Where founders, investors, service providers, and program partners have equal access to resources,
can efficiently connect, and collaboratively drive innovation. |
Hi there, Greetings, freshly back from the Dominican Republic.
I had a relaxing week on vacation with my family, although the flight home was a little stressful.
For the last hour of the flight, the child sitting behind us violently threw up. My 11-year-old daughter had an uncontrollable reaction to the horrific noises, hysterically crying, and telling me that she "didn't feel safe right now."
It might have seemed like an overreaction, but I realized that for a kid whose formative years have been shaped by a global pandemic, her brain instantly went to the worst-case scenario: if someone is sick near us, we're all about to catch it. To her, illness equals catastrophe. It pulls on my heart to think about how often she must feel unsafe.
It also made me think about the perpetual lack of safe spaces women and people of color experience in fundraising.
I think of safety as having three key elements—physical, mental, and emotional. All of them have to be satisfied to feel truly safe. You need to feel physically safe to even show up. You need to feel mentally safe, knowing people will take you seriously. And you need to feel emotionally safe, knowing you won't be judged based on things that have nothing to do with your business or competence. When you walk into a room to pitch and see a stark physical difference between yourself and the people evaluating you, your mental and emotional safety take a hit. Women and minority founders experience this constantly, all while knowing that less than 2% of VC funding goes to them. One Black male founder confided in me that he could see the light leave people's eyes as soon as they saw him.
If you're a woman, your physical safety can also be at risk. A 2023 survey by Women Who Tech found that 41% of female founders reported experiencing harassment, and 50% of these cases involved sexual harassment. Potential investors made up 40% of the harassers, with a whopping 59% of them explicitly propositioning female founders for sex in exchange for funding or introductions.
These statistics don't just sit in the back of our minds when we enter a room; they actively shape how we prepare for every interaction. It’s hard to feel safe in these spaces because, in one way or another, it never does. So we go in with caution, our guards up, ready for the possibility of a very real fight.
A couple of years ago, I was at a startup event when a well-known investor and mentor put his hand on my thigh while we were sitting at a dinner. I froze. Three other men at the table saw it happen. None of them said a word. I had walked into what I thought was a safe business setting, and in an instant, that illusion shattered. (I later learned I was not the only woman this happened to.) It was actually one of Scroobious' service providers who helped me process the incident and had my back. That support didn't come out of nowhere; we had built trust by working together. That's why our vendor marketplace isn't just about connecting founders and investors with services. It's about fostering a community where everyone has allies. Where safety isn't an afterthought, it's built in. We all deserve to feel safe. To know that someone has our back. That we belong. That we have an equal shot at opportunity.
On this last day of Black History Month, I encourage all of us to reflect on how these fundamental human needs - safety, belonging, access - are things Black communities have had to fight for over and over again.
Black founders continue to show up for themselves and others, despite generations of exclusion from wealth-building systems. Because of how the venture capital industry works and who works in it, Black founders have been systemically shut out of funding to the tune of receiving only 0.4% of venture capital dollars. The industry needs structural change to make meaningful progress, which will likely take generations to catch up from the lack of wealth, access, and connections. The same is true for women and other underrepresented founders. The data proves it's worst for Black women.
Scroobious is building a new capital access system designed to fund the rest of us. A safe space where under-networked founders can craft investable fundraising pitches with guidance and support and connect with aligned investors. Angel investors are a critical part of this system - not just because they provide capital, but because they also bring mentorship, connections, and operational insights that can change the trajectory of an early-stage startup. And they’ll rise together too, because not only are angel investors more likely to invest in minority-led businesses, but statistics show that minority-led startups consistently outperform and achieve better business outcomes. According to McKinsey, women and minority groups with at least 30% representation are significantly more likely to financially outperform those with 30% or fewer.
So, by being here - by reading this, engaging with this community - you’re helping us push this fight for safety and inclusion forward. Thank you. And Happy Black History Month. |
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Allison Byers, Founder & CEO |
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I'm co-presenting at SXSW on 3/8 with Marcia Dawood on Strategic Fundraising: New Ways to Find the Right Investors. We're sharing an approach to fundraising that leverages equity, debt, revenue-based crowdfunding, attracts philanthropic investors, and uses platforms to connect with aligned backers at all stages of the fundraising lifecycle.
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Pepperdine's Most Fundable provides the 2025 Most Fundable Companies List with an invitation to their showcase event in 8/24 in CA and with significant national recognition, including publication in Entrepreneur magazine. You do not need to be affiliated with Pepperdine to participate. Applications due 5/20.
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The Orlando Magic Venture Challenge powered by LEAD is more than just funding—it's a game-changing opportunity for startups in the late pre-seed to seed stage with post-product solutions for the sports or health sectors. Applications due 3/5. |
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Featured Founder: Elizabeth McWhorter |
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Elizabeth is the co-founder of ThriveIEP, a platform changing how parents manage the special education process, empowering them with robust, generative AI-driven insights, information, and assistance to improve educational outcomes for kids.
With a brand new website and their first users in the door, ThriveIEP just launched their first newsletter and joined the most recent CIC Growth Accelerator cohort.
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"I love hard things, but I didn’t know what hard was until I started advocating for my oldest child to get what he needed from our local public school. It was frustrating, expensive, complex, and impacted every aspect of our life. And it’s the same for millions of families every year. It’s why we founded ThriveIEP, a digital platform that breaks down complex information into clear actions, helping students and caregivers—from K-12 through college—understand their strengths and confidently advocate for their needs. ThriveIEP is here to ensure no family navigates this journey alone." - Elizabeth |
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