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Equity Financing & Venture Capital

Learn how you can complete your funding puzzle with support on speaking to investors and securing equity capital

Teaching women how to raise venture capital

If you’re looking for sources of money to start or grow your business, then you’ve likely considered family and friends, business loans, or grants. Another source often overlooked by women is equity financing through angel investments and venture capital.

Equity financing can be a valuable piece of your funding puzzle. When combined with other sources of financing, it allows you to leverage your resources and accelerate your business growth.

Thanks to funding from the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, WeBC is working to increase the amount of venture capital that goes to women entrepreneurs in BC. By demystifying the equity financing world and increasing women’s confidence in responding to investors’ Q&A, we can help more women to access capital!

Woman brewer entrepreneur

WeBC + Investor Q&A: Helping you lead the conversation

 

investoready.org logo

WeBC has partnered with www.investoready.org to help women business owners take charge of investor Q&As.

Created by Dr. Ellen Farrell, the founder of one of North America’s most comprehensive university VC programs, Investor Q&A is a training program based on world-class science.

Studies show that:

  1. Most investor decisions happen during the Q&A.
  2. There are specific words that correlate with investment, topics you should focus on and topics you should avoid.
  3. While men tend to get asked promotion questions, which enhance their vision, women receive prevention questions, which lead them to negative messages.

When your pitch comes down to telling your story, it’s critical that women learn how to lead the conversation.

Investor Q&A is a role-play training console that improves women’s performance following pitches by providing automated, industry-agnostic, and unbiased feedback. Practice on your own time for 15 minutes a day, then join weekly meetups with the group to receive group support on your venture capital journey. This program has helped women win millions more over the life of their businesses!

What’s included in the 12-week program

  • Learn Investor Q&A concepts and methods with a small cohort of peers
  • Gain access to the award-winning Investoready platform
  • Join weekly mini-meetups with an Investor Q&A Certified Trainer
  • Receive free business advisory sessions to support your business challenges

Who is this for?

This program is open to BC business owners who:

  • Are a woman or non-binary founder of a company that is incorporated or ready to be incorporated;
  • Are willing to commit at least 40 hours to learn about financing and investment capital over a 12-week period; and
  • Have a company with a strong value proposition.

It is best used by women who:

  • Are developing or working on an innovation or product of some technical competency; or
  • Are currently running a business that demonstrates promising growth potential; or
  • Are working towards product/market fit; or
  • Are moving towards initial sales and marketing; and
  • Have scalable economics.

Program cost

Thanks to funding from the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, full bursaries are available to cover the $2,900 program fee. 

Upcoming groups

Women and Non-Binary Impact Network for Venture Capital (WIN-VC) Project

WIN-VC is a national collaborative of organizations working to provide services, programming, events, and dedicated resources to women and non-binary entrepreneurs and gender lens investors across Canada who are working towards becoming investment ready and increasing the pool of investors driven to invest in these ventures. Learn more >>>

  • Cohort 1: Fall 2023 – Closed
  • Cohort 2: February 27 to May 24 – Closed
  • Cohort 3: Starts early May (exact dates TBC) – Applications Now Open!
  • Cohort 4: June 4 to August 10
  • Cohort 5: September 24 to December 10

Venture-Capital Ready: Investment Training for Women Entrepreneurs (VC Ready) Program

Through Small Scale Food Processor Association’s Venture-Capital Ready: Investment Training for Women Entrepreneurs (VC Ready) program, you will be supported by industry specialists to prepare for challenges, create your pitch strategy, and have the opportunity to present to potential venture-capital Investors. Learn more >>>

  • Open to agri-food businesses
  • 2024 Cohorts:

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve already submitted an application, you do not need to fill it out again. Our team will consider all previous applications to form each cohort.

If you were on the waitlist but have not yet completed an application, please complete the form so we may ensure you’re at the right stage of business to benefit from this program.

You can apply anytime. Applications for the VC Ready Program are accepted on an ongoing basis, with cohorts starting a few times each year.

In April 2024, we hosted an info session which provides more details on the program and what you can expect. Watch the recording to learn more >>>

“It’s like taking music lessons. You learn new material, you go away and practise it all week, and then you go back to your music teacher and show them what you learned that week.”

Watch | TED Talk: The real reason women entrepreneurs get less funding

WIN-VC Canada (Women and Non-binary Impact Network for Venture Capital) Program Partners

WIN-VC Partner Logos

Venture-Capital Ready: Investment Training for Women Entrepreneurs Program Partners

VC Ready Partners

 

These projects are funded by the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada   Canada wordmark