Insights from top VCs on how female founders stand out, scale globally and shape the future of innovation.
Startup Luxembourg
At the 2025 edition of Luxembourg Venture Days, the “Empowering Equity: Investor Insights on Backing Women-Led Startups” panel brought together four leading investors to share what they look for in women-led startups. Their message was clear: female founders are not just breaking barriers, they are outperforming expectations and reshaping the startup landscape.
Jillian Manus, Managing Partner at Structure Capital, set the tone with a striking example of the bias that still exists in venture capital. After submitting a pitch deck anonymously as a founder herself early in her career, she was invited to meet with a group of male investors. Their surprise at seeing her in person turned uncomfortable at the end when one asked a condescending question about how it felt to ask men for funding. Ms Manus chose to walk away from their €10 million offer and made a clear statement to the audience:
You choose your investors. They do not only pick you.” Jillian Manus
Meri Helleranta, Partner at Courage Ventures, highlighted the power of investing in outliers. “Female entrepreneurs often outperform because they are not the average female. That is the advantage for investors,” she said.
Susanne Katharina Schorsch of Amadeus Capital Partners added that women founders tend to be highly focused and customer driven. “They always have a plan. They listen to the market and deliver,” she explained.
The deeptech fund she manages counts around 40% female founders or co-founders in its portfolio, showing that women are not few, they are simply less visible. She noted that finding outstanding female founders is the result of the right search strategy, especially by looking into academia.
Luisa Leroy from Imec described how her organisation supports early-stage founders through matchmaking, coaching and psychological assessment for better performance and compatibility. “We realised that everything is interpersonal. A psychologist now helps us select the right founder teams and coaches them,” she said.
The panel also explored how investor dynamics are shifting. “The next 50 years will see the biggest intergenerational wealth transfer ever,” said Ms Helleranta. “Investors are becoming increasingly female and have the power of the purse.”
Ms Manus, who has invested in over 900 companies, emphasised the need to educate female funders, not just founders. “There are too few female investors. That is the most important gap,” she said. Female VCs, she added, often demand more clarity and conviction from founders, pushing them to sharpen their pitch and their purpose.
The panellists also shared practical advice for female founders navigating the early stages of building a company. Ms Manus encouraged women to set up an advisory board from the start and surround themselves with “no-people” who challenge ideas rather than simply agree. “Being female can be a door-opener,” said Ms Helleranta. “Female networks are flourishing. Look for investors who make those connections for you.”
Ms Schorsch reminded founders not to shoulder everything alone, noting that many women take on too much responsibility. “It is perfectly fine to delegate,” she said. Ms Leroy added, “Remain your beautiful self, because for investors this is becoming more important than the technology.” What emerged from the discussion was a strong consensus: be confident, ask for more and build a strong support system early.
Moderator Inna Perepelytsya from Luxinnovation reminded the audience that gender-balanced teams consistently outperform, yet only around 2% of startups selected by venture capital firms are led by women. This gap highlights the need for more inclusive investment strategies and founder teams.
Across the panel, one theme stood out: investors are increasingly looking beyond the product and focusing on the founder. Realism, resilience and relationship-building are key traits that female entrepreneurs often bring to the table.
With AI lowering technical barriers and more women entering science and engineering, the panel agreed that the future of innovation is more inclusive than ever. As Ms Manus put it, “AI is an equaliser. It is levelling the playing field.”
The panel closed with a clear call to action for everyone shaping the startup ecosystem. For superior performance, gender-balanced teams are key, yet they remain underrepresented in VC portfolios. Investors were encouraged to take a closer look at their pipelines and ensure they are seeing the full picture, as their next big success may come from a more diverse team than expected.
Female founders were urged to build strong teams and pursue the funding they deserve with confidence and conviction. And for those still considering launching a business, the message was simple: do it – you are not alone. Male founders, too, were reminded that adding diversity to their founding teams is not just the right thing to do, it is a proven strategy for building stronger, faster-scaling companies.
