The Adam Neumann Problem

Dear readers,

Last week, beleaguered WeWork founder Adam Neumann — whose allegedly "toxic leadership" tanked one of the fastest-growing startups in history — raised $350 million for a new real estate company. The funds came from just one backer, leading Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), in what we now know to be the company's largest industrial investment ever.

How did we get here?

In an era where VC funding is at a five-year high, companies founded solely by women are still garnering just 2.3% of the total capital invested in startups by VC firms. The numbers for BIPOC female startup founders are even grimmer: As of July 2021, Black female founders received only 0.34% of the total venture capital spent in the U.S. last year.

We grapple with these inequities firsthand. With more than two-thirds of our largely venture-backed client roster being led by women founders, we know how challenging it is to break into the VC sphere when the founders delivering the pitch don't look like Adam Neumann. We've seen momentum, sure. But the fact of the matter is that men like Adam Neumann will always be able to walk away with literally record-breaking fundraising while female and BIPOC founders, well, won't.

Now, there are firms like G9 Ventures, Able Partners and Forerunner Ventures that are approaching funding in an actually equitable way. Last July, Female Founders Fund, with whom we at JBC are proud to partner, closed its third fund with $57 million for female founders.

But that is still the exception, not the rule. As Amy Nelson, CEO and founder of The Riveter wrote on Twitter: "[a16z founder] Marc Andreesen doesn't care what you think a/b investing $300M into Adam Neumann because he doesn't HAVE to care. White men will keep pumping up white men for all of eternity b/c they can, b/c they want to, & b/c their money flows in a fucking circle."

So, how do we fix it? The call is coming from inside the house. Just 12% of decision-makers at VC firms are women, and many firms still don't have a single female partner. This disparity affects the whole ecosystem: Research shows that women VCs are twice as likely to invest in female founding teams. By not investing in women on either side of the transaction, the market is missing out on opportunities that are objectively profitable.

JBC's female-founded clients are proof: Women are building innovative companies across a range of sectors, and they have the ROI to show for it. We're honored to tell their stories, today and every day, and that includes how they've gone about gaining funding and navigating a system that was categorically not set up for them to succeed. Below, we've highlighted a few of recent stories from female-founded companies that have played the VC game and won — because we refuse to accept the status quo, and neither should you.

'Til next time,

Jenny & Melissa

These funding inequities extend to healthcare, too — read how three women's health startups are navigating Trump 2.0.