Female founders are grossly undervalued. Though women make up 38% of business owners, startups with only female founders consistently receive just 2% to 3% of venture investment. That speaks volumes about long-standing gender biases in the entrepreneurial space.

In a system where women must already work harder to be recognized, the added complexity of pregnancy can feel like an almost insurmountable hurdle.

But having navigated a funding at my startup , while pregnant, I know firsthand that achieving your funding goals with a baby on board isn鈥檛 impossible.

Rather than an added weight, continuing to raise funding while pregnant is a testament to your passion and commitment, and a fantastic opportunity to highlight your team-building skills and long-term vision 鈥� all qualities VCs in a founder.

Maintaining transparency

Investors are putting up capital with no guarantee the startup will survive, let alone deliver a return on investment. Trust is a crucial part of the founder-investor relationship, and disclosing a pregnancy shows the honesty and openness they value.

A seasoned investor has seen it all and no startup is without its struggles. If not pregnancy, there would be a different challenge to navigate, so don鈥檛 put your fundraising plan on hold just because you鈥檙e expecting.

As long as you can demonstrate your commitment to the product and ability to deal with the challenges ahead, investors will show understanding 鈥� as Zing鈥檚 successful Series A proves, having been completed in just six months.

Will you face bias? Undoubtedly. A whopping of female founders report experiencing discrimination during the fundraising process, whether pregnant or not. Take this honesty as a blessing. You will have to work closely with this person as your business grows, so would you rather learn of their questionable opinions before or after you sign on the dotted line?

Planning for disruption

Investors are incredibly risk-averse, which is part of the reason just of venture capital funding is given to women-led startups. There鈥檚 no telling whether you will require an extended absence to focus on your health or if your appetite for entrepreneurship will wane as you navigate motherhood 鈥� but investors will want a clear picture of how it鈥檚 likely to impact their investment.

A comprehensive maternity plan 鈥斅燿etailing any expected absences, how responsibilities will be delegated while you鈥檙e away, and how the company plans to deal with any problems 鈥斅爓ill reassure investors. This will also put you in good stead to adapt quickly when issues arise.

You will face unique challenges that add to the complexity of leading a startup. For me, it was the intense cravings and constant bathroom breaks that seemed determined to interrupt crucial meetings.

But you鈥檙e a founder, so it isn鈥檛 like this is your first time dealing with the unexpected. Pregnancy is just another challenge on your company鈥檚 journey, so deal with it as you would any other.

Putting your health first

Sometimes, entrepreneurship feels like a competition to see who can work the most and sleep the least. It鈥檚 not the healthiest of lifestyles and is only made worse by the aches and pains of pregnancy. It鈥檚 incredibly taxing 鈥� and, with your little one鈥檚 health to worry about too, it鈥檚 no time to try to prove your unwavering resilience.

While you shouldn鈥檛 pause your fundraising, you should put the post-conference parties and long business trips on hold for a while. Take breaks, listen to your body, and put your health first, and you鈥檒l be back leading your team in no time. But ignoring your body will only harm your productivity and motivation, delay your return to work, and damage your startup鈥檚 prospects of achieving its funding goals.

is the CEO and co-founder of, an AI-driven personal training app. She has more than a decade of experience in launching and scaling health and fitness products. Under her leadership, Zing Coach has surpassed 1 million downloads, achieved the highest retention rate among competitors (as reported by ), and recently secured $10 million in Series A funding. In addition to her achievements in fitness tech, Parfenyuk is a passionate advocate for female leadership, actively engaging with organizations including Global Female Leaders and The Female Lead.

Related reading:

• The Portion Of US VC Funding That Went To Female Founders Hit A New Peak In 2023, Thanks To Massive AI Deals
• Is There A Gender Bias in Funding? Yes. Here鈥檚 How Female Founders Can Overcome
• These Female Founders And CEOs Raised The Biggest Rounds In 2024

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But a rank of new apps hope to change that.

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In the last few years, apps like , , , and 鈥攁mong countless others鈥攈ave infiltrated the consumer 鈥渟ave and invest鈥� space. Essentially, where savvy savers of yesteryear might open a taxable account with thousands of diligently-saved dollars, investing today requires little more than a few dollars to start.

While this new class of investment apps slightly differ in branding and investment strategies, all of these startups aim to strengthen people鈥檚 financial knowledge while making investing accessible to all.

