Female Founder Finance

Last week, I had a mini breakdown..... This week, I'm rebuilding 🧱 Not the glossy kind of rebuild. The real kind. The messy, tired, sweaty, don't-want-to-go-but-do-it-anyway kind. After months of pouring into others - clients, causes, and campaigns and I finally hit a wall. And the truth is, founder wellness isn’t a luxury. It’s not a side note. It’s the foundation. So this week, I stepped back into the gym. Not to chase aesthetics. But to reclaim me. 💥 My breath. 💥 My boundaries. 💥 My strength. Because I can’t lead change in women’s access to finance if I’m running on empty. Because I want my son to see what resilience really looks like. Because being a founder doesn’t mean burning out is inevitable. It means knowing when to rebuild. If you’ve been there too, this post is your reminder: You don’t have to wait until everything’s perfect to start again. You just have to begin. Back in the gym. Back to myself. One lift, one walk, one moment at a time. How do you reset when everything feels like too much? Drop your rituals, routines, or reminders in the comments. I want to use this experience to build a founder wellness toolkit for us all. #FounderWellness #WomenInLeadership #WorkingMum #Resilience #BuildBackBetter #AccessToFinance #MentalHealthMatters #RealTalk #PersonalLeadership

🕰️ 50 years ago, a woman couldn’t get a mortgage in her own name. This isn’t ancient history. It’s a powerful reminder of how deep financial inequity runs. In 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act made it illegal for mortgage lenders to refuse credit to women based on their sex or marital status. It opened the door for women to apply for mortgages or even open bank accounts without needing a husband or father as guarantor. Fast forward to 2025, and we are still feeling the ripple effects of that exclusion — not just in housing, but across the entire financial system. 🔍 Why this matters for business finance This isn’t just a housing issue. It’s a system-wide pattern. Women have been historically excluded from credit, capital, and financial autonomy and it shows up clearly in how women-led businesses are funded and financed today. Only around 2p in every £1 of UK venture capital goes to fully female-founded businesses Female founders face higher scrutiny, more restrictive terms, and lower approval rates for both loans and equity even when performance is the same In SME cashflow surveys, just 49% of women business owners report stable cashflow, compared to 66% of male owners The gender pay gap in finance persists. On average, women working in UK financial services earn just 78p for every £1 earned by men These aren’t fringe statistics. They reflect a financial system still built on the assumption that men are the default borrowers, investors, and decision-makers. 🚨 Why it matters for women-led businesses This legacy impacts every stage of growth for women-led ventures. From undercapitalised startups, to limited access to working capital, to slower scale and reduced investor confidence, the barriers are baked in. Too many women are still expected to bootstrap, de-risk, and prove twice as much to access the same financial opportunities. We need a system designed with women in mind not one where they have to keep working around it.

Quick wins, long-term damage 🚨 Another female founder walked through our doors this week. Exhausted. Frustrated. Trapped in a short-term, high-cost loan. Sold fast. Signed under pressure. “I didn’t have a choice,” she said. But let’s be honest: she should have had one. The broker had options. Instead of exploring ethical, sustainable funding from a diverse market, they pushed the path that paid them best. Double-digit commissions. Personal guarantees. No regard for long-term impact. Two months in, and the cracks are showing. Cash flow is tight. Confidence is shaken. Growth? On hold. This is happening too often and disproportionately to women. Founders with viable, visionary businesses are being herded into facilities that were never built with their needs in mind. We’re stepping in. Re-structuring debt. Sourcing the right-fit capital. Designing funding that supports long-term sustainability, not short-term strain. Will we earn what the last broker did? No. Will we sleep better? Absolutely. Because we’re not here to win the commission race. We’re here to change the game. ✅ Gender-lens. Ethics-led. Impact-first. Always. 👉 Female founder facing finance friction? DM me. Let’s fix this together. #WomenInBusiness #EthicalFinance #GenderLensInvesting #AccessToFinance #FairFunding #FinancialEquality

