According to a 2015 report in CIO Magazine, "Only 15 percent of venture capital-funded companies have a women on the executive team, up from 5 percent in 1999. Even worse, a mere 2.7 percent of venture capital-funded companies have a woman CEO."
Colorado appears to be focusing on reversing this trend. With Boulder, Denver and Ft. Collins all named to NerdWallet's Top 10 Places for a Woman to start a business, Colorado has three cities in the top 10. Further, MergeLane Accelerator and BizGirls are local Colorado programs focused on building the ranks for women leaders in the start up community.
A few companies showing that women founders have a place in the start up world are Havenly, a former graduate of the female focused MergeLane in Boulder, The Cotery, Battington Lashes, and Borrowing Magnolia.
Havenly, founded by two sisters, Lee Mayer and Emily Motayed, has gone through two recent funding rounds for their web based interior design platform. Recent funding totals have them at $13M+, having raised rounds in November 2015 for $7.5M and March 2016 for $5.8M.
The Cotery, and e-commerce/apparel company, based in Boulder, led by Charlotte Genevier, offers a solution for smaller runs of clothing by start up designers who can gain certain commitments for sales prior to manufacturing.
Battington Lashes, a beauty company based in Denver, is focused on cruelty free beauty products, with initial product launch focused on woman's eye lash market. Founder by Sirine Swed, Battington has quickly gained attention in markets outside Colorado, carried in over 15 states.
Borrowing Magnolia, seeking to make real women feel fabulous on the wedding day, was founded by sisters Ashley Steele and Cali Brutz. Serving as a digital brokerage for selling, buying, and renting a wedding dress, the service allows former dress owners to allow bargain hunters with discriminating taster purchase and rent their dress for their special day.
These women are showing, in different stages, that women in Colorado have what it takes to lead a start up, navigate the VC waters that just ten/fifteen years ago weren't as welcoming, and flourish in a way that many start ups, men or women led, would love to replicate.