The pioneer of the 鈥渞ound up鈥� saving and investing app scene, , is currently the largest and most popular micro-investing app around. By linking your debit and credit cards, Acorns will round up your small purchase amounts鈥攁vocado toast included鈥攁nd invest the difference. The typical Acorns user makes less than $100,000 per year.

鈥淲e think of it as the easiest way to save and invest,鈥� CEO Noah Kerner tells 附近上门 News. 鈥淵ou answer a couple of question to help us build your portfolio based on your risk tolerance鈥攚e have five portfolios, ranging from conservative to aggressive鈥� all comprised of ETFs,鈥� a theory designed by Nobel Prize-winning economist Harry Markowitz.

鈥淪o you鈥檙e not picking stocks yourself, which is very important,鈥� Kerner stressed.

This is called 鈥減assive investing,鈥� and is likely the quickest and easiest way to get into investing without having too much experience or resources. It鈥檚 perfect for a debt-laden millennial just starting out in their financial career.

Kerner noted that Acorns鈥� major goal is getting the average user to save every unspent penny.

Acorn And Friends

Next up is Stash, a New York City startup that鈥檚 similar to Acorns in that it helps you microinvest small amounts. However, there are no roundups involved; instead, you鈥檙e encouraged to invest based on your values.

If you鈥檙e a renewable energy advocate, you can pick a complementing portfolio to your general ETFs and invest in clean energy stocks. Given that the average Stash investor is 29-years-old with household income of $45,000 per year, the millennial-geared marketing makes sense.

Cofounder and CEO noted that with millennials being so cause-focused, Stash customizes portfolios with focus on their passions, without having to pick individual companies to invest in. Choices include stocks in clean energy, tech innovation, or 鈥渄efending America,鈥� in which you can invest in patriotic, weapon-providing companies.

Indeed, customization is probably one of the most wide-reaching trends in finance tech at the moment.

鈥淭here’s a lot of focus on delivering insight and experiences to customers based on who they are, instead of bombarding them with every possible bit of information or feature available,鈥� Valarie Hamm Carlson, Vice President of Brand of the digital bank Simple, told us.

鈥淲e’re leveraging what we know about our customers,鈥� Carlson continued. 鈥淏oth in terms of their usage of our product but also their mindsets, to drive our design and roadmap.鈥�

According to Stash鈥檚 youth-heavy stats, the company currently has more than 1.2 million customers spread across the U.S., with 86 percent having no prior investing experience.

鈥淭hrough Stash, this community is given the tools to not only break into the investment world but also develop smart financial habits for the long-term,鈥� the company told 附近上门 News.

鈥淚nvestment apps are a great way for Gen X and Y to get started with investing,鈥� Abraham Okusanya, Founder of investment & retirement research firm FinalytiQ, told 附近上门 News. 鈥淭hey make investing really easy and accessible, literally at your fingertips.鈥�

However, Okusanya noted, that the sums invested are minuscule.

鈥淭his type of investing doesn’t go far enough to amount to any meaningful amount on their own, but at least it鈥檚 a start,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he danger is that the user gets deluded into thinking they are investing. It’s a way to dip one’s toes in, with very little consequence.鈥�

Both Acorns and Stash cost $1 a month for small accounts, and 0.25 percent after an account reaches $5,000.

鈥淭here issue with the cost is that for many users, at that rate they鈥檒l need about $5,000 in rounded-up amounts for the account to be cost-effective,鈥� Okusanya explained. 鈥淭hat’s a lot of rounding up!鈥�

Trust

With Acorns and Stash having already established themselves on the scene, up-and-coming financial apps must rely not only on branding but gaining new users鈥� trust.

鈥淲e鈥檙e helping people feel confident with their money,鈥� Carlson said of Simple. 鈥淭hat means we’re pretty realistic about the relationship they have with their finances and design our product to meet them where they’re at.鈥�

As for the others in this space, while diverse portfolios make up the bulk of their offerings, 聽investment platforms such as the mobile-Robinhood boasts itself as the first 鈥渃ompletely free鈥� app for trading individual stocks. This gives the app a new twist on investing, considering users鈥� accounts don鈥檛 have maintenance fees or trade commissions.

But there is a catch to the free ride. Robinhood doesn鈥檛 offer investment research or portfolio advice, making it tricky to use for an investing newbie.

Whether investment apps can help millennials 鈥済et into鈥� long-term investing is still too early to call, Okusanya said.

鈥淚 think there’s a place for these apps,鈥� Okusanya said. 鈥淔rankly, it’s hard to really say whether they are ultimately good or bad. Only time will tell.鈥