Female Founders Breaking Out of the Beauty Aisle

Female-founded companies receive only 2.2 percent of VC funding, and it’s even worse for those starting gender-neutral businesses. Many famous female-led unicorns from 2018 and 2019 were companies like Glossier, Rent the Runway and Third Love, all of which cater mostly to women. Crunchbase found gender-neutral businesses get 54 percent less funding than female-founded businesses that are female-focused. In a discussion moderated by Jessica Zetzman of the Case Foundation, Yscaira Jimenez of LaborX, Shelly Bell of Black Girl Ventures, and Sky Kelley of Avisare explore how women can find big success in building businesses outside of traditionally female-focused fields.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

photo of Shelly Bell

Shelly Bell

Black Girl Ventures Foundation

photo of Yscaira Jimenez
photo of Sky Kelley

Sky Kelley

Avisare

photo of Jennifer Millspaugh

Jennifer Millspaugh

Austin Fashion Initiative

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About
Format: Panel
Type: Session
Track: Startups
Level: Beginner