Ep. 101: A Batwoman-Signal for Female Founders—with Jesse Draper of Halogen Ventures

The Boost VC Podcast

Despite being raised in the tech startup world, Jesse Draper didn’t believe she could BE that. Because she didn’t see women entrepreneurs, it didn’t seem like an option. So, Jesse started seeking out female founders—first to interview and later to invest in. And now, she runs a venture fund that is like the Batwoman-Signal for companies with female founders, attracting 4,972 deals last year alone.

Jesse is the Founder and Managing Director at Halogen Ventures, a VC fund focused on investing in early-stage consumer technology startups with a female in the founding team. She has dedicated her career to empowering women entrepreneurs, starting with the talk show and tech news site, The Valley Girl Show with Jesse Draper. Today, she manages a fund of 62 companies and serves on the board of Werk, Blue Fever and Preemadonna. Jesse is also making waves with her recent post, ‘Investing in Women Isn’t a Fucking Charity.’

On this episode of Boost VC, Jesse joins us to discuss what inspired her piece on investing in female founders and express her desire to make a shit-ton of money on the very best deals—as opposed to ‘giving money away.’ She explains the need for more capital run by women as well, challenging women to talk about money and invest in for-profit opportunities. Listen in for Jesse’s insight on how she spends her time as a fund manager, what the best founders have in common and where venture funds can go to find women entrepreneurs.

Topics Covered

Jesse’s commitment to empowering female entrepreneurs

• Talk show/tech news site The Valley Girl with Jesse Draper
• Fund invests in early-stage female founded consumer tech

What has changed for female founders in the last 15 years

• Getting better but men still control majority of capital
• Need for more capital run by women

The education problem Jesse sees around women and money

• Afraid to talk about money, let alone invest
• Created education track to help women investors learn

Jesse’s take on the momentum behind female founders

• People look to diversity portfolios (e.g.: Yale endowment)
• Women still underfunded, VCs stick with existing network

Where funds should be looking for female founders

• Reach out to networks/accelerators like All Raise
• Look at pitch competitions for women (i.e.: SoGal, P&G)

How Jesse spends her time as a fund manager

• Focus on supporting top 10 companies in portfolio
• Give founders two years to prove themselves

Jesse’s advice to founders on communicating with investors

• Monthly until raise series A, quarterly moving forward
• Best founders have heads-down mentality

Jesse’s definition of success

• Freedom to do something you love
• May change daily in pursuit of mission

Connect with Jesse

Halogen Ventures https://halogenvc.com/

Halogen on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/halogenvc/

Halogen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/halogenvc/

Halogen on Twitter https://twitter.com/halogenvc

Jesse on Twitter https://twitter.com/JesseDraper

Resources

Jesse on Boost VC EP065 https://theboostvcpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/57d367fa-bebb2890

Jesse’s Article on Investing in Women https://medium.com/@jessecdraper/investing-in-women-isnt-a-fucking-charity-ceabe8918b9c

The Skimm https://www.theskimm.com/

Carbon38 https://www.carbon38.com/

HopSkipDrive https://www.hopskipdrive.com/drive/

FLEX https://flexfits.com/?view=hello-flex

L. https://thisisl.com/

The Valley Girl Show with Jesse Draper https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3893996/

Bleacher Report https://bleacherreport.com/

‘Mattel Sales Soar as Pandemic Spurs Demand for Toys’ in the Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/ac59759a-d6c0-4ab4-9741-80b4ed5e3317

Billions https://www.sho.com/billions

Yellowstone https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4236770/

‘Yale’s David Swensen Puts Money Managers on Notice About Diversity’ in APK Metro Newshttps://apkmetro.com/yales-david-swensen-puts-money-managers-on-notice-about-diversity/

Maddie Callander https://www.maddiecallander.com/

All Raise https://www.allraise.org/

SoGal https://www.iamsogal.com/

P&G Ventures Pitch Competition https://pgventuresstudio.com/challenge/

Create & Cultivate https://www.createcultivate.com/

Jesse on Molly Sims’ Instagram Live https://www.instagram.com/tv/CG2-C8Jppry/

Las Vegas https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364828/

BlockCypher https://www.blockcypher.com/

Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/