“It’s not an exaggeration to say the experience I had at my last company was traumatic. In an attempt to raise the money we needed to grow, I stretched myself to my absolute maximum capacity. It was to the point where I gave myself shingles when I was in my 30’s because of stress. It was really too much, and I had two little kids at the time,” said Allison Byers, Author, Entrepreneur, Activist.
Women continue to start businesses at record rates. Often, for greater flexibility, financial growth or stability. However, they still generate a fraction of the revenue of businesses led by male peers. In part, because we get a fraction of the funding.
It’s much harder to build the capacity for financial freedom or develop physical goods, without capital. Although not every business requires the same amount of money, running any business without sufficient resources becomes its own path to burnout. So, how do we tap into more effective ways to establish ownership and growth through entrepreneurship?
Ownership is Powerful
Allison is a leader in creating more equitable access to business and innovation capital. Largely to create more ownership pathways. She said, “There are really two flavors of ownership. There’s the financial benefit that comes from ownership in capitalism and there’s also the personal ownership of having agency and control over what I do. Both aspects played a big role in where I am now.”
Women, especially mothers, continue to exit traditional work in droves. Many choose entrepreneurship’s promise, of greater control over our time and earning potential, as an alternative. But finding advancement opportunities, aligned with your goals and business, isn’t straightforward. Which led Allison to literally write the book about how to do it.
Get to Know the Systems you’re In
Allison explained, “I took a career break after becoming a mother and my entry back into the paid workforce was launching a startup along with scientific cofounders. I raised almost $10 million for a medical device, and it was a thriving company. But ultimately, I struggled to raise what’s called the ‘series B’ round of funding. Which is when you get the bigger checks so, we sold that company under circumstances that were undesirable. As I researched what happened, I asked myself did I fail? Or was it something else?”
Including the Barriers You Face
Allison said, “the United States is the primary supplier of innovation capital, in particuar, venture capital. And of all the money deployed in the first half of 2025, $163 billion, only 0.8% of it went to all women teams. When you learn that yes, it’s devastating and you’re full of rage and all the emotions, because it’s not even inequitable it’s inaccessible.” Perhaps not surprisingly, Allison’s first business had an all-woman founding team. When she realized she was trying to do something statistically unlikely, it freed her to explore new choices with her second company.
Do Your Goals Match Your Funding Source?
Most moms who start businesses still need income throughout the process. And it’s unrealistic to pause their bills, childcare responsibilities and other commitments to go through a grueling fundraising process.
Allison said, “I don’t ever want to dissuade someone from following an innovation path. But if you know you’re unlikely to get a check from a certain source, and you have to maintain a day job that pays you and do this on the side to have a sustainable lifestyle, then don’t pursue that funding pathway. Look at all the other options and try to piece together what works for you.”
Start with Your Business Plan and Ask Questions
Whatever financial route you choose, the underlying structure of your business needs to be set up for success. Allison said, “First, think about your business plan and how you’re going to enter the market, including who you sell to. Based on that, how quickly can you generate revenue?”
Consider any constraints that might impact your business. “If you can only work for 10 hours a week for the first year, because you can’t let go of your other responsibilities, what are you comfortable with? What is a progress milestone that would signal a successful year, at the end of that year? And how does that relate to bringing revenue in the door? Or potential investment from a non-dilutive or debt source?”
Use Scenarios to Manage and Understand Risk
Allison said, “we all want, ‘shoot your shot big thinking’ but you still have to live in this world so, be very honest with yourself. I had a discussion with my husband before starting and we spread sheeted it out. It answered questions like, ‘how long can we go without me pulling in a salary?’ On top of that, ‘how long can we go if I don’t pay myself and we invest money?’ Based on the answers, decide on your timing and if it needs to get pushed off.”
It’s not only the emotional weight or time sacrifice, depending on the nature of your business and the economy, early cash and costs are hard to predict. She added, “Six years later, I still look at my cash flow every week to know, when do we run out? What if I did this or that, and what does ‘that’ do to the cash?”
There are Many Sources of Money
How many funding options have you heard about? There are several solutions that don’t take any equity in your business. Like donor advised funds, loans, or lines of credit. Allison said, “It’s a huge reason why I wrote my book. The whole first half of the book explains the landscape because it’s so much larger than people think. Our media, and popular press on social media, really presents venture capital as the path you’re supposed to take. It’s one type of financing option controlled primarily by one demographic segment. White men are the majority of venture capital check writers. As humans, we tend to see people who are like us or who we have trust in, as less risky bets and invest more money in them.”
Money Follows Relationships
Allison said, “when we think about how capital gets deployed, it is really deployed through relationships. It is not through pitch decks, or through the financial projections and we know this from the data. So, when you realize that it’s not surprising that money from venture capitalists goes to people who are like them because it’s based on the relationship, not the strength of the business.”
This can also give you the permission to put more energy into your networks. As you seek new sources of capital, revenue or any other opportunity with financial value. She added, “The same principle holds true when you look at other sources of money. In particular, the largest source of money that sits with all of us, individual capital. Or as we’re otherwise known, angel investors.” Angel networks are proliferating and are increasingly developed by women to bring more products that serve women – like women’s healthcare products – into existence.
A quick recap of Allison’s wisdom from this part one of our discussion:
- Although the challenge of access to capital can feel insurmountable, as a reminder, there are several choices available to you.
- Learn more about the landscape. Then, align the feasibility of funding access, length of time it typically takes and nature of the process with your business structure and goals.
- Have a clear picture of what success means to you and by the way, embrace the nuance that exists within your personal definition.
- Navigate into the funds you need through relationship building. Versus what is often recommended, an exhausting process of cold pitching.
- If you need income immediately, adjust your timeline or strategies, informed by what you can afford.
Many thanks to the talented Allison Byers!
Pre-order Allison’s amazing new book, Fundraising for the Rest of Us, and learn about her business, Scroobious. Follow her great adventure on LinkedIn.
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About Allison:
Allison Byers is the Author of Fundraising for The Rest of Us. She is also the founder and CEO of a tech company named Scroobious, a relationship-first platform helping founders and investors build real trust so more capital actually gets deployed. Today, over $1.2 trillion in private capital sits on the sidelines. Her work focuses on unlocking it.
Before Scroobious she spearheaded a medical device startup and raised $10 million before it was acquired, experiencing bias during fundraising first-hand. Today she’s an advocate for equal access to capital and co-authored California Senate Bill 54, signed into law, that requires venture funds to report diversity metrics. Allison is also an angel investor, Boston Co-Chair of the national non-profit All Raise, Executive in Residence at Merck Digital Sciences Studio, DEI task force member of the Angel Capital Association, sought-after mentor, and dynamic speaker.
