Lately, I’ve been thinking about what really drives systemic change in venture — not lofty slogans, but the small, structural choices that compound into outsized impact.
At Alma Angels, a few patterns keep showing up. They look tactical in the moment, but in hindsight, they’re transformative:
▪️ Measure impact in deals, not press.
A traditional syndicate might do 5–15 investments a year. Alma Angels did 68 last year alone. Scale matters.
▪️ Start at the cap table.
Wealth at the early stage is created as a founder or as an investor. If women aren’t in those positions, they’re locked out of the biggest driver of wealth creation.
▪️ Design away bias.
Instead of one syndicate lead deciding, every deal is open to all members. With 550+ angels, bias gets diluted and different kinds of companies get a shot.
▪️ Community is capital.
The biggest value-add isn’t always the largest check. Founders point to Alma angels as the most helpful on their cap table — doors opened, not just money wired.
▪️ Broadening who gets funded compounds returns.
Women-founded businesses deliver 78% ROI vs. 31% for all-male teams. Less capital, more creativity, faster profitability — the math is on their side.
▪️ Play long-term games.
This isn’t about a single round. It’s about building 10,000 angels backing 1,000 companies every year — and generating $1 trillion in women-led wealth by 2050.
The lesson: systemic change doesn’t happen in headlines. It happens in repeated behavior, in how capital is allocated, in who gets the chance to build.