INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Patricia Nakache
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Patricia Nakache is a general partner at Trinity Ventures.
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Across the political, social and economic stage, women issues are finally receiving heightened attention and
priority.
There aremore women than ever seeking political office;funding for female-founded startups is reaching record levels(even if they
still have a long way to go to reach gender parity);a sizable cohort of female-founded and led companies have achieved billion-dollar
unicornvaluations; and several women-led companies, includingPagerDuty,The RealReal, andEventbrite, have entered the public markets with
successful IPOs.
What driving so much positive change?
Clearly, broadened awareness of gender and power issues, largely due to #MeToo, as
well as an increase in the number of female investors, thanks to groups likeAll Raise, are all contributing catalysts
In addition, women nowoutnumber men in college,a majority of American moms are in the workforce, and in40 percent of householdsthose women
But it more than that; I believe that there a profound generational shift afloat, and that thisfirst wave of female-led unicorns is just the
tip of the NASDAQ iceberg.
Unlike previous generations who may have either looked at self-investment as self-indulgence or who simply
didn''t have the resources or technology available to make supplementary investments in themselves,today badass millennial womenare
unapologetic about their desire to invest in their own success and well-being
Determined to succeed without compromising their values or physical and mental wellness, these uber-empowered millennial women are making
viable a new generation of startups to help them realize their dreams and feel comfortable in their skin
I refer to this economic wave as She-conomy 2.0.
For decades now there have been tech companies, which I refer to asShe-conomy 1.0,catering
to traditional and homogeneous identities of women primarily as shoppers and caregivers
In contrast, these new modern She-conomy 2.0 brands address latent, historically unmet, often un-discussed and under-served needs that speak
to the multitude of other facets of our identities.
These companies have less to do with what women buy and more to do with their
willingness to invest in themselves — in their careers and in their physical and emotional health and well-being
They are seeking and are willing to pay for products and services that help them advance their careers, feel comfortable about their bodies,
and provide the physical and emotional support they&re seeking.
The founding members of Allraise (Image courtesy of Allraise)
Women are
taking control of their careers and supporting each other.
More than two decades ago, when I had my first child, I joined a mom group at
We were all working moms trying to juggle career and motherhood
It was a truly challenging time for each of us
The group provided such helpful support that we met every Monday evening for five years until our kids were in kindergarten
Why Mondays? Because Mondays are especially hard for working parents, marking yet another week in search of balance
We realized that meeting on Monday evenings provided us with the support we needed to make it through the work week
Perhaps even more critically, it gave us something about Mondays to look forward to.
There something incredibly empowering about
experiencing a major transition like a new job or new parenthood as part of a cohort
Sheryl Sandberg famously sought to institutionalize this kind of support for working women with her non-profitLean In
It has dramatically raised awareness around working women struggles
However, individual Lean In group leaders are usually volunteers running these sessions on the side while working and shouldering life
endless list of other responsibilities.
Now a new generation of organizations is offering this support — for a fee
As for-profit organizations, they&re doing so in a scalable, consistent and reliable way
Women don''t have to worry about whether the organizer will be able to carve out time to orchestrate a meeting because doing so is the
organizer job.Chief,Declare,The Assembly*,The WingandThe Riveterare all examples of companies that are growing and thriving because they&re
offering valuable space, support and services that women are willing to pay for
Most of these organizations initially targeted millennials, but women of all generations are benefiting and participating.
A look inside
one of The Riveter Seattle co-working spaces.
Women are changing the narrative around previously taboo topics and promoting inclusiveness
and acceptance of oneself.
It wasn''t long ago that mannequins, much like cover models, only came in one size
Now mainstream brands not only sell broader offerings; they increasingly showcase them in magazines, catalogs, stores and the runway
For example,Nike flagship store in Londonfeatured bothplus-sized mannequins and para-sport mannequinsfor people with physical and
intellectual abilities, and Rhianna new inclusive lingerie line regularly presentsboth plus-size and pregnant models.
Millennials (like all
of us) don''t want to feel shamed; they want to feel empowered and beautiful
Instead of settling for frumpy, ill-fitting clothing or outdated product design, millennials are using their social media megaphones to tell
the market what they want.Traditional companies like Victoria Secrethave moved at a molasses-like pace to evolve from treating women as
objects of fantasy to celebrating their right to feel great about themselves
Their antiquated practices have created the opportunity for new startups to create brands centered on body positivity
Some companies are filling largely underserved market needs by catering exclusively to larger and specialty sizes, and others are addressing
previously taboo topics like body hair, which also contribute strongly to feelings around body positivity.Eloquiioffers extended clothing
sizes,Ruby Ribbon*andThird Loveprovide a wide sizing range of under garments and bras, andFuraddresses body hair and grooming.
Women are
dedicating more attention to their own health and relationships.
Self-help bookshave been around for ages, but tech is paving the way for a
new generation of services to provide guidance and support that are more convenient and targeted
At the same time, women are increasingly willing to discuss health issues that were previously taboo, like menstruation, menopause
andperimenopause, fertility, and depression
Advancements in technology are making health-related self-care more accessible from the convenience of our wristbands and phones
Meanwhile, people are spending a disproportionate amount of their wealth on health, making the entire healthcare industry ripe for
disruption.
All of these factors are makingfemtech big business
Countless new companies are helping women take more active control of their sexual health, including birth control and STI testing (Pill
ClubandNurx), period tracking (Flo Health), fertility and egg freezing (Kind BodyandCarrot Fertility), menopause (Rory,Genneve), postpartum
depression and miscarriage(Maven) and even our relationships (Relish* andBumble)
In addition, no shortage of femtech companies are addressing period care, such asLola,Cora,The Flex Company,Thinx, andSustain Natural.
These
companies are only viable because so many women — beginning with millennials but expanding out to the rest of us — are now willing and
able to invest in themselves
United across a shared mission of female empowerment and inclusivity, She-onomy 2.0 is making it more realistic than ever to empower us to
advance our careers, feel good about ourselves and stay healthy
Hats off to the badass millennial women leading this charge; we&re all better off professionally, emotionally and even physically thanks to
you!
*Denotes portfolio company for Trinity Ventures
