About Us
Thesis
Women receive just 2% of all venture capital. The Helm is changing that.
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The Mission
Innovation is not gender-specific, yet only 2% of venture capital goes to female founders. The Helm is changing that.
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Why Venture
If we want the future to include companies that consider women, are led by women, and create wealth for women, we need to invest in them.
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Early Stage
We are finding and investing in undervalued companies at a stage when they show incredible, defensible promise; giving them the capital to deliver on that promise.
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The Results
Female-founded startups outperform companies with all-male founding teams, delivering twice as much per dollar invested as those founded by men.
Our Team
Lindsey Taylor Wood
CEO and General Partner
Over the last decade, Lindsey has built and run two companies, including The Helm’s operating company and first two funds. A proven operator and investor, she has invested in some of the country’s best women-led companies, including Tia, who last year raised a $100M Series B. She is a leading voice and thinker in the gender-lens investing space with an extensive and diverse network. As The Helm’s Founder and a GP, she directs the Fund’s strategy, fundraising efforts, sources and diligences deals, and supports a growing portfolio.
Julie Weber
COO and General Partner
Julie has fifteen years of private and public sector experience in global media and advocacy, internal communications, project management, fund administration, and operations. As a GP in Fund II, Julie has also acted as interim CFO, coordinating all fund administration, accounting, financial reporting, and legal activities. She sources and diligences deals, builds The Helm’s ecosystem, and supports a growing portfolio. She’s been with The Helm since the launch of Fund I in 2018, where her support has included fund administration, reporting, sourcing deals, investor relations, and platform and portfolio support.
Olivia Fleming
Partner
Olivia brings more than a decade of journalism and digital editorial experience to The Helm, with a deep knowledge and expertise in Climate & Sustainability Solutions. As Partner, she sources and diligences deals for Fund II, leads the Fund’s sustainability vertical, and manages our angel investor network, overseeing diligence and platform, digital, editorial, events, and communications-related activities for our founders and our wider community. Her inherent, journalistic instincts to build relationships, do deep research, understand the narrative, and ask tough questions, have made for a seamless transition into the world of venture.
Press
View all pressWhen women have more money, they have more power. Is there a greater threat to the patriarchy than that?
Fortune
Organizations like The Helm make it more accessible for women of all walks of life to think about, be curious about, and test what it means to invest in women.
Elle
A brand assortment that would impress even the savviest, hard-to-please shopper.
Refinery29
For women—and men—who want to support other women, The Helm curates both products and people on a single platform to make it easier to shop with intention.
Forbes
Everything from the initial brainstorming to the final design and even the photo and video shoot, has been led by women.
Essence
The Helm’s next VC fund is focused on building future generations of female business owners.
The Hollywood Reporter
The real call to action is for women to think differently about their capital, and to understand the power they have as investors.
Robb Report
This platform is targeted for new conscious consumers who want their product purchases to make an impact.
Trendhunter
The Helm’s aim is to attract people to one platform where they can invest or spend their money on companies built and led by women.
WWD
It’s about empowering women to use shopping as a real means of smashing the patriarchy.
Vogue
It’s the first site of its kind to allow shoppers such a hands-on role in financing the next generation of female business leaders.
The Zoe Report
It’s essential for female voices to have a role in driving the innovations, companies, and cultures that define our future.
Brit + Co