Pipeline Foundation creating more female angel investors

Pipeline Fellowship turns women investors into angels

There’s plenty of data out there that shows women make less than their male counterparts in similar occupations. Men also tend to hold a higher percentage of financial sector jobs and often are the majority of angel investor rosters. The Pipeline Fellowship, started by Natalia Oberti Noguera, works to increase the number of female angel investors and enable them to financially assist women-led for-profit organizations.

With more programs like these, more female investors will be able to make a financial impact on up-and-coming female-run businesses.

Eligibility for Pipeline Fellowship funding, participation

In order for a business to become eligible for funding, it must have a woman founder or co-founder, have a for-profit legal structure and align with a social or environmental mission. If selected, the business will receive funding in exchange for rewarding a board seat and equity to the angel investor.

Women who are interested in taking on more philanthropic projects for the first time and becoming a fellow for the program can benefit from applying for the Pipeline Fellowship because it educates them on the ins and outs of venture capital, and arms them with the tools they need to be of the greatest benefit to eligible companies. Current 2013 fellows include women in the New York and Bay Area in a wide range of industries, including consulting, law and marketing.

Connecting female entrepreneurs & philanthropists

Some of the program’s past fellowship investments include Happily Ever BorroWED, a company that works to reduce waste in the wedding industry by allowing consumers to rent bridal dresses and accessories at fractional prices, and DayOne Response, a company that created its own patented water treatment device, the DayOne Waterbag™.

Overall, the Pipeline Fellowship helps connect deserving female entrepreneurs and philanthropists in order to create beneficial relationships for all involved; by helping more women mature into frequent investors, they can more easily take part in the rewarding practice of angel investing.