Funded Female Founders: How to traverse the uneven playing field and secure funding to grow your business

The share of funding secured by female founders is unfairly and disproportionately low, a state of affairs that has remained unchanged for many years despite advances made in other areas of gender equality in business. The truth is that there is clear and consistent bias against female founders. Experienced entrepreneur and fundraiser David B Horne provides useful insights on and proven strategies for raising different types of funding, including debt and equity funding, and how to prepare bids and approach investors. Crucially, he shares the experiences of female founders who have successfully overcome the gender bias and share David’s vision of a fairer world of fundraising and the steps being taken to achieve it.

Table of Contents:
Foreword - Introduction - PART ONE Addressing The Uneven Playing Field - 1 What It’s Really Like Out There - 2 Success Stories From Funded Female Founders - 3 Cognitive Bias - PART TWO Raising Funding For Your Business - 4 Do You Really Want To Raise Money? - 5 Debt Funding - 6 From Bootstrapping To Angel Investors - 7 Institutional Investors - 8 Ensuring You Raise Funding Successfully - PART THREE Making Fundraising Fair - 9 Economic Change - 10 Social And Political Change - 11 What Am I Doing About It? - Conclusion - Bibliography - Acknowledgements - The Author

About the Author :
David B Horne qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC and has worked with entrepreneurs since 2002. Since discovering the gross injustice female founders face when raising capital, he created Funding Focus as a social enterprise whose mission is to level the uneven playing field. He has raised more than $140 million in his career. Learn more at www.funding-focus.com

Review :
‘Cathartic, transformational and brutally honest. A must-read for everyone, regardless of gender. An exemplary guide for levelling the uneven playing field, building true allyships, and fairer funding and wealth distribution. Funded Female Founders proposes tangible solutions to a real-life problem and recognises the value of female leadership in the global economy. The only way is forward, and David’s passion for equality makes him a role model and a true ally to all female founders.’ Shalini Khemka, CBE Founder and CEO, E2E and Chair, Funding Focus Investment Trust plc ‘It’s great to see a book giving a practical perspective on such an important subject. David has created a powerful toolkit to support all aspects of fundraising, backed up by thorough research and narrated in an easy and extremely enjoyable style. If you are a founder thinking of fundraising or considering your next round, then it is definitely worth a read.’ Antonia Burridge, Co-Founder and Director, PwC Raise Ventures ‘This book is an exceptionally useful guide for female entrepreneurs wanting to know more about funding. David’s knowledge of the subject and passion to level the playing field are palpable and his conversational style makes the book easy to digest. Whether you know nothing about funding and want to develop your understanding of the available options or you are already on the funding journey and want to perfect your pitch, this is a must-read book.’ Sophie Milliken, award-winning serial entrepreneur ‘This book opens up so many avenues for women – and all others too – seeking funding for their businesses. It is a fascinating read, filled with practical advice on how to raise money for your business from someone with proven funding skills and successes. This is how to do it. Just read the book and go for it!’ Angela Heylin LVO, OBE, Chair (retired), Charles Barker plc ‘As a female business owner, I learned so much reading this book. Not only about the funding landscape but also about myself. Sensitive, powerful and informative, this book will help level the playing field for many female business owners. It will change many lives.’ Tammy Banks, Co-Founder and CEO, Taye Training ‘Entertaining, enlightening and genuinely inspiring for women founders and anyone looking to level the playing field in venture capital funding.’ Maureen Sullivan, Director of Education, The Procurement School ‘An invaluable overview of the current bias against female founders. Despite the waste and injustice revealed in the book, the author offers practical solutions and, ultimately, hope. This is an insightful guide for anyone interested in redressing the power balance and making money.’ Olivia James, performance specialist, therapist, coach