After last year’s success, Beyond The Billion returned to Sydney bigger and better, with the full support of Dell Technologies, Goldman Sachs, and Carol Schwartz’s family office — Trawalla Group.

While some progress had been made locally, led by BTB’s Country Lead and Global Advisory Council Member Carol Schwartz, deep, systemic work is inevitably needed within the Australian ecosystem.  

“Fueling Women-Led Innovation and Driving Returns”

Despite the growing number of women building robust businesses in Australia, women-led startups still secure only a fraction of venture capital funding. But a transformative shift is on the horizon— with the Great Wealth Transfer, expected to channel $5 trillion significantly into the hands of women. How will these investors maximize their impact? What is the current landscape for female founders and the funds that invest in them? What more needs to be done?

This was the focus of the discussions.

Some Key Takeaways:

Key to our conversations was acknowledging that investing in women-founded and co-founded companies by “returns-first” investors was a priority for three reasons. Such companies often:

Represent a unique opportunity to increase alpha and drive returns: given years of data showing that women-led companies have higher returns per dollar invested with earlier exits and higher valuations.

Address opportunities and innovative solutions: often ignored by non-diverse teams thus solving major problems for major sections of the population and finally

Offer solutions to critical and even life-threatening problems we all face—men, women and children: whether related to education, healthcare, longevity, climate or so much more—and none of us get to benefit when these innovative solutions are not funded and scaled.

Five Key Themes Discussed in Investor Roundtable & Founder Panel

1. Intersectionality in Venture Capital

The importance of recognizing and integrating factors like age, disability, sexuality, neurodivergence, and regionality within the investment practice enhances inclusion and supports a more diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem.

One VC firm highlighted during the investor roundtable how having decision-makers with intersectional identities, served not just as a role model for progress toward a more diverse venture capital industry but importantly enables better understanding and support for diverse entrepreneurs. This is ultimately a returns strategy: where capital allocators best reflect the population served by entrepreneurs innovating on the ground. 

2. Evolving Investment Landscape

The investment industry increasingly recognizes the value of funding women-led businesses, shifting focus toward tangible actions and decision-making to drive meaningful progress. The growing acceptance and support for diversity are leading to increased opportunities for female entrepreneurs — a reason why the BTB Pledge Campaign continues to take off.

Supported by examples like Canva’s success, Rick Baker of Blackbird VC emphasized the need for enhanced support frameworks to overcome persistent challenges in funding female entrepreneurs. He openly addressed the ongoing criticism of Australian VC funds and in particular of Blackbird, recognizing the need to address the bias female founders face and importantly, beyond that re-examine internal processes to enable women to progress through the ranks in partnership within his firm.

Carol Schwartz highlighted the growth of family offices as a unique opportunity, with their patient capital and managerial freedom often empowering women. Beyond The Billion has successfully mobilized $400 million to support female entrepreneurs in Australia, with efforts further supported by a growing list of family offices and institutional investors in Australia, underscoring the increased awareness of investing in women as a returns and impact strategy. To date, 14 pledged funds investing in Australia have joined Beyond The Billion’s consortium of funds.

3. Challenges and Opportunities for Scaling Women-led Ventures

Dedicated efforts to support female entrepreneurs through scouting and partnerships are crucial. This includes providing necessary networking opportunities and follow-on funding to ensure women have the resources to scale their businesses effectively. 

While diverse teams are often celebrated, the female founders in attendance highlighted the clear bias that exists — where, despite the significant traction solo female founders gathered, solo male founders who had less traction with comparable businesses were somehow able to attract more venture capital. 

Women-led businesses face significant hurdles when scaling, particularly in gaining access to early-stage funding and later-stage funding.  Alex Schuman of iconic fashion brand Carla Zampatti; and his sisters’ success in re-establishing their mother’s fashion business demonstrated the importance of passing on legacy and empowering the next generation. However, Alex also pointed to the complexities of scaling a global business from Australia, while Rick noted that better support for consumer-focused businesses in the Australian VC industry is needed. 

As highlighted by Kristy Chong in building Modibodi, although she successfully exited the business at $140 million; it was tough for her consumer brand of leakproof underwear to attract venture capital initially — which meant she ended up bootstrapping the business until Private Equity investors took a stake at a later stage.

4. Diversity, Inclusion, and Systemic Change

Female entrepreneurs face significant challenges, including accessing early-stage funding and gaining the necessary expertise to scale their businesses. 

The conversation emphasized the need for a comprehensive support system that prioritizes funding and goes beyond, providing mentorship, advisory, and practical support to empower female founders. Sarah Chen-Spellings of BTB further emphasized how women were often “over-mentored, and underfunded”; and how systemic change requires the industry not to blame women but to understand the root causes of the issue.

Gender investment gaps persist, but efforts to address these are gaining momentum. Initiatives like Giants and Foundry that promote female entrepreneurship were mentioned; highlighted the systemic biases solo female founders face and stressed the need for funding strategies that align with sectors women typically excel in, such as education and the business of care. There was also a call for more government support through public-private partnerships and initiatives to drive inclusive policies.

5. Investment Strategies and Impact

Investment firms are increasingly aware of the need to improve their internal diversity and are committing to actionable steps for change. This includes ensuring a more balanced gender representation, re-evaluating traditional advancement methods, and spearheading transparency and equity initiatives like “Equity Clear” (led by Scale Investors and the Alberts Family) to address systemic barriers and improve investment processes.

A key takeaway from the panel, shared by Kristy – was the importance of cash management and strategic negotiation when bootstrapping a business. 

Founders are increasingly paying it forward by investing in the next generation, fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Programs supporting more women in venture capital, such as unconscious bias training and Blackbird’s 40% target for female-founded projects, are paving the way for long-term systemic change. Shelly Porges of BTB further emphasized the unique opportunity of the Great Wealth Transfer experienced also in Australia where next-generation members are indeed funding forward.