Find Out Why One Investor Puts Her Money Only Into Companies Owned By Women

Kelly Keenan Trumpbour

One of the biggest challenges for female entrepreneurs is finding investors for their company. There is often a lack of female venture partners in venture capital investment firms who might be more empathetic and supportive of women-owned companies. One investor in Baltimore not only believes that women should support other women, she leads by example by investing only in women-owned companies.

Kelly Keenan Trumpbour puts her money where her mouth is, right into firms owned by women. As a female investor for an early-stage investment group, Baltimore Angels, Kelly is certainly in a minority group as a woman investor who actually invests in other women's companies. First, according to a study by Babson College, only 2.7 percent of venture capital-funded companies have a woman CEO. Second, Kelly is the only investor in Baltimore who invests only in female-run firms.

Kelly's strategy

"In order to have a more diverse corporate world, I believe in backing companies with money," explains Trumpbour. She understands the nature of women-owned firms and works closely with them on moving their companies from fledglings to successful enterprises. Her background includes working for various political and nonprofit groups, and co-founding Running Start, a nonprofit that encourages young women to run for office. She eventually founded See Jane Invest, an organization focused on helping women entrepreneurs and investors understand crowdfunding, angel investing and venture capital.

Trumpbour's investments in women-owned firms includes an education software firm, a company that makes frozen chicken products, and others. She is a welcome partner to many women-owned companies who share her philosophy that there is a need for more diverse investors to support the growing numbers of women-owned firms.

To read more, visit www.baltimoresun.com/business/money/bs-bz-see-jane-invest-20150615-story.html