WoW Woman in Venture Capital and Women's Health I Carli Sapir, Founding Partner of Amboy Street Ventures and founder of the Female Founded Club
Carli Sapir is a Founding Partner of Amboy Street Ventures and leads the Investment Team.
She is also the founder of the Female Founded Club (FFC), a global platform that introduces VC investors to high-quality female-founded startups.
Carli has an affinity for startups in the Sexual Health and Women’s Health landscape due to personal health experiences. While running the FFC, she recognized that the lack of venture capital flowing to the Sexual Health & Women’s Health market is stunting the growth of startups that tackle significant health problems for all genders. Carli founded Amboy Street Ventures to initiate a shift in the funding landscape that, until now, dictated the innovation in the market.
Amboy Street Ventures is a VC fund that is spearheading the advancement of investment and innovation in the women’s health and sexual health category, with a focus on the Seed and Series A rounds of startups that are progressing the industry in the Americas and Europe. Amboy Street Ventures invests capital and resources to help the startups in the portfolio succeed.
Carli, tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far. How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
I lived in NYC and was an Engineer before moving into the Private Equity realm and ultimately sitting as a VP on the deal team of a leading Private Equity fund. Because of the low gender diversity at the Private Equity fund I worked at, I joined several women investor groups to get a sense of comradery in a male-dominated industry. I moved to Los Angeles and found myself in an entrepreneurial social circle where most of my friends were founders. As my friends raised capital for their startups, I connected them with the women investors in my network. Realizing I could do this at scale, I started the Female Founded Club to connect high-quality female founders with investors.
Due to personal health issues, I resonated with the founders in the Female Founded Club that are solving problems in the Women’s Health and Sexual Health space, and I was particularly keen to help them raise Venture Capital - but it was a real struggle for a few reasons. Many VC funds have a Vice Clause in their agreements that prohibits them from investing in anything sex-related. Also, with only 5% of Partners at VC funds being female in the US, traditional VC decision-makers are not in the target demographic for a lot of these companies and may not understand the market needs. Finally, the taboos and stigmas in the space have historically been a major deterrent for investors.
There is clearly a need for a VC fund that is dedicated to Sexual Health (for all genders) and Women's Health Technology start-ups, and so we created Amboy Street Ventures.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
Amboy Street Ventures is very excited about our first three investments in Dame Products, a leading female-focused sexual wellness brand, and Gennev, the digital health platform for women in menopause and a third to be announced in the coming weeks.
I am also very proud that the Female Founded Club has helped move millions of dollars to female founders in a world where only 2% of VC funding goes to all-female founder teams and 12% goes to co-ed founded teams.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
Having made our initial investments in Dame Products, Gennev, and another innovative sexual health brand, our dedicated Value Enhancement Team from Healthy Pleasure Group, has begun supporting our ASV portfolio companies with expertise tailored to the current needs of each of these startups, it also consults various startups outside of the ASV portfolio. For those looking for a new product development partner to create the next generation of Sexual Health & Technology products, they can turn to HP Lab, the only global commercial innovation Lab dedicated to Sexual Health & Technology which aims to solve millions of heartbeats’ sexual health problems. Founders and CEOs looking for support in their marketing efforts can rely on HP Agency, the first full-service agency committed to the growth of Sexual Health & Technology brands, driving clients in their category to create, build and thrive. Then businesses that want to explore their customer touchpoints can turn to HP Demand, the global commercial business dedicated to the future of sales in Sexual Health & Technology building and placing brands and categories in over 40 markets around the world.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
Absolutely! There are major gaps in innovation for women-specific issues. This is because of the lack of gender diversity of senior tech personnel. When more women are in the position to create and fund the innovation that solves our problems, women will lead a higher quality of life.
As I mentioned previously, only 2% of VC funding goes to all-female founder teams and 12% goes to co-ed founded teams. This is a direct reflection of the demographic of VC decision-makers: in the US, only 5% of VC decision-makers are women. In my opinion, it is important for investors that invest in funds to support female fund managers who in turn can identify founders that are solving massive issues for women. These solutions will ultimately improve the lives of all women.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
We believe technology is going to revolutionize the Sexual Health and Women’s Health space. The world is undergoing a massive social reformation that is lifting the taboos and stigmas that surround Women’s Health & Sexual Health. In the past decade, there has been a technological reformation that resulted in innovation that is just starting to be applied to the Sexual Health and Women’s Health market. We are seeing rapid development of solutions in fertility, menopause, birth, vaginal health, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, sex therapy, hormonal imbalance, and STI space.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Raising a Venture Capital fund comes with many challenges. As a first-time fund manager, we are competing for the same capital pools as established VC funds with lengthy track records.
We try to distinguish ourselves from other funds by:
having a specific thesis that is out of the norm of typical VC funds,
and, creating a model that adds value above and beyond the capital. The Healthy Pleasure Group supports the ASV portfolio companies with expertise in Marketing & Branding, Sales & Distribution, Product Development & Scientific Innovation, and Public Education Resources. Together, we are dedicated to solving the problems that startups face in the Sexual Health and Women’s Health Tech market.
My advice to anyone looking to start their first VC fund is to create something that allows you to stand out from the crowd to fund investors.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
My Co-GP, Dominnique Karetsos, is an amazing business partner. She is also the CEO of the Healthy Pleasure Group and has developed a very talented team that is able to bring startups in the Sexual Health space to the next level.
Kate Brodock is the CEO of Women 2.0 and the Managing Director of The W Fund. I am constantly impressed with Kate’s initiatives to bring capital to diverse founders.
Vanessa Larco is a Partner at NEA and has been instrumental in the Women’s Health VC landscape by pioneering the movement to fund VC scalable women’s health solutions.
Find out more about Amboy Street Ventures on their website.
Follow Amboy Street Ventures on their LinkedIn.
This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic and read her stories for Forbes here.