La Keisha Landrum Pierre, Naseem Sayani, and Azin Radsan van Alebeek initially met in 2020 when they were part of the same cohort of Pipeline Angels, an angel investing program focused “changing the face of VC” and creating capital underrepresented founders. Shortly after they started investing together and have made 13 angel investments to date into companies that help women, in particular, manage their health, build their wealth, and live in a safer, cleaner world.
Building on the momentum and success from their joint angel investments the team is now taking the next step and launching Emmeline Ventures, a multi-cultural, multi-generational, all-female early stage investment fund that will invest in innovative businesses in healthcare, finance and sustainability. Landrum Pierre, Sayani, and van Alebeek all have operator backgrounds and are now using their collective experience and passion paired with venture capital to empower and elevate today’s most ambitious female founders. The team is dedicated to helping female founders raise early capital and secure access and expertise needed to reach their next milestone – whether that be growth or a next capital raise.
Emmeline Founding General Partner La Keisha Landrum Pierre shares: “Our goal is to have an active role in changing the venture investing landscape. How? By funding companies that have a meaningful, positive impact on how women lead their lives in the future. We’re aiming to not only change the landscape of venture capital but also to change the type of companies that get funded.”
Emmeline is looking to raise $5-8M for their initial Fund with plans to invest in up to 20 businesses led by female and female-identifying founders. In addition, the Emmeline team is expanding access for first time investors by allowing smaller check sizes starting around $20K, and inviting active engagement from these investors by way of education, participation in deal flow activities, and engagement with other LPs.
The fund is targeting a first close end of April and is actively looking for investment opportunities in the women’s health space. In an interview Emmeline Founding General Partner Naseem Sayani shared that the sexual wellness vertical is currently of particular interest to the team – vices welcome so to say. Sextech founders: Take note!
The team’s angel investments in healthcare include maternal health company Ruth Health, ovarian cancer diagnostics company AOA Dx, OYA, an athletic apparel brand with feminine wellness in mind, as well as Infiuss Health, a company expanding under-represented access to clinical trials starting with West Africa.
The first investment out of the new fund was also announced today. It is into Clutch Wallet, a web and mobile-based digital wallet that unlocks the opportunity for women to actively participate in the rapidly growing asset class of crypto and web3.
