Report: Thirty percent of Founder Institute startups today founded by women

Founder Institute has announced that 30% of its startups today are women-founded. The information came via the global accelerator’s Impact Report, which coincided with the organization’s 10 year anniversary.

Featured in the report is the Female Founder Initiative (FFI), which was launched in 2016 by Rachel Sheppard and Megan Todd to reignite efforts towards gender equality in startups. Highlights include:

• 50% YoY increase in women-founded Alumni from 2016 to 2017 after launching FFI
• 30% of Founder Institute Alumni companies are women-founded
• 38% of Alumni in the U.S. were women-founded in 2018
• Women are 10% more likely to be accepted to the program than men and 8% more likely to complete the program

Said Director of Global Marketing Rachel Sheppard, “We’re really proud of the Founder Institute’s Female Founder Initiative. We believe in our mission and look forward to the years ahead.”

Additional highlights from the organization’s impact report include:

• The most conductive personality traits for success based on 10 years of data
• The success of the Female Founders initiative in emerging markets like Afghanistan and Pakistan
• A 50% YoY increase in female founders driven by the Female Founder initiative
• FI partnerships with D&I groups Black Female Founders (BFF), Vet-tech and StartOut

The Founder Institute was founded in 2009 by Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan. The idea for the organization came from operating TheFunded.com, where it became apparent that many entrepreneurs lacked the structure and support network needed to be successful.

Featured photo of Founder Institute Director of Global Marketing Rachel Sheppard

This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company