Top Digital Communities for Female Founders

Spandana
The Startup
Published in
6 min readMar 28, 2019
Found on Dribbble by Diana (https://dribbble.com/dianaxstoyanova)

Historically speaking, odds have been pretty stacked up against fem-tech and women in technology, entrepreneurship and even power roles at traditional companies. However, that is changing and this change is happening very soon across various industries — finance, venture capital, technology, government etc. Women all over the world are leaning in to uplift each other and create more room for other women to grow in their career. As a young female engineer in her twenties, I can look back to this time when I am sixty and be proud of this historical turning point that is changing the what women “can or cannot do” forever for the future generations.

I feel empowered, strong and confident to pursue “non-traditional” fields and be okay with people calling me “bossy.” And this feeling is empowering a lot of women like me to venture out in order to solve their own problems.

Despite efforts to level the playing field for female entrepreneurs, U.S. female-founded startups have raised just 2.2 percent of venture capital investment in 2018.

Only this year, two female-founded startups Glossier and Rent the Runway made it into the prestigious unicorn club even though women make up half of the population. Entrepreneurship is hard; startups are hard. Venturing out on your own is even harder. However, when you realize that there are other women out there who are in the same boat as you, it changes your mindset. I joined Facebook groups, slack channels, and actively looked through LinkedIn and followed rising female entrepreneurs. They say it is important to surround yourself with people who you admire the most. In today’s oddly “disconnected yet connected” world, it is much easier to get in touch with people, seek out mentors, look for advice without even knowing the person in real life. This is exactly what I did when I started my own company.

To help other women out there, I have put together a list of top communities my fellow female entrepreneurs could rely on to find support, mentors, advice etc.

ALLRAISE

All Raise is a new non-profit organization founded by 34 senior female investors, dedicated to diversity in funders & founders.

ELPHA

Elpha is a private community centered around a daily feed of member-generated conversations on personal and professional topics. We share knowledge, resources and career opportunities, all through the female lens.

FEMSTREET

Provides news on women in tech entrepreneurship and diversity in venture capital. They now have a Slack channel and you have to be a subscribed reader in order to get invited into this channel.

FEMALE FOUNDERS COMMUNITY

The go-to place for female founders to find support, advice, and guidance from other female founders. Feel free to share about your startup, resources you find valuable in running your startup, advice/tips/tricks on fundraising, review of investors, tools you find valuable, events, and anything else relevant. Also, feel free to vent. We are here for you, and you are here for us. Let’s win together.

FEMALE FOUNDERS ALLIANCE

Private online community of female startup founders. FFA counts hundreds of companies from 25 cities in its founders network, and thousands of individuals in their extended community. Join their community by clicking on the Founders tab (There is a $50 application fee).

#FEMALEFOUNDERS

Slack channel for thousands of female founders from across the globe

FEMALE FUNDERS

At Female Funders, we value inclusion, diversity, measurable impact, and transparency in the finance industry. Our mission is to increase diversity in the investment and tech ecosystems by empowering female leaders to become investors. Demystifying the path to becoming an investor is an important first step.

FOUNDFLOURISH

London based community on a mission to close the opportunity gap for female founders. Join their Slack channel here.

DREAMERS & DOERS

Dreamers & Doers catalyzes the success of womxn leaders and their ventures through its highly curated network of influential womxn, powerful thought leadership opportunities, and high-impact resources geared towards supercharging its members’ journeys. Dreamers & Doers has built an entrepreneurial ecosystem consisting of over 30K womxn globally.

IAMSOGAL

SoGal is the largest global platform for the education and empowerment of diverse entrepreneurs and investors. Their mission is to close the diversity gap in entrepreneurship and venture capital. Subscribe to their newsletter and join one of their 40+ local chapters near you. They also offer many free online and offline resources

LADIES STORM HACKATHONS

14K+ members from various different colleges. A community of technical women growing and storming hackathons together.

THE EXPAT WOMAN

The Expat Woman is a global community of professional women headquartered in San Francisco. Our network includes recent expats, expats who have immigrated many years ago and native-born women with very diverse backgrounds including entrepreneurs, investors, women executives, professional, jobseekers and homemakers. Our mission is to connect, educate and empower through our events, community and content.

SHEWORX

SheWorx is the leading global platform and event series empowering 20,000+ female entrepreneurs to build and scale successful companies.

WOMEN TECHMAKERS

Google’s Women Techmakers program provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology.

WOMEN IN XR

WXR Fund invests in two of the greatest opportunities of our time: the future of computing and female entrepreneurs. They have a vibrant community of women solving some of the most important issues of the future.

WOMEN MAKE

An open community that supports women makers and puts them at the forefront. Join the Telegram group.

WOMEN IN VC

The world’s largest global directory for women in venture capital to find each other, connect and collaborate.

YSYS

YSYS is a thriving startup community for founders, developers, creatives, and investors on a mission to make a difference. Focused in London.

The Entreprenista League

Are you an ambitious woman entrepreneur looking to make meaningful connections that lead to real business results? The Entreprenista League was created for you. When you join the community you will get access to exclusive networking events, educational business sessions and office hours with successful founders, features on your business on Entreprenista.com, discounts on business tools and solutions, and access to the community platform to network and connect with other founders. When you become an Entreprenista League member, you join a thriving community of inspiring women leaders who will be your go-to source to get the most relevant and up-to-date business news and founder resources.

If you have a community you are a part of or want your community to be added onto this active list, feel free to comment on the article and I would be happy to add it in :)

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Spandana
Spandana

Written by Spandana

Entrepreneur & Engineer | Currently hacking at fbpay

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