Lugano, Switzerland-based venture capital fund Privilege Ventures has launched its fourth fund. A CHF 20 million (just over $20 million) fund has been set aside for women-led early stage startups across Europe.
“We don’t just want to support women,” Jacqueline Rudin Rush, founder of Privilege Ventures, told TechCrunch. Data shows that women in the driver’s seat produce better ROI.
The firm said its investment thesis was based on statistical data showing that women perform better than men in leadership roles.
“The numbers are shocking. It’s not just about being ethical and doing well: if the rate of entrepreneurship were equal between men and women, global GDP would grow by 6 percent.”
The company’s theory is supported by a five-year study of investment and earnings data by Boston Consulting Group. Women-founded and co-founded startups earned less than half the average investment in male-led companies, even though female-led startups generated 10% more revenue over time, the study found.
“Funds dedicated to supporting female founders around the world are very few, and despite the rapid growth in the VC industry, the percentage of female or gender-diverse groups is decreasing,” said Rush. “I started my career in Switzerland in the banking sector: it was, and still is, a very male-dominated sector. I was used to being one of the few women in large conference rooms and didn’t pay it any attention. But when I got pregnant, the first response from my senior colleagues was, ‘When are you going to stop working?’ This was quite a shock, I must admit.
As Alex reported in July, Pitchbook data showed that the percentage of venture capital deals that included at least one female founder fell from 19.4 percent to 18.2 percent. In Europe, the numbers are even worse. Privilege In Europe, female founders receive only 1% of total VC investments.
Privilege Ventures LPs are primarily high-net-worth individuals and family offices, the firm says, and the fund aims to write 15-20 early-stage checks, with initial investments in the $250,000 range.
“I like to invest in founders at the beginning of their journey. We often meet them even before they incorporate their company and follow them, train them and see how they take the first steps in the entrepreneurial journey. Given our focus on the seed stage, we feel it is key to be as close as possible to our companies and for this reason We have a preference for our local market, Switzerland, and the surrounding European countries, Rusch explained. We want to get in as early as possible, even pre-seed, and we’re happy to continue investing in great companies all the way to Series A.
The organization says it wants to see more companies trying to solve “real” problems – solutions that save lives, protect the planet and are not just “nice to have” but “must have”.
“Our total portfolio already counts more than 30% of companies with female co-founders. As we aim to invest only in high-performing teams, we must guarantee a strong deal flow and for this reason we look not only to Switzerland but also to Europe, such as Italy, France and Germany, closer to us,” says Rusch, explaining why investing in women in particular continues to make sense for the fund. “Some point to the simple fact that having different perspectives in the room leads to more thoughtful decision-making—some to reach where women are. They indicate that they have been through many ups and downs. We see firsthand how women in tech are pushing to solve overlooked problems — but can have a huge impact on the world. To name a few, we have startups in our portfolio with female founders or leaders using neurotech to improve sleep, antifungals to improve nutrition, and biomarkers to continuously measure proteins and hormones.
