LA's Top VCs Are Watching These 10 Female Founders

Hanna Chea
Hanna Chea is an editorial intern at dot.LA.
LA's top female founders

From helping save beehives to healing the human body, some of L.A.'s most innovative companies are helmed by female founders. Who stands above the pack? We asked the region's top VCs participating in our recent dot.LA sentiment survey to weigh in.


Ara Katz, a serial entrepreneur and founder of probiotic company Seed tops our list. Katz found a niche in a multi-billion dollar industry, but she acknowledges that this past year has been especially tough for women, as the pandemic forced millions to drop out of the workforce.

"It is not lost on me what a privilege it is to be building a company as a female founder and mother given how impactful the pandemic and the past year has been on women and mothers in the workforce," said Katz. "My best advice to founders is to build with abandon — it is contagious, amplifying and makes it all meaningful."

Nationally, female-founded or co-founded companies earned less than 3% of all venture capital in 2020, according to data from Pitchbook. Although women founders say they still face issues of sexism and encounter more obstacles than their male counterparts, there are signs of improvement. In the first quarter of this year, women entrepreneurs reeled in $9.8 billion in capital investment nationally – an all-time high in quarterly investments over the past 12 years.

We asked L.A.'s top VCs to tell us which female founders they have their eyes on as part of our Q1 sentiment survey.

In Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Ana, $544 million was poured into female founded startups alone over that time.

Therese Tucker, founder of fintech company BlackLine, which also made our list, said that it's important for women to find people who believe in them as they build their companies.

"Don't be intimidated by condescension," Tucker said, "Look for people you can actually partner with who 'get' your business."

And just as importantly, founder of health platform Kensho, Krista Berlincourt, said stay true to who you are.

"It is not easy. And you'll be surrounded by men, so just find the people who get you and your vision, hold onto them tight, and go for it. Then remember that soft is strong. You don't have to 'crush it' to be successful," she said. "Be you. Be flexible. Soften. Grow. That's the only thing that has ever worked," Berlincourt added.

Here's the complete list:

Ara Katz

Ara Katz, Seed

Ara Katz

Ara Katz is the co-founder and co-CEO of Seed, a Venice-based probiotic company designed to improve health and digestion. Katz's experience as a breastfeeding mother led her to explore the importance of microbes and their impact on bodily health. Among other leading roles, Katz was co-founder and CMO of ecommerce marketplace Spring, which was sold to ShopRunner in 2018. She was also on the founding team of Beach Mint, an e-commerce company for fashion and lifestyle brands.

Claire Schmidt

Claire Schmidt, AllVoices

Claire Schmidt

Claire Schmidt aims to empower workers through AllVoices, an anonymous reporting and management platform, which allows employees to report issues in the workplace. The LA-based company has raised a total of $4.1 million with investments by Crosscut, Greycroft, Halogen Ventures and dot.LA founder Spencer Rascoff. Inspired by the the MeToo movement, the platform lets employees alert management to problems like discrimination, harrasment, or work bias. Prior to roles at AllVoices, Schmidt was vice president of technology and innovation at Fox properties and senior director of giving at Thrive Market, an e-commerce platform for organic products.

\u200bAriel Kaye

Ariel Kaye, Parachute

Ariel Kaye

Ariel Kaye used her design and brand background to launch Parachute in 2014. Parachute is a direct-to-consumer bedding brand based in Culver City. The startup has raised over $47 million in funding to date with investments by H.I.G Capital, Jaws Ventures and Brilliant Ventures. The brand avoids chemicals and synthetics in their products putting an emphasis on sustainability.

Therese Tucker, BlackLine

Therese Tucker

Therese Tucker is the founder and executive chair of BlackLine, an LA-based platform for accountants that takes on repetitive or complicated tasks. BlackLine pulled in nearly $352 million in revenues in 2020, and expects to grow that to at least $410 million this year. Ranked among Fortune's '50 fastest growing' women led companies in 2016, the company also received first place in G2's "Best Finance Products of 2021" ranking.

