Women-led startups in Florida have consistently received less funding over nearly the last decade, according to a new report released by innovation hub Embarc Collective.
The organization, which helps boost local startups through mentoring, networking and its hub in downtown Tampa, released its "Glaring Gap Report" on Wednesday. The report looked at data of Florida startups funded from 2010 through 2019, totaling 2,436 startups.
This is in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Wave/Embarc Collective TechWomen Rising Accelerator program, which is mentoring 12 local, women-led startups.
Women's representation in startups and funding
• While the amount of startups that have a woman on its founding team has increased from 12 percent to 23 percent, it is really an indicator about the lack of new startups that have formed in general. In 2010, 26 out of 209 startups had a female founder, while in 2019, 25 out of 108 startups had a female founder.
• Female-founded startups have received more funding over time, but still have only received 12 percent of total venture capital funds
• When women do receive funds, the raises are less than male-founded startups: 17 percent of startups with at least one woman founder received funding, but that was only 11 percent of total early stage venture dollars
• In 2017, 24 percent of startups with at least one female founder received early stage funding, marking it the highest in the last decade
• According to Pitchbook, quarterly venture capital funding for female founders is at a three-year low despite overall VC funding remaining the same
Women involvement in Florida investment firms
• Of the 271 investment firms in Florida with one or more investment, 15 percent, or 40 firms, had one woman on its team. Twenty-three of those firms, or 8 percent of the total firms, had a woman in a leadership or investment role.
• Of 276 angel, or individual investors, 7 percent (18 people) identified as female
• When women do invest, it tends to be an equal investment in male- and female-founded companies. According to the report, when men invest, they are five times more likely to invest in male-founded companies than female-founded companies.
• 2016 had the highest amount of women participating in investment rounds, with nine out of 74 firms (12 percent)
• Female founders were more than double as likely to invest in pre-seed to Series A rounds, versus the larger Series A to Series C rounds
