Written by Tanya Parfenyuk
Female founders are severely underrepresented. Although women make up 38% of business owners, startups with only female founders consistently receive only 2-3% of venture funding. This speaks volumes about the longstanding gender bias in the entrepreneurial world.
In a system where women already have to work harder to be accepted, the complications of pregnancy can feel like an almost insurmountable hurdle.
But having successfully raised Series A funding for my startup Zing while pregnant, I know firsthand that it’s not impossible to reach your funding goals with a baby on board.
Rather than adding weight, continuing to raise money during pregnancy is a testament to your passion and commitment, highlighting team-building skills and long-term vision – all qualities VCs look for in founders. It’s a great opportunity.
Maintaining transparency
Investors are putting money into startups with no guarantee that they will survive, let alone see a return on investment. Trust is an important part of the founder-investor relationship, and disclosing the pregnancy shows the honesty and openness they value.
Experienced investors have been through it all, and no startup is painless. If you’re not pregnant, don’t put your fundraising plans on hold just because you’re pregnant, because you’ll have to jump through another hurdle.
Investors will be receptive if you can demonstrate your commitment to your product and your ability to meet future challenges. As evidenced by Zing’s successful Series A, which was completed in just six months.
Do you face prejudice? Definitely. A whopping 62% of female founders report experiencing discrimination during the fundraising process, regardless of whether they were pregnant or not. Take this honesty as a blessing. As your business grows, you’ll need to work closely with this person, so you want to know their dubious opinions before and after you sign on the dotted line?
Planning for disruption
Investors are incredibly risk-averse, which is one reason why only 2% of venture capital funding goes to women-led startups. Investors don’t know whether they’ll need to take a sabbatical to focus on their health or whether their desire to start a business will wane as they get over motherhood, but investors can see how that could affect their investments. You will want to have a clear understanding of what is going on.
A comprehensive maternity plan that details expected absences, how responsibilities will be delegated during your absence, and the company’s plan to deal with any issues that arise will reassure investors. This allows you to quickly adapt when problems arise.
You will face unique challenges that add to the complexity of leading a startup. For me, it was the intense appetite and constant bathroom breaks that seemed to be trying to interrupt an important meeting.
But you’re a founder, so this isn’t the first time you’ve faced an unexpected situation. Pregnancy is another challenge in your company’s journey, so treat it like any other challenge.
health first
Entrepreneurship can feel like a competition to see who can work the most and sleep the least. This isn’t the healthiest lifestyle and is only made worse by the pain of pregnancy. It’s incredibly taxing. And since you also have to worry about your child’s health, this is not the time to try to prove your unwavering resilience.
Fundraising activities shouldn’t be put on hold, but post-conference parties and long business trips should be put on hold for a while. If you take a break, listen to your body, and put your health first, you’ll be able to lead your team in no time. But neglecting your body will only hurt your productivity and motivation, delay your return to work, and hurt your prospects of reaching your startup’s funding goals.
Tanya Parfenyuk is the CEO and co-founder of Zing Coach, an AI-driven personal training app. She has over 10 years 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 its competitors (as reported by Sensor Tower), and recently secured $10 million in Series A funding. In addition to her work in fitness technology, Parfenyuk is a passionate advocate for women’s leadership and is actively involved with organizations such as Global Women Leaders and Women Lead.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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