Sophia Amoruso

Sophia Amoruso, Nasty Gal

Sophia Amoruso

Southern California native Sophia Amoruso is the founder and former owner of Nasty Gal, a multi-million dollar clothing store originally started on eBay. Nasty Gal was sold at a value of $20 million, including $15 million in debt, to BooHo in 2017. Amoruso's newest project is an eight-week entrepreneurship course called Business Class, which aims to help female business leaders begin or grow their small businesses. The New York Times bestseller author of#GIRLBOSS, she detailed her entrepreneurial story that was later made into a Netflix series.

\u200bMadeline Fraser

Madeline Fraser, Gemist

Madeline Fraser

Madeline Fraser is the CEO and founder of Gemist, a mobile app that allows users to design a ring and try it on at home before they buy. Fraser used her experience in growing tech-startups to create one of her own. The sustainable jewelry brand raised $1 million in funding in its first seed round in 2019 and last year was backed by De Beers Group Ventures, Hawke Ventures and Monique Woodward last year for an undisclosed amount.

Krista Berlincourt

Krista Berlincourt, Kensho

Krista Berlincourt

Berlincourt is the CEO and co-founder of Kensho, an Los Angeles-based health platform and guide to natural medicine. Kensho provides users with specialized wellness services from surfing to acupuncture. The company has raised $1.3 million and is backed by top investors like CrossCut Ventures, Female Founders Fund and Evolve Ventures. Prior to creating her own company, Berlincourt worked in public relations at venture-backed Simple.

Katherine Power, Who What Wear

Katherine Power

Katherine Power co-founded Who What Wear 15 years ago out of frustration with a fashion industry that was often out of reach for many. The brand focuses on providing affordable and size-inclusive fashion. She is now CEO of Clique Media Group, a parent company that oversees Who What Wear and other consumer brands. As of 2017, Clique Media Group raised over $15 million in funding with investments by Amazon, Greycroft and e.ventures. Power was also listed in Fortune's 40 under 40 in 2016.

\u200bCat Chen

Cat Chen, Skylar

Cat Chen

Cat Chen is the founder and CEO of Skylar, a fragrance and body care brand. Chen developed a hypo-allergenic and cruelty free fragrance after being dismayed by the lack of clean ingredients in high-priced perfumes. The company founded in 2017 has raised a total of $11 million backed by Amplify, FirstMark Capital and GingerBread Capital. Prior to Skylar, Chen was was an executive of operations at The Honest Company, where she helped grow the company to $300 million of revenue in her four years there.

Shivani Siroya

Shivani Siroya, Tala

Shivani Siroya

The founder and CEO of Tala, a Santa Monica-based consumer credit smartphone app, Shivani Siroya created the company to assist people in underrepresented markets. Tala uses advanced data science to provide personalized financial services, such as disbursing loans to people with no formal credit history. The startup has raised over $217 million in funding by top investors, and has since been mentioned in TedTalks, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. Siroya's company is valued at an estimated $750 million dollars as of 2019, and was deemed one of the top FinTech companies in the world by Forbes.

Lead image by Ian Hurley.

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LA Tech Week 2024: Saturday-Sunday Event Lineup
tech-week

Here’s what’s happening during the closing weekend (Oct 19 - Oct 20) of LA Tech Week 2024! Events are organized by location so you can easily catch the sessions that interest you most.

SATURDAY EVENTS

BEVERLY HILLS

12:00 PM

  • BIG Showcase (Invite Only):

BIG Showcase (Invite Only)

2:00 PM

Light Dao

Struck Capital, Seahorse Express

EAGLE ROCK

12:00 PM

Sunrise Integration, Shopify

EL SEGUNDO

9:00 PM

Administratum, Valar Atomics

HOLLYWOOD

10:00 AM

Passes

MALIBU

6:00 PM

  • Malibu Beachfront Investors Networking & Wine Tasting:See Details

Gaya Ventures

MARINA DEL RAY

6:00 PM

  • Awaken Your Spirit: A Journey of Transformation (Invite Only)

