Female Founder's Journal

Female-Founded Startups Receive Two Percent Of VC Funding

That is statistically zero; I believe.

Anger is not my default state; it is far too draining and often fruitless. However, expressing and confronting deeply embedded, systemic biases is essential. This isn't about individual prejudices; it's about a pervasive gatekeeping pattern that skews the startup landscape, favoring those with pre-established success or connections.

In a world that ideally values innovation and new perspectives, why does it seem that the doors of opportunity swing open more readily for those who've already had a taste of success? It's disheartening when initial attempts to secure smart tech funding are met with the reality that Silicon Valley VC fund advisors often favor familiar faces and proven players.

To bridge this gap, many new founders apply for residencies. These programs, typically targeted toward early-stage startups, offer a small stipend, tools, resources, and high-caliber mentorship. The purpose? To support the birth and growth of fresh ideas.

The irony lies in the fact that the bar of entry is significantly lowered for those who've already succeeded once. They can secure seed rounds with just an idea or a basic proof of concept. But startups with post-seed funding wouldn't be caught dead taking a break from building for 6 months to a year.

What confounds me, though, is this: we encourage founders to "just have an idea," but demand forecasts for three years, understanding of the total addressable market (TAM) and serviceable addressable market (SAM), and numerous other numerical predictions about a company that is, in theory, allowed to be "just an idea.” This paradox frustrates me, as it seems counterintuitive to the very spirit of innovation.

My Tech Is Tangible, Pretend Projections Are Not

As a technical founder, I have learned and earned my superpowers in the grind that is the life of a professional software engineer. I can articulate designs into logical work to be written in code. The user experience (UX) is my specialty; customers care about this stuff. When you do a crap job at UX, people hate your product. If you have an awesome backend or have a market death grip and UX that causes suffering, customers will hate you and jump ship the moment that the competition builds a shimmering user experience that makes people smile. UX is my jam. Pulling 3-year projections out of my *** is not my jam. I am building my product. I will ship my product. If I spend valuable cycles figuring out how to polish air into made-up numbers, I am NOT building and I am NOT shipping.

Dude Looks Like a Lady

Things I insist upon for self-care and success at achieving goals.

1. I am doing it my way as a solo-technical founder. The numbers get better when women are co-founders with men; 15% of VC funding goes to startups with a woman on the co-founder team. I will leave conclusions off the table because the pipeline is abysmal (also for numerous and systematic reasons). As an aside, increasing technical pipeline diversity to the point of mirroring society is the “WHY” behind TheTechMargin.

2. If I am shut out of the game to the point of it distracting from building and shipping, I will do this IndieHacker style.

   1. I WILL gloat when I sell.

3. Time is for passion, play, and growth.

   1. I won’t be taking random meetings, and I won’t ask that of anyone either. Wasting other people’s time is an injustice.

4. I am working on letting myself rest. I believe rest is essential and I am worthy of rest.

5. When I work 70 hours a week on my startup, I will take at least 1 day off and do as little as possible (or) pamper myself in a generative way (fuel).

6. The questions I ask will be generative and point toward the possible, never dwelling or looking backward.

7. This one is from Simon Sinek “no crying alone.”

   1. I struggle with this; the shame cycle is brutal.

Guided By Why

The landscape of tech entrepreneurship is filled with challenges, biases, and gatekeeping, but my journey so far is a testament to one thing: resilience. I am Sonia, a neurodivergent woman, a technical founder, and an unwavering believer in making tech accessible and inclusive for all.

I will not stand by idly in the face of systemic bias. Instead, I am leveraging my skills, knowledge, and perseverance to change this narrative. I will build and ship my product. I will advocate for diversity and representation. I will not let the hurdles distract me from my mission.

Yes, the game is daunting, and the odds seem stacked against me. But I am committed to doing this IndieHacker style if pursuing funding becomes a destruction from building and shipping my product. I refuse to let funding (or the lack of it) define my startup's success.

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