Women 2.0 profiles women angel investors in our “This Is What An Angel Investor Looks Like” series.
By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0)
Los Angeles-based angel investor Sara Weinheimer finances women-led startups, with a keen interest in social media and cleantech. She has invested in about a dozen women-led companies through her participation in the Golden Seeds angel investor network and is an LP in the Golden Seeds Fund II.
She established the southern California chapter for the Golden Seeds angel investor network investing exclusively in women-led early stage companies. At Golden Seeds, she manages deal flow, mentors and advises female-led startups, leads deals, finances startups and serves on the board of directors of portfolio companies.
She is also a member of the Tech Coast Angels.
Meet Angel Investor Sara Weinheimer
How and why did you decide to become an angel investor?
“At first, angel investing was part of a post-Goldman career asset allocation strategy in alternative investments, then I quickly found it stimulating and rewarding working with passionate female entrepreneurs through Golden Seeds network.”What investments have you made?
“PromoJam and Triptrotting are the two investments I’ve made where there is a Golden Seeds connection – I was the lead investor putting the rounds together for Golden Seeds. I sit on the board of directors of PromoJam. JobSync and Social Annex are Los Angeles companies I invested in within the past year.”Range of initial investments?
“$25k-$100k”Number of investments a year?
“3-6”What are your investment dealbreakers?
“Tech companies without a technical founder/partner. Husband/wife management teams.”What types of companies or industries do you want to invest in?
“IT, consumer social, clean tech, life science.”How has your background played (or not) a role in your angel investing?
“My finance background gives me an appetite for risk-taking and doing deals.”One piece of advice to an angel-in-training?
“Trust your intuition.”One piece of advice to entrepreneurs looking for capital?
“Find and cultivate your sources of mentor capital.”Favorite quote?
“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”Random fact?
“Recently rappelled off a 300 foot cliff in Patagonia.”How can entrepreneurs reach you?
“sjw@goldenseeds.com“
Only 15% of angel investors are women. And as this handy infographic on investing in women shows, women investors are far more apt to be directly connected to and able to attract female-led ventures.
A solution to the low rate of women entrepreneurs receiving investment to go big with their ventures would be to increase the pipeline of women angel investors and venture capitalists. You can take classes on angel investing with Golden Seeds or sign up for the Women Investors Now Challenge.
Angie Chang co-founded Women 2.0 in 2006. She currently serves as Editor-In-Chief of Women 2.0 and is working to mainstream women in high-growth, high-tech entrepreneurship. Previously, Angie held roles in product management and web UI design. In 2008, Angie launched Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, asking that guys come as the “+1” for once. Angie holds a B.A. in English and Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. Follow her on Twitter at @thisgirlangie.