Sagos Distro, Alma Wellness

SANTA MONICA

7:00 AM

Founders Running Club

8:30 AM

Techstars

9:00 AM

Magic Mind

StartupStarter, Inc., City of Santa Monica

10:00 AM

Gen She

AI LA

Crea, Barry's, Unsubscribe

10:30 AM

Plantologist

11:30 AM

  • Pickleball Palooza (Invite Only)

YouTube

1:00 PM

  • Realfren Games: From strangers to an inner Realfren within 52 weekends: See Details

Office for Humanity and Circuit Works

  • Talking blockchain technology with special guests: See Details

LadyDayDao

5:00 PM

KARD, What's Plots

THE VALLEY

7:00 AM

Camino5

VENICE

9:00 AM

Westside Yogis

11:00 AM

Open App

1:00 PM

Ripe and Teddy's Hot House

4:00 PM

  • Fashion Forward: How AI is Redefining the Fashion Industry: See Details

VIAVIA, BNTO.RENT, ALMA.AI

VIRTUAL

11:00 AM

BLCK UNICRN

WEST HOLLYWOOD

7:00 PM

Next Sequence

SUNDAY EVENTS

INGLEWOOD

12:00 PM

Entrepreneur Ventures, VCPE GROUPS

PLAYA DEL RAY

2:00 PM

AI LA, DELL, NVIDIA

SANTA MONICA

10:00 AM

  • Women Founders, Cold Brew & Beach View, Rooftop: See Details

Clutch Talent

11:00 AM

11DollarSunglasses.com, Less Litter Foundation

12:00 PM

Data in LA, Amplitude

12:30 AM

New Moon, Warner UK Innovations

TOPANGA CANYON

3:00 PM

Dreamore

VENICE

8:00 AM

  • Surf session with founders, investors, creators: See Details

Surfed Club, Bow Shock

12:00 PM

  • Podcast Panel and Brunch: LA Tech Community Builders: See Details

WeAreLATech.com, Blankspaces.com

VIRTUAL

2:00 PM

BLCK UNICRN


For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!


Download the dot.LA App

LA Tech Week 2024: Friday’s Event Lineup
tech-week

Check out Friday, October 18th's schedule for LA Tech Week 2024! Events are sorted by location so you can easily find what matches your goals for the day.

BEVERLY HILLS

8:00 AM

Scrappy

BRENTWOOD

7:30 AM

Seaside Ventures

CULVER CITY

9:00 AM

Intersections LA

1:30 PM

  • Showcasing Bioscience Innovation in LA County (Invite Only)

BioscienceLA, County o LA, Larta Institute, LAEDC

5:00 PM

Grid110

6:00 PM

ACT House, Sip & Sonder

EL SEGUNDO

7:00 PM

Dirac, Inc.

INGLEWOOD

10:00 AM

Zoo Corporation, Embedded Ventures

12:00 PM

  • Tech & The Built Environment Series: LA28 Roundtable & SoFi Stadium Tour: See Details Here

Blended Impact

MARINA DEL REY

9:00 AM

USC ISI

PACIFIC PALISADES

4:00 PM

Silicon Valley Bank, Emmeline Ventures

PLAYA DEL REY

8:00 AM

AI LA

5:30 PM

AI LA

PLAYA VISTA

12:00 PM

  • Women In Gaming Lunch at Google (Invite Only)

Google

4:00 PM

Verizon, Infinity Festival

SANTA MONICA

11:00 AM

SVRN Ventures

Headline, Slow Ventures, Karat

2:00 PM

Glyf

Botanical, Panoptic

The American South Asian Network (ASAN)

4:00 PM

  • Pizza, Wine, & Connectivity: Celebrating the Nomadic App Revolution:See Details Here

Synadia

The American South Asian Network (ASAN)

Dory Consulting

  • Women in Tech: Beachfront Rooftop at Sunset - Wine-up & Unwind: See Details Here

Clutch Talent

Cohere Commerce

5:00 PM

Clutch Talent

Pirros

6:00 PM

  • Unlocking Capital with Angels & Advisors | No Pressure Networking + Panel:See Details Here

