Latest news with #ShowHertheMoney
Forbes
16-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Women investors fund female founders to realize good returns.
Investing in female-founded ventures offers women investors a powerful dual advantage: compelling ... More financial returns and the ability to foster meaningful societal impact. Leveraging her unique background in media, Catherine Gray is tackling the stark venture capital funding gap—where solely female-founded companies received just 2.1% of US VC in 2024. She sees it as a structural failure and a missed investment opportunity. Through her influential film, Show Her the Money, and the subsequent launch of the Silicon Valley Women Founders Fund, she's demonstrating how, using storytelling and direct investment, women investors can work together to unlock the proven potential of women entrepreneurs and reshape the investment landscape for both profit and purpose. Catherine Gray wasn't always immersed in the world of venture capital. For 15 years, she was a leading account executive in cable television advertising. She then left that role to become vice president of advertising at the first gay cable network. That move marked a turning point in her career. She would dedicate her work to projects that make a meaningful difference. Gray produced a film supporting same-sex marriage and saw how powerful storytelling can help drive real change. That experience now drives her work in venture investing, where she's tackling the deep gender gap in venture capital. The numbers paint a stark picture: In 2024, companies founded solely by women received a mere 2.1% of all venture capital dollars in the U.S., according to Pitchbook. Teams with male and female founders secured 20.9%, while male-only teams received the vast majority at 77%. Gray saw not just a discrepancy but a missed opportunity. The persistent under investment in female-founded startups is a challenge and a significant lost opportunity for investors seeking strong returns. She believes investing in women-led businesses is not just a way to make a social impact but also a huge investment opportunity. Recognizing the need to educate and engage a wider audience, Gray returned to film making. She created Show Her the Money, raising $1 million for its production. The movie's goal wasn't just to recognize the problem but to make investing in venture capital feel impactful and within reach of women investors by telling an engaging story. The film struck a chord. It became a catalyst, sparking a global movement. Due to high demand, what started as a planned 50-city tour ballooned to over 150 screenings worldwide, proving Gray's thesis: Storytelling could ignite understanding and enthusiasm for changing the venture landscape. This momentum also led directly to her co-founding the Silicon Valley Women Founders Fund, turning awareness into action. Understanding how women invest reveals why they are particularly well-suited for venture capital, an asset class poised for growth and impact. Research highlighted in the How Women (and Men) Invest in Startups* shows women are risk-astute investors. They recognize the importance of having a diversified portfolio by investing in different asset classes, such as private companies, and diversifying within the asset class. A long-term investment strategy can lead to more stable returns and lower costs, according to BlackRock. It takes time for an investment in a startup to reach its potential. This strategy aligns with women's tendency to invest for the long term. VC funds address practical considerations. Women often value investment guidance from financial advisors or the experienced partners managing a VC fund. When time is tight, like for most women, having professionals advising you on your investments can be a smart move. VCs do this for the investments they make. Many emerging manager funds also have lower minimums to encourage women to invest in this asset class. This makes the investing venture more accessible. Beyond delivering a return on their investment, women frequently prioritize investing in ways that make a positive social impact, according to How Women Invest's research report. Catherine Gray echoes this, emphasizing that 'venture capital uniquely allows investors to 'vote with [their] money' to support innovation that matters.' She notes the excitement of VC comes from meeting founders, gaining early access to groundbreaking ideas, and participating in building the future—blending wealth creation with tangible impact. Gray contrasts this with angel investing, suggesting VC funds offer built-in expertise, deal vetting, and inherent diversification, making the asset class feel less daunting and more aligned with the strategic, impact-oriented approach many women favor. Born directly from the momentum generated by the Show Her the Money film, the Silicon Valley Women Founders Fund represents Catherine Gray's commitment turned into tangible action. With a target of $100 million, the fund focuses on investing in pre-seed and seed-stage women-led technology companies across various sectors like FinTech and Climate Tech, ideally seeking innovations incorporating an AI component for efficiency. However, the fund aims to provide far more than just capital. Leveraging the corporate venture expertise of Gray's partner, John Majeski (formerly with Dell, HP, and Lenovo), it offers portfolio companies a strategic advantage, helping them understand what large tech firms look for in acquisitions or partnerships. Their venture studio offers hands-on support in key areas like marketing, legal, and accounting—helping founders navigate the challenges that often stall early-stage startups. Just as important, the fund backs founders who share its values, placing as much weight on character as on innovative tech. True to its mission, 1% of the fund's profits go to nonprofits that empower women and girls. This initiative reflects Gray's hopeful outlook on today's investment landscape. Where others see roadblocks, she sees openings to create meaningful change. She highlights the 'great wealth transfer' as a pivotal moment—one where women are gaining unprecedented control over wealth and, with it, greater influence in venture capital and family office investments. It's a moment ripe for funds like hers to thrive. Gray also sees her growing platform as a way to bring together women innovators from around the world. Her fund is just one part of the broader Show Her the Money movement, which includes an upcoming book, educational programs, and a potential docu-series—all focused on building a more inclusive and forward-thinking future. Investing in female-founded ventures offers a powerful dual advantage: compelling financial returns backed by data, and the ability to foster meaningful societal impact. Women investors and their allies can wield their investment power and shape an innovative economy that is more representative of society and their needs.