🎙️ New Episode: The Untapped Power of Women Businesses 🚀 What happens when a woman builds a business in an industry not designed for her? In Episode 4, Season 2, we sit down with Lucile Flamand from Bibby Financial Services to unpack visibility, ambition, and opportunity — and why women-led businesses remain one of the UK’s most overlooked growth markets. This episode is for you if: ✔️ You’ve ever been underestimated in business ✔️ You want to understand the real blockers to women scaling in male-dominated sectors ✔️ You work in finance, policy, or procurement and want to create real equity ✔️ You believe equal opportunity must be designed — not assumed 🔥 What we cover: The myth of “low ambition” in women founders Why financial products still don’t fit the construction sector What visibility really looks like when women are underrepresented How systemic change can unlock serious value and growth 👷♀️ Construction is just the case study. The bigger message? If we build better systems, women won’t just scale — they’ll lead. 🎧 Tune in on your favourite platform or listen now via our website: 👉 https://lnkd.in/eEMpXK_Y #FemaleFounderFinance #WomenInBusiness #FinancialEquality #PodcastLaunch #BibbyFinancialServices #AmbitionIsNotTheIssue #Season2Episode4

🚀 “Women don’t lack ambition. They lack access.” 🔑 In Episode 4 of the podcast, Lucile Flamand (Bibby Financial Services) addresses a tired old myth that women don’t want to scale their businesses the way men do. Here’s the truth: Women founders are just as ambitious about growth. But they often face a completely different landscape when it comes to the resources, networks, and capital that make scale possible. 💡 It’s not about confidence. It’s about conditions. Lack of flexible finance Being excluded from the “right” rooms Assumptions about risk appetite and leadership style When we change the narrative and the infrastructure, women scale, and they scale smart. ✨ Women are building sustainable, profitable, growth-ready businesses. Let’s stop asking if they’re ambitious enough and start asking if the system is ambitious enough for them. 🎧 The full conversation is in Episode 4.

🚧 The Hidden Opportunity in Construction? Women Founders. 🏗️ In an industry still dominated by men, women-led construction businesses are pushing boundaries, but too often, they’re still operating in the shadows. In Season 2, Episode 4, Lucile Flamand from Bibby Financial Services shines a light on why this sector is full of untapped potential if we start seeing and supporting the women already doing the work. ✨ Visibility matters. Too many female founders in construction aren’t being seen by funders, by clients, or by industry bodies. And when they are visible, they’re often underestimated. 💥 Equal opportunity doesn’t mean equal outcomes unless the system is redesigned to reflect the unique pathways and barriers women face in this space. We need: Finance products built for project-based businesses Supplier and procurement pathways that welcome, not exclude More seats at the table, from policy to partnership Women are building businesses in construction. It's time we built the system around them. 🎧 Catch the clip and then listen to the full convo in Episode 4.

If your only fundraising idea is ‘I’ll bootstrap until I have traction’ — this might be limiting your growth.” 🚨 Opinion time: There’s a harmful myth in many female‑founder spaces: “Don’t ask for money until you’re perfect.” That advice often ends up stalling women’s growth while others (often men) raise early and scale fast. During Business Finance Week, I challenge you to shift into a mindset of “strategic investing in your business.” If you know you need funding but you're hesitant, let’s talk....... #BusinessFinanceWeek #ChangeYourMindset #WomenRaise #FinancialConfidence

If Q4 is make-or-break for your product business – but cash flow is tight – let’s talk. We help female founders access flexible credit to: 💡 Buy stock in bulk 💡 Cover seasonal peaks 💡 Avoid slow fulfilment and missed sales 📩 Let me know if you want to explore what’s possible for your business before the season kicks off.

Welcome to Issue 46 ( I can't believe where this year has gone!) This issue I'm sharing my take on the UK-India trade deal and how it will impact female led businesses and my reflections on my week. 

The 3 Pillars of Fundable Businesses 💼 Ready to grow — but not sure if your business is fundable yet? The difference between “not ready for funding” and “fundable” isn’t luck — it’s structure. The good news? You can build that structure. Here’s what lenders look for (and what I help women founders build every day): Pillar 1: Financial Clarity Clean, consistent, and confident numbers. You know your margins, cash flow, and forecasts. Pillar 2: Growth Story You can clearly articulate how funding will amplify your business — not just fill a gap. Pillar 3: Risk Readiness You’ve thought about how to reduce perceived risk — through guarantees, insurance, milestones, or smart repayment plans. ✨ If you can strengthen these 3 pillars, your chances of securing growth finance skyrocket.