In the ever-evolving tech landscape, women-led scale-ups are making a growing impact. Published by the ScaleUp Institute, the Female Founders Index 2023 shows an impressive increase in female-founded businesses – with 623 scale-ups crossing the threshold of £10.2 million in turnover and/or £5.1 million in assets. The data represents a 70% rise in female-fronted scale-ups since the previous year.
These pioneering companies boast a collective turnover of £20.1 billion and have attracted substantial investment – a total of £3.7 billion. Beyond just numbers, the success of these enterprises is reflected in their growing teams. Female-led scale-ups more than doubled their employee base in 2023, showcasing their vital role in the creation of new opportunities in an exciting sector.
The outlook for female founders in 2024
Despite challenges posed by inflation and interest rates, female-founded firms are poised for significant growth in 2024. Women business owners are maintaining a positive, future-focussed outlook, with the majority foreseeing revenue growth in the next 12 months – demonstrating a remarkable adaptability in the face of adversity.
It’s clear that the venture capital landscape is evolving too – whether that means updating criteria to divert more investment to women-led businesses or launching diversity and inclusion initiatives. For instance, Playfair Capital’s ‘Female Founder Office Hours’ programme has brought together over 1,900 founders for 7,800 one-to-one mentoring and pitch meetings since 2019. Participants have raised £1.2 billion collectively.
“14% of unicorn founders are women – we can drastically increase this number by making Venture Capital and fundraising more transparent, and directly funding women-owned businesses,” said Triin Linamagi, Founding Partner at Sie Ventures, a trusted capital platform for female-founded businesses. “The future of the ecosystem becomes far more exciting when there’s a stronger network between investors and female founders, and it’s great to see these scale-ups continuing to lead the way in such a wide range of sectors.”
Championing women with Capsule’s Scale-Up 50
As always, Capsule’s Scale-Up 50 list this year celebrated the remarkable achievements of founders across all areas of innovation – especially women leaders forging the way.
“The amazing female founders in the Scale-Up 50 list underscores the significant progress women-led businesses are making in the tech sector,” Anna Brailsford, CEO of Code First Girls, told Capsule. “As we mark International Women's Day, it's a moment to recognize our achievements and acknowledge the ongoing hurdles. Looking ahead to 2024, there's optimism for female-led businesses scaling up, but substantial work remains. At Code First Girls, we're dedicated to breaking barriers and expanding opportunities for women in tech… so congratulations to all the remarkable women on this year's list.”
Let’s take a look at some of the companies leading the change and paving the path for future innovation…
GetHarley
Launched in 2019 by founder and CEO Charmaine Chow, GetHarley provides bespoke skincare solutions by combining cutting-edge technology with its portfolio of over 1,000 experienced clinicians. As a former Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, she’s been on the other side of the looking glass when it comes to raising capital – but after turning down MBA offers from Harvard Business School and Stanford University, she decided to turn her hand to a passion project. The platform has already garnered the trust of more than 100,000 loyal customers. And that’s not all – GetHarley recently secured a staggering $52 million in a funding round led by Index Ventures, the venture capital firm known for its support of iconic brands such as Farfetch, Figma, and Glossier.
Since emerging in 2021, Supercritical has rapidly become a leader in the climate sector. The ClimateTech was co-founded by Songkick alumni and former LocalGlobe venture partner Michelle You. A successful repeat entrepreneur, You grew Songkick to over 20 million monthly users. Today, she’s deeply invested in climate action, having launched Supercritical to tackle the monumental task of scaling the carbon removal market – a vital step towards eliminating 10 billion tonnes of CO2 annually by 2050. The company’s remarkable growth is marked by a Series A funding round in June 2023 and the fact that 35% of global corporate carbon removal purchases are attributed to Supercritical customers as of 2024. Notably, half of Supercritical’s investors are female, breaking the mould in a sector where diversity has often been lacking.
Meet Uncommon – a female-led business challenging the norm in the world of alternative proteins. Co-founded by CEO Benjamina Bollag and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Ruth Helen Faram, Uncommon uses cell culture, bioprocess, biomaterial, and food science expertise to create delicious lab-grown meat products without antibiotics, farmland expansion, or animal slaughter. A trailblazer in the tech and engineering industries, Bollag was previously the Lead Developer at student recruitment platform Unibuddy – while Dr. Faram brings over a decade of experience working with cultured cells to the project, having been instrumental in creating the world’s first bacon and pork belly from cultivated muscle for Uncommon. Uncommon’s funding is fuelled by strategic partnerships and investments – including the UK Research and Innovation’s Series A Partnership Programme delivered by Innovate UK.
Dexory is transforming the logistics industry. A visionary robotics startup, the company was founded by Andrei Danescu, Adrian Negoita, and Oana Andreea Jinga – who has a background in leading strategic partnerships at Google and is passionate about educating the world on the benefits and ethics of robotics, as well as the importance of building unbiased AI. Based in London, the company has revolutionised warehouse operations with its fully autonomous mobile robots and unique visual software platform – providing unparalleled global visibility for warehouse management. Dexory’s accomplishments include partnerships with industry giants such as Maersk and Huboo, a successful product and software launch in 2022, and an impressive investment of close to £30 million.
Originating from the University of Oxford in 2021, OXCCU is making strides in the sustainable energy sector. The carbon-to-value company was founded by current COO Jane Jin with Emeritus Professor Peter Edwards, Dr Tiancun Xiao, Dr Benzhen Yao, and Andrew Symes. Jin was previously ClimateTech lead at Oxford University Innovation and successfully launched Oxford Climate Tech and Sustainability Challenge 2021, an initiative designed to engage the community to tackle the climate crisis together. OXCCU is on a mission to meet growing demand for SAF-compliant fuels – envisioning a future where sustainable aviation fuel powers transatlantic flights. The startup recently secured £18 million in a Series A funding round, propelling the commercialisation of its innovative technology.
At the forefront of AI video classification is Unitary AI – the startup dedicated to creating artificial intelligence products designed to foster safe digital environments. The startup was co-founded by James Thewlis and CEO Sasha Haco, a mathematician who worked with Stephen Hawking on the black hole information paradox during her PhD at the University of Cambridge. Unitary’s mission is to elevate the online visual content experience, ultimately making the internet a safer place for everyone. In October 2023, the visionary announced a $15 million Series A funding round led by Creandum with participation from Paladin Capital Group and Plural.
Accelex is leveraging AI to automate private market data, providing data acquisition, analytics, and reporting solutions to enable better investment insights and decisions. The fintech was co-founded by Nicole A. Weder along with Franck Vialaron and Michael Aldridge. A seasoned FinTech entrepreneur, Weder is committed to combining her unique private market investment capabilities with next generation technology, to enable better deployment of resources around investment and business growth. The FinTech achieved a major milestone with the successful closure of a $15 million Series A funding round in November last year – with prominent financial digital platform FactSet leading the charge, and additional investment from Illuminate Financial, Albion VC, SixThirty Ventures, and Expon Capital.
Insuring the next generation of female founders at Capsule
These seven female-led scale-ups are rewriting the future of the tech industry. But the journey ahead isn’t without its obstacles.
“My advice to other women?” says Georgia Stewart, CEO and Co-founder of Tumelo. “Be authentic, assertive, and proactive. Embrace both virtual and in-person engagements, share your insights, and leverage networks. Remember, thriving in tech as a woman doesn't require a different playbook, but finding supportive communities can make the journey smoother.”
At Capsule, we’re helping female founders navigate the insurance challenges that can crop up when running a business. Ready to achieve your true potential without worrying about what’s around the corner? Reach out to our team to reinforce your every step forward.