Forbes
27-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Dapper Boi Partners With Nordstrom, Offering Size & Gender Inclusivity
Pache is the co-founder of Dapper Boi, an all-gender and size-inclusive brand that's now available online at Nordstrom. This month, their jeans will be available online, featured in both the men's and women's categories. The brand offers a size run of XXS through 4X and waist sizes 26 through 52. Dapper Boi pieces are designed with functional touches, like deep pockets and curve-friendly button-downs. This partnership is a major step for the San Diego-based brand, which has gained national attention from Inc Female Founders 500 (2025), CBS Morning News, OUT100 2023 List, and the documentary Show Her the Money. I spoke with Dapper Boi's founders, wives Vicky and Charisse Pasche. Started in 2015, the brand has a deeply relatable and personal origin story. '(I had) my own personal struggle shopping in the men's department," shares Vicky. "I started the brand because I needed clothes that fit me." Charisse wasn't exactly prepared. 'Wait, I have this full dream that we're going to build our 401k, that we're going to spend 30 years at a company," shares Charisse. 'I'm first-generation Filipino. That's just what I grew up knowing.' Though she'd never imagined starting a brand with 'zero experience,' she says that she was all-in on Vicky's vision. Of Vicky's style when they were dating, Charisse playfully reflects, 'Vicky was a hot mess. She was buying these clothes that were two or three sizes bigger, just to fit around her hips because men's clothes are not made to fit a woman's body. (Meanwhile) clothes from the women's section she still wasn't her.' Historically, Vicky has shopped in the plus-size – or big and tall – men's section. 'Not only is it kind of the least cool option, but those clothes still didn't fit me," says Vicky. "The (tops) were down to my knees.' 'We advertise to the LGBTQ-plus community because that's where we came from, particularly those who are masculine-presenting," says Vicky. "They shop in the men's department and aren't used to having those clothes fit them.' Next is curvy or athletic women who shop in the women's department and struggle with fit or function. 'They have the same exact issue as me shopping with their curves. They also have the function problem, like it shouldn't be revolutionary to have deep pockets.' Finally, the brand serves men who are athletic or curvy, who experience similar challenges. For example, athletic shoppers have thicker thighs that aren't accommodated by standard fit. Charisse says she doesn't see it that way. 'Clothing has no gender. I can be male, female, non-binary and wear the same pair of jeans.' Vicky says she's grateful for the opportunity to be on the show, but feels that the investors missed the mark. 'It doesn't need to be a whole third section. It just needs to be clothes that you feel authentic in," says Vicky. "We're trying to break the binary way of thinking. This is about style preference and body type, not gender. They really niched us when really we're welcoming to all. We pride ourselves in (creating) confidence.' Vicky is also quick to point out that part of the fundraising challenges the brand has faced is part of a bigger problem with how venture capital gets distributed. 'Of all venture capital, hundreds of billions of dollars that are deployed into companies every year, less than 2% go to women-owned businesses and less than 1% goes to LBGT-owned businesses,' she shared. The brand struggled to find a manufacturer who could understand their vision and take them on as a client. 'A lot of people just hung the phone up on me.' Of the Nordstrom collaboration, however, they describe their initial meeting with the company as 'the easiest conversation," said Vicky. 'They got it immediately. They were on board.' The Nordstrom partnership has the couple thrilled, but they've made it clear that they're sticking with the brand no matter what highs or lows come their way. Charisse shares that part of her unwavering commitment comes from the feedback the company has gotten from parents. 'Parents have reached out to us and said that what we're doing has saved their children's lives,' says Charisse. The couple recalls one experience where a mother shared that her child had been suicidal before seeing Dapper Boi videos online. "If we can show up in this world and do a little bit to help people feel their most authentic and (help them) represent how they feel on the outside with how they feel on the inside, that's what we're going to do."
