Why Female Founders Still Receive a Fraction of Startup Investment - And Why Community Funding Could Change That
Starting a business is never easy. Building something from scratch requires resilience, creativity and the ability to keep moving forward when the outcome is uncertain.
For female founders, however, the challenge often begins much earlier — with access to funding.
Despite a growing number of successful female-led businesses, women still receive only a small proportion of venture capital investment.
According to data from the British Business Bank, female-founded startups received just 2% of total UK venture capital investment in recent years. Mixed-gender founding teams accounted for around 15%, leaving the vast majority of funding going to all-male teams.
These figures highlight a persistent gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
But they also raise an important question:
If traditional funding routes are not reaching female founders at the same rate, where can new opportunities come from?
A Different Path to Building a Business
Many founders are now exploring alternative ways to grow their companies, including crowdfunding.
Rather than relying on a small group of investors, crowdfunding allows businesses to raise capital from a community of supporters who believe in the idea, the mission and the founder behind it.
For consumer-facing brands, this approach can be particularly powerful.
Customers, partners and supporters are able to become part of the journey — not just as buyers, but as stakeholders in the future of the company.
Building Glamp Gourmet From the Ground Up
I started Glamp Gourmet after travelling around the UK with my daughter and staying in some incredible places — from cabins to shepherd’s huts and other unique stays.
While the accommodation was beautiful, the food experience often didn’t match the setting.
Like many founders, the business began in my kitchen.
The idea was simple: create premium meal kits designed specifically for holiday stays, with recipes that work with minimal equipment and minimal washing up.
Traditional meal kits focus on home cooking — Glamp Gourmet is designed for where people travel.
The Rise of the Staycation Economy
The opportunity for businesses in this space is significant.
According to VisitBritain, UK travellers spent £32.9 billion on domestic overnight trips in 2024.
At the same time, the UK glamping market continues to grow rapidly, with research from Grand View Research forecasting the sector to more than double in value by 2030.
As travellers increasingly seek unique places to stay — from cabins and treehouses to campervans and safari tents — the opportunity to enhance those experiences is growing.
Food is a natural part of that experience.
Building Businesses Through Community
For many founders, especially those building lifestyle or consumer brands, the idea of community-led growth is becoming increasingly important.
Rather than building a business in isolation, founders are inviting customers, partners and supporters to help shape the direction of the brand.
This collaborative approach can be particularly powerful in sectors like travel and hospitality, where hosts, guests and local communities all play a role in shaping the experience.
Looking Ahead
The funding landscape for female founders is gradually evolving, but there is still progress to be made.
As more founders explore alternative funding routes, including crowdfunding, there is an opportunity to create businesses that are not only commercially successful but also deeply connected to the communities they serve.
For Glamp Gourmet, that journey is only just beginning.
The ambition is to build a food brand for the staycation generation — working alongside hosts, travellers and partners to create memorable food experiences in the places people escape to.
Because when we travel somewhere special, the food should be just as memorable as the destination.