No Pressure Networking

Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC

6:15 PM

  • Navigating Intersections: Empowering Leaders in Challenging Times: See Details Here

Intersectional Ventures

7:00 PM

Mantis VC, Lightspeed Venture Partners

Medusa Ai, Marco Di Luca Event Design

SOUTH LA

9:00 AM

USC Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Cap Table Coalition, PledgeLA, Sisters with Ventures

UCLA

1:30 PM

CrownData.AI

2:00 PM

Taisu Ventures, Quotient Ventures

VENICE

7:30 AM

Run Tech Club

9:00 AM

Google

12:00 PM

Ripe and Teddy's Hot House

5:30 PM

Spire Circles

7:00 PM

Moss Venice, Yuzulabs, JPMorgan Chase

8:00 PM

Truffle

VIRTUAL

2:00 PM

BLCK UNICRN

WEST HOLLYWOOD

7:30 PM

Legendary Ventures, Day Dream Ventures

WESTSIDE

9:30 AM

A16Z GAMES

7:00 PM

  • Female Funders & Founders (Invite Only)

L'ATTITUDE Ventures

WESTWOOD

9:00 AM

Fedtech, National Security Innovation Network (NSIN)


For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!

Download the dot.LA App

LA Tech Week 2024: Thursday’s Event Lineup
tech-week

Here’s what’s in store for Thursday, October 17th at LA Tech Week 2024! Check out the events by location below to find sessions that align with your interests and goals for an inspiring day in LA’s tech scene.

BEL AIR

5:00 PM

Andrew Yeung, Blindspot

8:00 PM

Andrew Yeung, Blindspot

BEVERLY HILLS

8:00 AM

Scrappy

2:00 PM

WE Global Studios

6:00 PM

  • Breaking Barriers: Women Leading the Future of Tech Innovation :See Details Here

Her Workplace

BRENTWOOD

4:00 PM

Slyngshot, Singleton Foundation, East West Projects

6:00 PM

Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs of Southern California

CULVER CITY

9:00 AM

Intersections LA

9:30 AM

Tediophobes

5:30 PM

Curbivore

DOWNTOWN

10:00 AM

USC Marshall Grief Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

5:00 PM

Toonstar, Loyola Marymount University

EL SEGUNDO

3:00 PM

DTI

5:00 PM

Sift

5:30 PM

Shield Capital

6:00 PM

Sigma Computing, Prodege

HiveWatch

HAWTHORNE

6:30 PM

Astrolab

INGLEWOOD

11:00 AM

Sonder Impact, Sip & Sonder

6:00 PM

Sonder Impact, Sip & Sonder, ACT House

LONG BEACH

6:30 PM

Skuttlebot, Maintenance Bay 54

MALIBU

6:30 PM

Reitler, Carta

MARINA DEL REY

3:00 PM

USC, Information Sciences Institute

5:00 PM

USC, ISI

PALMS

6:00 PM

The Law Firm of Shivani Honwad, Women in LAVA

PLAYA DEL REY

8:00 AM

AI LA

PLAYA VISTA

5:00 PM

Stash, Google

6:00 PM

AI copilot

Tech Me Out, Global Objects, Verizon Innovation Lab

SANTA MONICA

8:00 AM

Human To Human, Superbloom Collective

8:30 AM

Upfront Ventures, Fenwick

olive, Bonfire, Headline, Fika, TipTop Ventures

9:30 AM

  • Founders & Investors - Barry’s Bootcamp with SVB (Invite Only)

Silicon Valley Bank

Clocktower Ventures, Intuit Ventures

Founders Wellth Club

10:00 AM

Pilot

  • ZK House (Invite Only)

Aleo

10:30 AM

Red Beard Ventures

12:00 PM

Inner Circle HQ

  • Tech & The Built Environment Series: Advancing Clean Energy Projects Regionally :See Details Here

