What's inside today:
Why fundraising feels like high school (spoiler: it's not you)
The 4 ways the system is actually broken
Your first 50 angels who write real checks
Ready to stop playing their games? Let's go.
This week's funding reality check:
🔥 PitchBook's 2024 report dropped: Only 2.3% of VC funding went to all-female teams. But female-led exits hit 24% (up from 13% in 2014). Women literally do more with less.
💡 All Raise study revealed: 70% of female founders have never had a direct intro to a VC partner. Meanwhile, connections remain the #1 way deals get done.
📈 Plot twist from Crunchbase: Female-led IPOs jumped from under 1% to 9% in just 10 years. Turns out we're not the problem.
So... why is fundraising still giving Mean Girls energy?
In 2025, raising capital still feels like trying to sit at the cool kids' table. Complete with cryptic group chats, vague "we're very interested" responses, and getting ghosted faster than you can say "traction metrics."
Here's what's actually broken:
The Access Problem Getting into investor rooms is like solving a Rubik's cube blindfolded. For women? Add handcuffs.
They expect you to fluently speak "pre-seed series dilution cap table" while you're busy running your actual business. The jargon barrier is real, and it's intentional.
The Performance Theater I watched a US VC say he wouldn't invest unless founders worked "7 days and 7 nights." In 2025. Post-pandemic.
Here's the thing: not all investors are stuck in 2010. The smart ones want you healthy and alive to execute your vision. Your job is finding them, not performing exhaustion.
The Diversity Desert Female founders get 2.3% of funding but deliver 24% of successful exits. We're literally outperforming with scraps.
Imagine what happens when we get actual resources. (Spoiler: world domination.)
The Gatekeeping Game Warm intros are gold. But what happens when you don't know anyone in "the network"?
You build your own network. You show up consistently. You stop waiting for permission.
Your move isn't to change the system overnight. It's to navigate it smarter.
Start here:
Hit networking events consistently (even virtual ones)
Target investors who actually fund businesses like yours
Skip the exhaustion performance — show results instead
Build genuine relationships, not transactional ones
In case you need it
How I can help you this week:
I pulled together 50 angels who write real checks — with contact preferences, investment focus, and recent deals. These aren't the usual suspects everyone else is pitching.
Also, come find me on LinkedIn for daily funding insights and the occasional industry roast.
Next Tuesday: How to slide into an investor's DM + actually get a response (templates included)
That’s it for this week.
Remember: You don't need their permission to be brilliant. You just need their money to scale it.💛
The OnAgenda Team
P.S.
If fundraising was actually like Mean Girls, at least there'd be a Burn Book we could all read to know who the real villains are. Unfortunately, we just have Crunchbase. 😏