Episode
EP342 How SheBoot is Solving the 2% Problem
- Podcast
- The Cash Rich Exit Podcast
- Published
- Mar 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2023
- Processing state
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- https://iamamillionairesonowwhat.libsyn.com/ep342-how-sheboot-is-solving-the-2-problem
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Summary
Host: Colleen O'Connell-Campbell, Wealth Advisor, RBC Dominion Securities Guests: Sonya Shorey (CEO, Invest Ottawa), Jennifer Francis (Chair, Capital Angel Network), and Julia Elvidge - Co-founders of She Boot Episode Summary: Only 2% of venture capital flows to women-founded companies - yet women start roughly 15% of all companies. In this episode, Colleen sits down with the three co-founders of SheBoot, a national nonprofit that is tackling this gap from both sides of the table - making women tech founders investment-ready and mobilizing women angel investors to fund them. What started in 2020 with 10 investors putting in $10,000 each has grown into a national program with a waitlist of investors, $300,000 in annual investment prizes, and $54 million catalyzed in follow-on funding. The conversation covers how SheBoot's dual mandate works, the special purpose vehicle structure that simplifies the cap table, real stories of founders who have scaled from pitch competition to million-dollar raises and beyond, and why getting more women investing is just as critical as getting more women funded. Key Takeaways Women receive approximately 2% of venture capital despite founding roughly 15% of companies. Women founders are far more likely to bootstrap - and research shows that is often by necessity, not by choice. She Boot was born in 2020 when the co-founders noticed women were not showing up to pitch competitions. The program now operates nationally (incorporated as a national nonprofit in 2022) with founders from coast to coast. The model has a dual mandate - helping women tech founders become investment ready, and activating women angel investors. Both sides are essential - founders need to see women in the room when they pitch, and investors need practical, hands-on educ…