Where female founders meet capital.

The Agora Initiative gathers the top founders, investors, and leaders in the DMV venture ecosystem, so women can build the relationships they need to fund and scale their startups.

An overview for partners & friends

Why Agora exists

Two percent.

Despite billions deployed over the past decade, funding to female founders has stayed stubbornly stagnant, and in the Washington, DC region the gap is widening. We believe a core bottleneck is the first institutional round: early-stage venture runs on warm introductions and trusted signals that compound. When founders are excluded from those networks early, the gap widens with every round that follows.

That’s where Agora comes in.

2%of venture capital goes to female-led companies

41%year-over-year drop in DMV female founder funding, even as venture overall grew

33%seed capital for female founders has fallen to a third of 2021 levels

Sources: PitchBook Female Founders Dashboard (2024 v. 2023); Q3 2025 PitchBook/NVCA Venture Monitor.

Our mission

Female founders at the center of the conversation.

Agora is where female founders in the DMV meet to access capital, community, and connections. We work with our founders to create meaningful relationships with future investors, partners, and grantors.

CapitalMeaningful relationships with the investors, partners, and grantors who fund what’s next.

CommunityA highly aligned community of early-stage, venture-backable female founders and allies, navigating key inflection points together.

ConnectionOne-on-one coaching and introductions, with a team that serves as a constant, ever-present source of support.

Three founders talking at an Agora gathering

Since launching our programs in May 2024

A concentrated community, all right here in the DMV.

60high-quality, VC-backable early-stage founders, together holding $30.5M in equity funding raised

16later-stage founder-mentors who have raised over $550M and seen 7 exits

84investors, principal and up, from local firms with tens of billions in AUM

$10.8Min pre-seed and seed funding raised by Agora founders in 2025

200+one-on-one meetings facilitated at Agora events, plus hundreds of targeted, vetted introductions

NPS 100a perfect net promoter score across our 2025 events, with 320+ attendees

People come back: attendees averaged 2.5 events in 2025.

This community shows up — for the programs, and for each other.

What we run

Programs built around real inflection points.

Winners on stage with a $10,000 grant check at the Venture Showcase

Venture Competition & Showcase

Our top-of-funnel program, open to female founders across the DMV. Applications are reviewed by our investor committee, and finalists pitch live for a $10K non-dilutive grant.

133 applicants35 selected for programming$10K grants

Breakfast Club

Coworking, breakfast, and office hours. Our team pairs investors, later-stage founders, and experts with select founders for one-on-one, in-person meetings.

8 clubs in 2025209 connectionsNPS 100

“One of the only opportunities to get super relevant, high-quality feedback from some of the most committed investors, later-stage founders, and specialized advisors.”Marie Brodsky · Founder, WISE Connect

Founder & Funder Dinners

Intimate, curated dinners bringing founders, investors, and strategic contacts in the same industry to one table — healthcare and American dynamism in 2025.

100% would recommendReal follow-on meetings

“The best networking event I’ve ever been to. Everyone I talked with genuinely cared about the work I’m doing and wanted to help.”Selena Shirkin · Founder, Fetal Therapy Technologies

Problem Hacking

A panel of experts, briefed ahead of time, spends 75 minutes whiteboarding one founder’s specific fundraising or go-to-market challenge.

Piloted 20252–4 new connections each

“A rare opportunity to speak candidly with other founders and investors about our strategy. It helped me focus ahead of our next raise.”Julie Saltman · Founder, Standd

Image forthcoming

Investor-Only Gatherings

Private spaces for the funders in our community: two closed dinners in 2025, plus a closed-door fireside chat with Dr. Dana Kanze on bias, decision-making, and backing overlooked founders.

3 events in 2025Investors only

Community members connecting at an Agora event

Behind the scenes, all year

Our biggest impact is made quietly: pitch and narrative feedback, fundraising strategy, and warm, timely investor introductions whenever our founders need them — tracked in a CRM built to measure what works.

Hundreds of introductionsAlways on

In their words

The community, on Agora.

“

So many people talk about supporting startups, but Agora actually makes it happen. The connections and network Agora shares are what truly move the needle.

Sean GlassManaging Partner, Evidenced

“

The high-quality community and important mission, combined with incredibly well thought-out events and programs, lead to benefit for everyone involved.

Alex Diaz-AsperPrincipal & Founder, Tarsus

“

Partnering with Agora has brought us real business opportunities and several new clients — but what stands out even more is how valued we feel.

Ashley YesayanCEO & Founder, OneVillage

Proof it works

From first pitch to funded round.

CurieDx

Dr. Therese Canares connected with Agora as an alternate finalist in the Spring 2025 Showcase. As she began fundraising, our team helped refine her pitch and built relationship capital through warm, timely introductions. “Working with Agora is like having a hype person in your corner, all the time.”

Fall 2025 Showcase Winner · round underway

LymeAlert

An all-women MIT PhD founding team won our Spring 2025 competition with a vision for early Lyme disease detection. With Agora’s fundraising strategy support and investor connections, they converted the win into momentum.

$650K pre-seed catalyzed, incl. the venture arm of the world’s biggest Lyme research funder

Where we’ve been & where we’re going

A decade of conviction, a community in motion.

