Trend 5: More female venture capitalists

A growing number of women are starting venture capital funds of their own or joining venture capital firms as partners. "In the last five years, there has been significant growth in the number of women VCs," says Denise Brosseau, executive director of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs in San Mateo. "In 1994, there were only six women in venture capital in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, I'm aware of over 75 of them. Not all of these women are yet partners in their funds, but this is still a great improvement." Women VCs are helping to bridge the gap between women entrepreneurs and a male dominated VC network.

Moreover, within the past few years, several venture capital firms that specialize in funding women-run companies have opened, including:

• Women's Growth Capital Fund (www.womensgrowthcapital.com). Based in Washington, D.C., and founded in 1997, this fund invests in a diverse array of companies that serve or are led by women.
• Viridian Capital (www.viridiancapital.com). This San Francisco-based fund, founded in 1997 by Willa Seldon and Christine Cordaro, invests in health care and technology companies.
• New Vista Capital (www.nvcap.com). Based in Silicon Valley, this fund invests in early-stage information technology comapnies led by women and minority entrepreneurs.
• Isabella Capital (www.fundisabella.com). This fund in Cincinnati invests in Internet, health care, and consumer-oriented companies. It opened in 2000.

These funds make investments that typically range from $200,000 to $2 million. Inroads Capital Partners, another women-oriented fund, invests larger sums, typically $1 million to $15 million. These new funds are helping to increase the visibility of women-led firms and are making other investors aware of the many promising businesses started by women.

"Since women VCs are likely to have extensive networks that include a good portion of successful women, they're more likely to tap these successful women for leadership positions in companies they fund," says Brosseau. "People fund people they know. Having women VCs at the table opens the door to more women getting their business plans reviewed and funded."

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