Hey You !
A report dropped couple weeks ago that I think every founder in this community needs to read.
The Rise Report 2026 surveyed 2,225 female founders across the UK — women who collectively turn over £1 billion and employ 9,300 people.
They answered 11 open-ended questions. That's 436,000 words of lived founder experience in one document.
And this is what stood out to me. →
The Funding Picture
45% of founders named financial insecurity and funding access as their single biggest challenge.
2% of venture capital goes to fully female-founded businesses. Over 80% goes to all-male teams.
For Black female founders? 0.02% of VC funding across the entire decade from 2009 to 2019.
And when founders were asked about their actual experiences of raising:
78% had negative experiences with public funding (grants described as opaque, bureaucratic, and exhausting)
73% had negative experiences with private finance (VC, angels, bank loans)
The median time to complete just one Innovate UK Women in Innovation grant application? 60 hours. Before finding out if you even got it.
1 in 4 founders described private finance as pulling them away from actually running their business — navigating inconsistent investor requirements and opaque decision-making instead of doing the work.
1 in 10 specifically reported ghosting, dismissive attitudes, and in some cases overt sexism..
What female founders actually want
When asked what long-term success looks like:
53% said stability, consistent revenue, and financial security
38% said scaling their business toward an exit or acquisition
28% said positive social or environmental impact
21% said work-life balance and flexibility on their own terms
More than half are focused on profitability. More than a third have exit ambitions.
We are not building lifestyle businesses. The data is clearly telling us this.
The isolation number
1 in 7 female founders say loneliness and isolation is their single biggest challenge.
That's potentially 230,000 businesses across the UK run by women making decisions completely alone.
And it doesn't get better as you scale. Founders of larger businesses reported the same levels of isolation as those just starting out.
If that hit close to home, you're not imagining it.
What the report says actually helps
When founders were asked what made the biggest difference on their journey:
39% said peer and founder networks
32% said mentorship and coaching with real sector experience
78% said human connection was central to their journey
Not another webinar. Not generic advice. People who have actually been there.
And 8 out of 10 young people cannot name a single female entrepreneur. Which means the visibility problem starts early and compounds.
So what's the solution when VC doors stay closed?
So what's the solution when VC doors stay closed?
The report flags the £635 million Invest in Women Taskforce fund — progress, but still not reaching most founders.
Which is exactly why crowdfunding is worth taking seriously.
It removes the gatekeeper entirely.
No warm intro needed.
No 60-hour application.
The crowd decides based on your product and your story — which is where women consistently win.
If you've been sitting on "I think crowdfunding might be right for me" and haven't moved on it yet, that's what my free readiness calls are for.
45 minutes. No pitch. No pressure.
You'll leave with a clear yes/no/not yet on equity crowdfunding, a readiness score across your traction, audience, story, numbers, and timeline, and your top 3 priorities to focus on next.
Read the full Rise Report here → therisereport.co.uk
That's it for this week. If It's worth your time. Send it to another founder too.
Back in your Inbox Next Week
