This is a guest post by 85broads at ForbesWoman.
The Pipeline Fund Fellowship (PFF) recently hosted an all-day conference to educate, train and empower women on how to become angel investors. Founded by 85 Broad member Natalia Oberti Noguera, PFF?s mission is to diversify the investor pool and connect women social entrepreneurs with investors. (See ForbesWoman?s December 2010 Q!&A with Oberti Noguera here.)
PFF was launched to address the lack of gender diversity in the venture capital investment world and the lack of funding for profit-seeking social ventures. The PFF trains women to become savvy investors while focusing on the triple bottom line ? people, planet, and profits.
According to Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation?s 2006 report, of the estimated 225,000 active angels who invested $23.1 billion in 50,000 deals, no more than 8% were female. Women are under-represented in the investor pool.
Kelly Hoey, an investor, and Erica Frontiero, a senior vice president at GE Capital Markets, two Pipeline Fund fellows, shared their experiences as new investors at the conference. As seen through the eyes of these two women, it is evident that there will be a shift in the investment landscape in the next few years.
As more women become trained on how to invest and in whom to invest, it will be interesting to observe the success rate of companies that have women investors and board members vs those that do not.
Read the original article and the interview with Kelly Hoey and Erica Frontiero here
Mary Elizabeth Winstead Avril Lavigne Natassia Malthe Lena Headey Amanda Righetti
