On Tuesday night, about two dozen guests gathered at Lisa Shedlock’s Esplanade Avenue home, where white wine was pouring, appetizer trays sat on the gray quartz kitchen island and flamingo-shaped sugar cookies glistened in cellophane wrappers.
It was definitely a festive occasion, but the party had a purpose.
Shedlock hosted Flamingo Funders, a group of 25 women investors who meet every other month to hear presentations from female entrepreneurs. The group formed two years ago to address the startling fact that women-led startups in the U.S. receive only about 2% of all venture capital each year, according to financial data provider Pitchbook.
“The data on female founders is clear,” said Jane Cooper, co-founder of the group, “and given that female-run startups earn higher returns on investment, on average, than companies founded by men, the amount of investment capital in this country is far too low.”
Flamingo Funders offers temporary tattoos at a gathering in New Orleans, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, Times-Picayune)
Staff photo by Sophia Germer
Flamingo Funders hopes to increase that investment percentage, at least within its own community.
At 6 p.m., Cooper kicked off the group’s September meeting by introducing the evening’s presenters: Brenna Cain, founder of a wellness platform that connects clients with providers; Christy Swan, a scientist who uses technology to protect coastal land; and Amber Bonner, designer of a toilet paper dispenser for infants.
Amber Bonner pitches the possibility of backing her business, Zokyo, to Flamingo Funders, a group of female investors, at Lisa Shedlock’s home in New Orleans, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, as her dog, Shorty, is walked. (Photo by Sophia Germer for The Times-Picayune)
Staff photo by Sophia Germer
Each of the three had eight minutes to present their business plans to potential investors, who sat on couches and chairs while Shorty, a 9-year-old corgi, roamed the room looking for bread crumbs and the occasional head pat.
“The Splendor of Flamingos” from “Shark Tank”
Bonner was up first.
“Potty training a child can be frustrating,” she told the group. “My product, Zokyo, helps teach good toilet behavior with minimal stress for both parents and children.”
Amber Bonner pitches the possibility of backing her business, Zokyo, to women’s investor group Flamingo Funders at Lisa Shedlock’s home in New Orleans, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer for The Times-Picayune)
Staff photo by Sophia Germer
Bonner said he was working with an overseas manufacturer to create a second prototype of a plastic panda equipped with sensors that would dispense measured amounts of toilet paper, sport a friendly smile and play music.
After a short Q&A, Swann was next to present, explaining that her startup, Rcoast, uses drone footage and satellite imagery to help owners of the nation’s roughly 77,000 beachfront homes create flood maps of their coastal areas. This data can be used to determine where to put up fences and vegetation to protect against water and wind.
“Imagine the last time you went to the beach and you were standing on your balcony,” she said, “Now imagine that place 10 years from now. Will it still be there?”
Cain pitched Rituali, a platform that connects customers with alternative health practitioners.
“How many of you here are completely satisfied with your health and feel like you’re getting everything you need from your doctor?” she asked. “Seventy percent of U.S. adults feel the health care system isn’t meeting their needs, and while a third have tried holistic services, many find it really hard to access them and feel really overwhelmed.”
At the end of each presentation, the group was asked questions, after which the entrepreneurs retired and the Flamingos discussed what they had heard.
“Please bring a cookie or a Roadie on your way out,” Flamingo Funders co-founder Allison Hartman told them.
Who doesn’t like flamingos?
Cooper and Hartman, co-founders of Flamingo Funders, first met in 2017 at a conference of the NO/LA Angel Network (now called Gulf South Angels), a local angel investment group.
Cooper came to New Orleans in 1985 to run a health care company. In addition to a 30-year career in the industry, she is an adjunct business professor at Loyola University and opened a wine shop in Faubourg Marigny with her husband in 2015.
A native of New York City, Hartman moved to New Orleans in 1979 for graduate studies at Tulane University and has since held a series of executive positions in IT, human resources and business management. She currently serves as operations manager for River District Real Estate Development, led by her former husband, Louis Lauricella.
After the NO/LA Angel Network meeting, Cooper and Hartman made plans to have lunch together and a friendship blossomed.
A member of Flamingo Funders points to a flamingo pin on Lisa Shedlock’s jacket at her home in New Orleans, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
Staff photo by Sophia Germer
Five years later, they decided to start their own investment group with friends including Fern Watters, Gay LeBreton and Rosanne Archery McGowan.
There were already two local investment funds named after pelicans, so the group decided to choose a more colorful bird for its name.
“We thought the name would be a fun contrast to the local ecosystem,” Cooper says, “and we even have flamingo pin badges! We even have flamingo jewelry. Who doesn’t love flamingos?”
Flamingo Funders now has 25 members looking to invest in women-led companies in the region, and while some are relative newbies, all are accredited investors, which means federal regulators consider them wealthy enough to invest in risky startups.
Members of the Flamingo Funders group of female investors hold handouts and look on as Amber Bonner solicits backing for her business, Zokyo, at Lisa Shedlock’s home in New Orleans on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer for The Times-Picayune)
Staff photo by Sophia Germer
The group first met to hear a presentation at the Surrey Mansion, a bed and breakfast in the Garden District, in 2022. They met four times a year after that. In 2024, the Flamingos began meeting every other month.
The evening traditionally starts with wine and snacks, flamingo decorations set the mood, and there’s no audiovisual system because investors want to hear founders explain their pitches without relying on PowerPoint or other technology.
So far, the group has heard about 20 proposals and has invested modest amounts: 36 individual investors have put a total of $220,000 into five companies.
Flamingo Funders’ portfolio includes KreweCar, a boutique ride-sharing service that offers car seats and hand-picked drivers, high-profile recycling startup Glass Half Full, and Junum, a digital health company that helps hospitals diagnose malnutrition. Two other investments failed: internship placement startup Rize and consumer information startup Cluey.
Allison Hartman of the women’s investment group Flamingo Funders laughs during a meeting in New Orleans, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, Times-Picayune)
Staff photo by Sophia Germer
Leads come in through a form on the Flamingo Funders website or through word of mouth, then Cooper or Hartman meet with founders to pre-screen them and schedule a pitch session. Meetings are booked up until the end of the year.
The moment of truth
After the entrepreneurs left the house on Tuesday evening, Flamingo Funders refilled drinks and spent about 30 minutes discussing each pitch, then voted by a show of hands whether to consider investing.
As a result, the group decided to reach out to at least one of the three presenters and set up a Zoom call to gather more information that could lead to a potential investment.
Cooper and Hartman asked that the names of the startups they selected not be made public until investments have been made, and startups that don’t raise money will be supported in other ways, she said.
All founders are invited to participate in a networking group that meets every eight weeks at Cooper’s Wine Shop, and Flamingo Funders members will also work with founders individually.
“We’re going to try to protect them and support them,” Hartman said.
The goal for the selected entrepreneurs is to support them with comprehensive services, including financial advice and marketing strategies, to help them make a profit in the long term.
“This is not a money-making scheme,” Hartman said. “These are high-risk, illiquid investments, but we expect a return. We invested in five companies, two of which are gone now but we had high hopes for them, and the three that are still in the portfolio are very promising.”
