It is not a piece of cake to grow a successful startup for anyone. And, every entrepreneur has to face tough challenges such as building great technology, acquiring customers, and recruiting talent among others. However, for some entrepreneurs, there could be additional hurdles that prevent them from witnessing success.
One such challenge is access to venture capital, which is important for the growth of the company. However, this is just one of the bonus hurdles faced by women entrepreneurs. Early stage female founders who pitch in for capital are claimed to receive $1 million less on an average as compared to their make counterparts. Notably, a Pitchbook report stated that female-founded companies secured only 2.8% of venture capital back in 2019.
These are some facts that show us that there is a long way for sustainable progress. But one good thing is that in 2019, 21 female-founded companies achieved the unicorn status. While there are numerous challenges for women founders, Microsoft’s venture fund M12 alongside Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures and Mayfield Fund have selected top five female-founded enterprise software startups outside of the US as a part of the global Female Founders Competition. These aspiring female-founded startups are detailed below.
Cledara (London)
Founder: Cristina Vila
Funding: €850k
Founded year: 2018
Why its hot: Cledara is a purchasing and analytics platform for businesses that want to manage and control recurring subscription payments. It helps technology companies collaborate, coordinate, and scale their buying processes so that these companies can save their money and time. Cledara works with the mission to provide building blocks for tech companies to automate, and embed their banking within business processes.
Ladingo (Israel)
Founders: Guy Levi, Hagar Valiano
Funding: €910k
Founded year: 2017
Why its hot: With Ladingo, online retailers get the ability to sell cross-border effortlessly. It is the first software service provider to offer a robust enterprise cloud-based solution that connects sellers, online shoppers, ocean freight forwarders to enable the international B2C e-commerce of both small and large items in a modular and scalable way.
Localyze (Germany)
Founders: Franziska Löw, Hanna Asmussen, Lisa Dahlke
Funding: €190k
Founded year: 2018
Why its hot: Localyze is an all-in-one software, which simplifies the relocation process for companies as well as their international employees. Led by three female founders, it operates with the goal to facilitate the relocation support for individuals and companies. Its solution if quite flexible and easy to use and provides all information so that both sides can handle the process efficiently.
Deployed (London)
Founders: Emma Rees, Kayleigh Kuptz
Founded year: 2018
Why its hot: Deployed is a SaaS platform that supports businesses to make better decision. The B2B SaaS productivity platform defines work and builds trust. Deployed works with the IACCM to produce scaleable SoW (Statement of Work) to address the most common scope disputes.
Timing (Israel)
Founders: Ilan Fridman, Maayan Darki
Funding: €3.5 million
Founded year: 2016
Why its hot: Iraeli startup Timing helps field service organisations to utilise resources in a better way and achieve outstanding efficiency. Also, it makes sure that they provide exceptional customer experience. Timing has a wide range of services such as secondment, temporary employment, payrolling, recruitment and selection, etc.
Stock photo from wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock
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