Capital X launches to connect women founders with investors and mentors

Capital X, a new community-driven initiative in the startup space, has been launched to increase the visibility and funding opportunities for women founders in Australia and New Zealand.

Capital X is positioned as an open resource for connecting women-led startups with investors, mentors and advisory networks. The platform, while focused on supporting women, is open to founders and investors of all genders.

The initiative is group-focused, with Tractor Venture’s co-founder and CEO Jodie Imam calling out Jessica Baird Walsh (associate director of AI and innovation and KPMG as well as an investor, founder and advisor) and her supporters for getting it live.

Capital X aims to address the gender funding gap, which remains a persistent challenge in the startup ecosystem.

“Capital X exists to increase the surface area of opportunity for women founders in Australia and New Zealand by supporting them to raise both capital and visibility. It was born from my own experience as a female founder raising capital, and my desire to do my part, however small, towards levelling the playing field for women founders,” Walsh said to SmartCompany.

Recent data from the Cut Through Ventures Q2 2024 report revealed while startups led by women or mixed-gender teams accounted for 20% of deals, the majority were at the pre-seed and seed stages.

Comparatively, women founders still struggled to secure larger capital rounds at later stages such as Series B, with only three female-led startups raising rounds over $20 million in 2024.

Women-led businesses also took another blow earlier this year with the closure of the federal government’s Boosting Female Founders program.

The website includes a public list of women founders in Australia and New Zealand and a list of women investors in the scene. This also includes men who want to be involved, such as general partner of M8 Ventures, Alan Jones, and Gavin Keeley from Tractor Ventures.

The platform invites men to participate as “supporters, allies, and advocates” to help fund women-led businesses and bring diversity to cap tables, advisory networks and boards.

“We know that women alone can’t solve the gender funding gap or the other challenges that exist for women founders. It’s not a gender problem, it’s an industry problem and as such we all have a role to play. Capital X is for women founders and investors, but also for men who want to put their hands up as supporters,” Walsh said.

“This is a resource that can be used by anyone who wants to elevate women founders, and the voices and profiles of the incredible women working tirelessly, but often quietly, in our ecosystem. This first step provides a way for them to find, and to be found.”

It’s worth noting the list is open for anyone to join, meaning users will need to be responsible for assessing credibility.

“Capital X is a community initiative. We do not endorse the skills or verify the qualifications of anyone on this list,” the website reads.

Capital X is launching at a time when other initiatives, such as Equity Clear, are also pushing for more transparency and accountability in venture capital funding.

Equity Clear, which began in mid-2023, encourages venture groups to disclose their funding data related to women-led startups. With 22 groups already committed at the end of last year, the initiative is working towards more consistent reporting practices across the industry.

Capital X is intended as a starting point for further collaboration, with Imam calling for ongoing participation from the Australian startup scene. The potential long-term success of the initiative will depend on the active engagement of both investors and founders, as well as the continued growth of resources to support women in securing capital and leadership roles.

“This list belongs to the ecosystem, and is just a starting point,” Imam said.

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