After Edith Dorsen first learned that 95% of traditional venture capital is granted to companies where senior leadership doesn’t include any women she, alongside her partner Monica Dodi, got mad… now they’re getting even with the Women’s Venture Capital Fund. Now in its second fund, Women’s Venture Capital Fund II, WVCF is among the only funds in the country actively investing in Series A and B female founders—like former ‘Dot Complicated’ guest, Amy Nelson of the Riveter. Since its inception, Women’s Venture Capital Fund, alone, has seen over 1,500 early stage companies led by women. When WVCF first started, they predicted the number of venture-worthy female founders in the United States to reach an inflection point—and WVCF believes that point has arrived. But when you look at the number of women in senior leadership roles in corporate America, progress has stalled, as less than 5% of executive roles in the Fortune 500 are held by women. But, as more studies show that firms with women in senior management outperform on nearly every metric, Edith and Monica aim to keep gender diversity critical to entrepreneurial success by granting access to much needed capital.

Aliza Sherman is a web pioneer, having founded the first woman-owned internet companies Cybergrrl, Inc. and Webgrrls International paving the way for women in the Internet industry. Now, after 25+ years online, Aliza is in her second act going from the web to weed with Ellementa—a national network and digital media platform focused on cannabis wellness for women.

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