I grew up as a first-generation Korean American. Both my parents worked but shared the load. My dad tied my hair each morning and took me to dance classes. My mom helped me with math homework and encouraged me to learn coding. As a result, I felt that there were no limits to what women were capable of. 

It wasn't until later in life that I learned there indeed can be limits - systemic and structural ones. 

Less than 3% of venture funding goes to companies founded solely by women, less than 15% are writing the checks for venture investment (as of H1 2021), and only 28% of leadership positions in tech are held by women. Yet women make up nearly 50% of the global population, will own 75% of discretionary spending worldwide, and over the next decade in the US are expected to control over $30T in assets as part of the “greatest generational wealth transfer in history.”

This is why I am proud of 500 Global’s long-standing support for female founders and female investors. ~25% of our global portfolio of more than 2900 companies are founded by women. In our recent Global Accelerator batch, 37% have female founders. We have even had certain accelerator cohorts exceed 50%, such as our 7th and current batch of our Sanabil 500 MENA Accelerator with 53% of companies with a female co-founder. Additionally, 500 Global’s leadership team and partners are 40% women. We believe this is a significant competitive advantage for us in identifying and backing promising teams worldwide. A few of our notable female founders that we backed early on include Melanie Perkins (Canva), Hooi Ling Tan (Grab), Edith Harbaugh (LaunchDarkly), Natalie Gordon (Babylist), Noura Sakkijha (Mejuri), Laura Behrens Wu (Shippo), and Hande Cilingir (Insider).

This March, we’re excited to celebrate Women’s History Month. Throughout the month, we will be featuring our partners, portfolio company founders, LPs, and more. All of these women have inspiring stories and perspectives, and we’re honored to share them with you. 

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