024, does anyone truly believe that women only have 2% of great ideas?!
Despite the struggles, I remain optimistic. I also remain committed to putting more money in the hands of more women, who continue to reimagine our future by fueling innovation that is built with women in mind. --Olivia Sterns Walton