We’re All Bossed Up: Our Latest Round of Funding Includes an A-List of Female Investors
Today, we’re breaking some rules — and some of the baddest women in business (and beyond) are helping us do the breaking. Venus Williams — yes, that Venus Williams — business bigwig Mellody Hobson, venture capitalist Theresia Gouw and a squad of other glass-ceiling-busting, bossed-up women, plus a few #HeForShes, are part of Ellevest’s latest round of funding — $9 million, to be exact.
Why is this so important? Let’s hear what Venus Williams has to say:
Let’s back up: There are two things we know about women and investing.
First is we women don’t invest as much as men do, and it can cost us…a lot. Hundreds of thousands of dollars or more for some of us over the course of our lives — but it’s not only about money. It can cost us telling our boss to take this job and shove it, it can cost us a sense of freedom — it can cost us achieving real equality with men.
Ellevest investor Sonja Perkins, managing director of The Perkins Fund and one of Worth Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful People in Finance, speaks a little more on what investing means for women in particular.
And Miriam Rivera, co-founder and managing director at Ulu Ventures, also has something to say about the intersection of women, money, and personal power:
The Gender Investment Gap isn’t women’s fault.
While some (wrongly) believe we’re ill-suited for investing, women continually receive messages that investing is a guy’s sport. The industry uses terms like “outperforming” and “beating” the market, as well as war analogies like making a killing or tanking. Oh, and there’s a giant, anatomically correct bull occupying Wall Street. None of this particularly speaks to women. So Ellevest is stepping in.
Ellevest investor Sharon Vosmek, CEO of Astia, sums this up perfectly:
And for the second thing we know about women and investing:
This one’s an even bigger picture. Much like the investing industry has traditionally been a man’s world, there’s also a bro-nopoly in tech, startups, tech startups, and especially “fin-tech” startups.
Even though research shows that startups and companies led by women tend to be more profitable than those without, women-led startups don’t receive the same venture capital that men’s do. This makes a funding announcement like this even more exciting. It’s a group of high-powered female investors coming together to back a woman-led startup, whose sole purpose is to help women like you invest in your personal, real-life, achievable goals — like buying a house, starting your own business, retiring well and more.
It’s so friggin’ exciting that investor Karen Finerman, CEO of Metropolitan Capital Advisors and co-host of CNBC’s Fast Money, rapped about it. Seriously, folks. Here she is, rapping about Ellevest:
It’s a big day for Ellevest — we’re all bossed up, which means we get to work even harder on delivering the best investment platform for women like you, so you can invest like a boss and get bossed up, too.
What does that mean? Allow Venus Williams to explain:
Ready to break some rules with us? Sign up for Ellevest.