Blended Impact, LAEDC

Brydge Club, Lendtech, Two to Twenty

1:00 PM

Olympian Motors

2:00 PM

  • YouTube Creator Collective Pickleball Tournament (Invite Only)

YouTube, @iJustine, @LaurDIY, @StevenHe

3:00 PM

Beaute in Tech

AppsFlyer, Mavan

  • Globalize VC Fund Launch & Startup Showcase (Invite Only)

Globalize

yess.io

3:30 PM

How Women Invest, 2045 Ventures

4:00 PM

WeAreLATech

Amplify, Wonder Ventures, Fenwick, Stifel, CDW

  • Funding the Future of Mental Health Fireside Chat + Mixer (Invite Only)

Silicon Valley Bank, Milken Institute, GreyMatter Capital

Olympian Motors

Hedra

4:30 PM

Emerging LA, Sunset Ventures, Fidelity Private Shares

5:00 PM

  • Investing in Identity: Underrepresented Founders' Consumer Brands :See Details Here

XRC Ventures, Black Women Talk Tech

Palm Drive Capital, Deel

NextGen Venture Partners

MELT

Squad.App

  • Navigating Challenges: AI Solutions for CEOs (Invite Only)

Tripsider, Ferla

LAstartups, Startup Coil, Expert Dojo

5:15 PM

So Cal Tech, WeAreLATech

5:30 PM

  • FEMTECH Innovation & Beauty: Shaping the Future of Women's Health and Wellness :See Details Here

Plantologist

StartupStarter, Hollo.AI, 1500 or Nothing

Clutch Talent

Everything Marketplaces

6:00 PM

Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC

Black Tech Meetup

USC Alumni Entrepreneurs Network

Ince Capital

Dreaming in Digital A.I.

  • Israeli Startup Network Meetup (Invite Only)

Fusion VC, Fenwick

  • Fanfix Tech Week (Invite Only)

Fanfix

  • The Kickback (Invite Only)

The Wealth Salons, DVRGNT Ventures, HubSpot, BLCK VC, Cooley, Fabric VC, Canadian Consulate of LA

INCE Capital

This Week In Fintech

Share Ventures, Jack Taylor PR

6:30 PM

ElevenLabs

PowerYou AI

Higgsfield AI

Legendary Ventures, Hustle Fund

7:00 PM

Emerging LA, Sunset Ventures, Fidelity Private Shares

Zeal

8:00 PM

Litquidity Ventures

VAN NUYS

8:00 AM

Pacer.co

VENICE

9:00 AM

Supply Change Capital

Arc, Humans Anonymous, Kindo

10:00 AM

Wave Digital Assets

12:00 PM

JP Morgan, Lux Capital, Camber Road, Varda

1:00 PM

The Redline Apart Hotel

2:00 PM

Everybody Ventures, TriNet

Mercato, Silicon Valley Bank

4:30 PM

West of Lincoln

5:00 PM

The Redline Venice Apart Hotel

Kyte

5:30 PM

XPRIZE, the Female Funders Club, Abundance360

6:00 PM

Graphite.dev

Brandy

AI LA

Intro, a16z

7:00 PM

Date Week, Paloma

VIRTUAL

11:00 AM

SaaSfluencer

APCO

BLCK UNICRN

1:00 PM

Untapped Ventures

Wonder

2:00 PM

Azarian Growth Agency

WEST HOLLYWOOD

4:00 PM

Cake Equity

6:30 PM

A16z

Styld

7:00 PM

Bulletpitch, Pluto LA

  • Science Fiction Meets Science Fact: Advanced Manufacturing (Invite Only)

ACME Capital, Calibrate VC, Techstars Space, Advaita Capital

WESTLAKE VILLAGE

4:00 PM

Trinet

WESTSIDE

11:00 AM

A La Mode Branding

Arizona Commerce Authority

2:00 PM

UCLA Technology Development Group, CNSI at UCLA

5:30 PM

Pryzm

  • Sunset Soirée (Invite Only)

Greycroft, Sound

6:00 PM

Graham & Walker

For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!

Download the dot.LA App

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