Foundations in Startup Investing

Investing with a Gender Lens

In this week-long course you’ll learn the foundations of investing and how you can evaluate potential investments with a gender-smart perspective that promotes inclusion, safety, equity and belonging.

Brought to you by Spring Collective.

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What is Gender Lens Investing?

Gender Lens investing, also known as “gender-smart” investing, is an approach that takes gender-based issues into consideration in investment decisions. Being a gender-smart investor means investing in companies that are committed to:

  • Being owned and led by women
  • Creating and maintaining a gender-inclusive value chain
  • Ensuring their operations do no harm to women
  • Developing a gender-diverse and equitable workforce
  • Designing products or services that consider the distinct needs of women as a consumer segment

What You’ll Learn

This program is open to Canadian and Americans of any gender who are curious about gender lens investing. Here’s how the one week virtual course breaks down:

  1. Investment Strategies – Design a thesis, strategy and timeline for success that empowers women-owned and led businesses and promotes equity & diversity at all levels.
  2. The Investment Process – Explore the end-to-end process of an individual deal and define the path to your next investment with a gender lens and develop your own gender action plan.
  3. Venture Assessment – Use a gender investment lens to assess startup potential including the diversity of teams, DEI practices, the outcomes & benefits of the product or service and more.
  4. Deal Mechanics – Get a closer look at the technical side of deals in venture investing and how it can be revised to better suit the needs of women, including non-traditional funding terms.
  5. Decoding Investor Decks – Best practices for identifying & evaluating value propositions that are unique to women-led startups and underrepresented in VC.
  6. Deal Screening – Get an insider’s exclusive look at the pitch deck, exec summary of an established founder’s actual deal and use what you have learned in real life.

Foundations is $199 +GST or included for free in a Spring Collective membership!

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The course empowered me to believe that I can become an angel investor and that this can be an impactful way to align my dollars and investments with my values.

Taheera Fidaali
Owner – Tula CPA

Coming Up

Registration open now

Our next Foundations course takes place online November 18th-21st with a deal screening session on December 3rd from 9-10:30 AM PT / 12-1:30 PM ET. This course is free for Spring Collective members or $199 + GST for non-members.

Sign Up Now
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Meet Your Instructors

“When I first joined a Venture Capital fund, I was treading water in the deep end. I couldn’t wrap my head around all the terminology and frameworks. But one thing I realized over the years is that Startup Investing is not difficult; it’s just that no one teaches you what to focus on. I’m excited to be able to lead this discussion and provide clarity on the topics that matter in Startup Investing.

– Nathan Percy (he/him), Investor Relations Manager, Spring

“When I first entered the private markets, I was struck by how many terms and concepts were unfamiliar to me, even after business school. This experience ignited my passion for demystifying investing, breaking down barriers, and showing others how impactful their capital can be. By making investing more accessible and approaching it with a lens of equity and inclusion, we empower more people to support values-driven businesses and build resilient, inclusive communities. I’m excited to facilitate these sessions in Spring’s Foundations in Startup Investing with a Gender Lens, helping others see how they can use capital to create a more resilient future.”

– Natalie Youssef (she/her), Investment Project Manager, Spring

Take a Stand for Women

Start your gender lens investing education journey right here.

REGISTER NOW