Female investors have always kept discreet lists of other women angels and VCs. We circulate local lists amongst us, created Google spreadsheets and Whatsapp groups in an effort to create community, share deals, and support each other in a male-dominated industry. 

“Our mission with the global directory of women in VC is to give women around the world the tools to better find each other, connect, and collaborate.” —Jessica Peltz-Zatulove

These efforts have been effective—but fragmented and mostly very localized. For this reason, I was particularly excited when Jessica Peltz-Zatulove and Sutian Dong started the Women in VC community several years ago and catalyzed it this year with a searchable database and Slack group. The Global Women in VC Directory now includes 1700+ women investors—at institutional funds, CVCs, family offices, and impact funds—across 1,000+ funds in 46 countries and 110+ cities globally. More than 50% of all women in the VC ecosystem are part of the community.

At Techstars, we share many of the same objectives as Women in VC, including a desire to connect founders to a diverse set of mentors and investors. So today we are excited to announce that Techstars and Women in VC have partnered to grow the number of women mentors across the Techstars ecosystem!

“Our mission with the global directory of women in VC is to give women around the world the tools to better find each other, connect, and collaborate,” said Jessica Peltz-Zatulove, co-creator of the Women in VC directory and Partner at MDC Ventures. “We believe creating a community-based support system is necessary to set more women up for success; it’s not only about actively recruiting more women investors, it’s about keeping the ones we have in the industry—part of that is helping to elevate their voices within their local communities. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Techstars globally to support their mission of diversity and inclusion.”

I’ve been an avid user of the Women in VC Slack community since the launch and have connected with dozens of female investors from London to Singapore, Chicago to LA. Increasing access to other women investors means that I can share deals with them and get them involved with the founders that we work with. 

“We believe creating a community-based support system is necessary to set more women up for success.” —Jessica Peltz-Zatulove

Techstars Includes is our initiative to increase diversity and inclusion in the Techstars Network and entrepreneurship communities. This partnership is intended to leverage the Women in VC community to invite and recruit more female investors to join the Techstars mentor network, working toward our continued commitment to diversity and inclusion. 

Techstars is committed to developing and supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs by fostering an inclusive Techstars Network. For the initial roll out, we will focus on New York, Los Angeles, London, Singapore, Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle, Boston, Denver/Boulder, Berlin, and Austin. Women in VC will also be a part of the Techstars Affiliate Program—an opportunity for any global Women in VC member to refer founders to any Techstars mentorship-driven accelerator program and fast-track their application process.

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