2015

Long before Agora had a name, our founders began working with female founders in the DC area on their capital raises. This is a long-time passion, not a pivot.

2023

The Agora Initiative is founded: a bet that the DMV can be the best place in America to build as a female founder.

2024

Built the foundation. Launched our first Venture Showcase in May, created the community, developed core programs, and supported our first cohort — powered entirely by volunteers.

2025

Refined the core. Playbooks for ongoing programs, new pilots like Problem Hacking, a deeper bench of founders, investors, and volunteers — and the start of our transition to 501(c)(3) status.

2026

Hired our first full-time team member in May, while staying proudly volunteer-powered at the core.

Scale and sustain the impact, investing in three levers:

Data = Insight

Female Founder Ecosystem ReportGround-truth data on female founders in the DMV. To change outcomes, we must measure them.

Capital = Access

Capital Connectivity InitiativeHelping investors in our community form LP relationships, putting more capital in the hands of funders we believe in.

Education = Deal Flow

Angel Investing WorkshopsEducating our community on angel investing, unlocking early, risk-tolerant capital at the top of the funnel.

The bench behind our founders

Investor Committee

These investors volunteer their time to review venture competition applications, give founders direct feedback, and show up at Breakfast Clubs and programs all year.

**Aaron Berkey**Managing Partner Okeanos

**Justin Brodie-Kommit**General Partner Lichen Ventures

**Jason Caplain**General Partner Bull City Venture Partners

**Tahira Dosani**Co-Founder & Managing Partner Resilience VC

**Aurelia Flores**Investment Director Virginia Venture Partners

**Lisa Friedlander**Founding Board Member Citrine Angels

**Matt Gittleman**Investment Director JHH VC

**Seda Goff**Founder & General Partner Flintlock Capital

**Kate Goodall**Co-founder & Managing Partner Halcyon Venture Partners

**Isabelle Granahan-Field**Principal Camber Creek

**Alisha Griffey**Founder & CEO Daintree Capital

**Browning Herbert**Managing Director Ringbolt Capital

**Jonathan Jou**Managing Director Stand Together Ventures

**Phil Jung**Partner Sovereign’s Capital

**Lisa Marrone**Investments Manager Pivotal Ventures

**Elizabeth McCluskey**Managing Director TruStage Ventures Discovery Fund

**Emily McMahan**General Partner & Co-founder AIN Ventures

**Sarah Morgenstern**Venture Partner Flourish

**Heidi Nel**Chief Operating Officer New Theory Ventures

**Kavita Patel**Partner New Enterprise Associates (NEA)

**Jonathon Perrelli**Managing Partner and Founder Fortify Ventures

**Blaire Rakowicz**Founding Investor Cross Impact Capital

**Margaret Roth**Principal Squadra Ventures

**Rob Runett**Partner Motley Fool Ventures

**Braden Snyder**General Partner Updata Partners

**Paige Soya**Managing Partner K Street Capital

**Peggy Styer**Managing Partner Razor’s Edge

**Meg Vorland**Founder & Managing Partner Dcode Capital

**Andy Will**Managing Partner Motivate Venture Capital

**Miriam Altman-Reyes**General Partner Brass Ring Ventures

**Kirsten Bartok Touw**Managing Partner New Vista Capital

**Anita Fiori**Principal Open Society Foundation

**Sean Glass**Managing Partner Evidenced

**Amber Illig**General Partner The Council

**Anna Mason**Managing Partner Ingeborg Investments

**Nasir Qadree**Founder and Managing Partner Zeal Capital Partners

**Christy Steele**Principal Sands Capital

**Julia Taxin**General Partner Grotech Ventures

Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

Founders who have built and scaled companies of their own, mentoring Agora founders through every stage of the journey.

**Jessie Anderson**CTO & Founder, Lumora

**Zvi Band**Founder & CEO, Relatable CTO, Keep Company Co-Founder & CEO, Contactually

**Kevin Bennett**CEO & Founder, Further Founding CEO, Caribou Cofounder & CEO, homezen

**Anthony Bruce**CEO & Founder, Thea CEO & Founder, Applied Predictive Technologies

**Timothy Chi**CEO & Founder, The Knot Worldwide

**Tonio DeSorrento**CEO & Cofounder at GovPort CEO & Cofounder at Vemo

**Oren Falkowitz**CEO & Founder, Area 2 Farms CEO & Founder, Area 1 Security

**Ethan McAfee**Amazon and DTC Strategy, Cart.com Founder & CEO, Amify

**Ellis McCue**CEO & Co-Founder, Catch Bio

**Emily Motayed Lancaster**Co-Founder, Livi Beauty Co-Founder, Nurture& Co-Founder, Havenly

**Heather Townsend**Co-Founder & COO, Cabana

**Elise Whang**CEO & Co-Founder, Le Prix

Primarily volunteer-run, from day one.

We made our first full-time hire in May 2026, and the majority of Agora’s work is still done by a highly engaged group of volunteers: former founders, current investors, and people who care deeply about this ecosystem.

Join us

Help us change who gets funded.

Agora runs on people who believe the DMV can be the best place in America to build as a female founder: founders who’ve scaled and want to give back, investors who want to drive innovation where they live, and partners who can help our founders build generational businesses.

If that’s you, our founding director Bailey Romans would love to talk.

Write to Bailey →