The Diligent Observer Podcast Episode 31: "Less Than 2% of VC Funding" | SWITCH CEO Kate Brodock on Untapped Founder Talent, The Arbitrage Opportunity in Women-Led Ventures, and Equipping New Angel Investors
Insights from a twenty-year tech ecosystem veteran creating pathways for women angel investors
Today's episode explores 3 ideas that caught my attention:
- Capital distribution defies logic - Kate highlighted that less than 2% of VC funding goes to women-led teams, yet data shows they're 3x better at capital efficiency. Wild.
- Education activates capital - Confidence gaps, not capability gaps, often prevent qualified individuals from angel investing. Her focus on education first, then group formation, flips the traditional model brilliantly as this is something I’ve seen many investor communities struggle with.
- Unconscious bias has measurable patterns - Research shows identical pitches get forward-looking questions when delivered by men versus backward-looking questions for women. The awareness of this tendency alone is a key step to evolving our approach.
I explore these ideas and more with Kate Brodock, CEO of SWITCH and General Partner at The W Fund, focusing on addressing funding disparities for women and underrepresented founders. Her dual perspective as both investor and educator positions her uniquely to identify market inefficiencies, having created pathways for hundreds of new angel investors through her "Angel Sessions" programs. Kate combines academic knowledge with practical investment experience to address systemic challenges in the venture capital landscape.
During our conversation, Kate shares:
- Specific examples of portfolio companies positioned to thrive through challenging market cycles - from agricultural data solutions to community-focused fintech platforms serving traditionally underbanked populations.
- A framework for recognizing unconscious bias in due diligence by comparing how investors typically approach male versus female founders with identical pitches.
- Insights on the "feminine versus masculine" leadership traits that impact how founders are perceived, along with strategies for founder coaching that strengthens leadership capacity beyond Series A.
Connect with Kate
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All opinions are personal and may not reflect the views of The Diligent Observer. Not investment advice.