⊹ the circe brief ⊹
why do you need a room that’s only for women? Why can’t men be there when you talk about fundraising, or building, or whatever’s next?
We get this question a lot. Usually politely. Sometimes with an eyebrow.
Men have expertise too. And obviously, we agree.
But let me ask you something first.
Ladies: Think about walking into the weight room at your gym when it’s nothing but men. Don’t tell me you don’t feel just a liiittle intimidated; maybe even a little observed. It seems so silly, why do we feel that way? I’ve been lifting for >15 years (probably longer than plenty of the guys in that room!) and I still hesitate before working through the rack, wondering if there’s a “correct” way I’m somehow getting wrong. I can lift heavy; that’s not what’s in question here. It’s about looking different in a space that wasn’t built for me. The room, the equipment, the entire culture of it was designed for men.
Now think about when you walk into the weight room and there’s another woman in there. At least for me, everything changes. Suddenly I confidently ask, “hey, are you done with that?” or “wait, is that how you do this?” Seeing yourself in someone else makes you feel like you belong. It’s as simple as that.
The crazy thing is that women arguably need that room more. When we go through menopause and lose estrogen, we lose one of our bones’ greatest protectors. Weightlifting is one of the best defenses against osteoporosis. We should be lifting more than men. Yet the space where weightlifting traditionally happens is not really built for us.
It’s the same in the startup ecosystem, and that’s the whole argument for Circe.
(We know. A gym metaphor in a founder newsletter. Bear with us, it’s load-bearing.)
the pushback is fair
“I don’t want to be reduced to one dimension.” A friend put it perfectly: she’s a woman, she’s Latina, she’s gay, and she doesn’t want every experience filtered through a single lens. That’s a real tradeoff, and it’s why Circe should be one of your rooms, not the only one. What we can promise is that once you’re inside, being a woman isn’t the topic. Getting your term sheet reviewed is. Finding a CFO is. Deciding whether to take the bridge round is.
“I’m not a female founder; I’m just a founder.” This one comes from VC-backed women who don’t want to be grouped with women they believe were never going to raise venture anyway. That reaction usually isn’t about the room we’re building, it’s about not wanting to be in a room with women you’ve decided aren’t playing at your level. Newsflash: refusing the label doesn’t change how you’re treated. Bias is implicit and unconscious. No investor asks: Ok, but do you call yourself a “founder” or a “female founder?” So all you're actually doing by rejecting the label is distancing yourself from other women. And that doesn't read as independence. It reads as you not wanting to be associated with women.
“Female founder communities are just commiserating.” Too often true. If I had a dime for every all-women panel I’ve sat in where one of the questions is about “imposter syndrome”… well, I’d be writing angel checks to every founder in my network! Venting circles, lots of nodding and not much moving. That’s not what we do. Every event and every intro we make is built around what the next thing you need to solve is, and who in this room can help you solve it.
what we do different
We match people thoughtfully. The right intro at the wrong moment is worth nothing. So we pay attention to where you are right now, and we put you next to the person who just went through it or can open the door you’re standing in front of.
And no, you won’t raise your whole round inside a women-only room. You’re not supposed to, and frankly, we don’t want you to! Circe is where you get ready for a pitch, and where the investor you pitch already knows your name because she’s a member here.
We’re also honest. If your business isn’t venture-scalable, we’ll tell you (lovingly), because the worst thing we could do is let you burn a year pitching a company that should be bootstrapped. Bootstrapping is a great path. So is a $2M pre-seed. We just want you on the one that fits.
we hate this metric
We know you hate it too: All-women founding teams have taken home roughly 2% of US venture dollars every year for the past decade, and the number seems to be… not moving.
That’s the KPI, but what you can’t measure is everything upstream of the check: the warm intros, the pattern-matching, the “he reminds me of me at that age.” People don’t do it on purpose, and it’s not like women don’t have this bias. It’s just where the water flows.
Circe is us redirecting some of that water on purpose. The intros, the social capital, the favors. When you see yourself in the person across the table, it’s easier to ask a dumb question, to ask for a favor without an apology first, and to believe you belong there, and then act like it.
We just want more women in the weight room. More women in the board room.
one more woman in the room can be the thing that lifts you up 🏋️♀️
So give us your ask: Reply to this email with whatever you’re stuck on right now (a hire, a round, a decision you keep putting off). That’s literally what the room is for.
-Isa and Anna ⊹
upcoming events
Tomorrow!
sept 10 | gtm after dark | RSVP
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oct 5 | tech week masquerave | RSVP
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jobs by female founders
Forward Deployed Engineer, AE and Founding Engineer— Coval, SF
Founding Engineer — Cascade (a16z speedrun)
Chief of Staff — Soma Health, reach out to founder Jiali directly
new circe merch
We have some news: Circe has merch! if you're interested in rocking the Circe brand, check out our shop here. Yearly subscribers to the Circe platform get a free “Claude is a Woman” sweatshirt, in case you needed a little extra incentive to join us :)
That’s all from us this week! We’re so happy to have you follow long in our journey, and if you want to officially be part of our community, you can apply here.
