The Helm

The Helm Research

Investment Thesis

The Helm is a mission-driven venture capital firm dedicated to closing the gender equity gap in venture funding. With the foundational belief that women receive only 2% of all venture capital despite female-founded startups delivering twice as much return per dollar invested as all-male teams, The Helm is actively reshaping the venture landscape through gender-lens investing.

The firm operates on the core principle that innovation is not gender-specific, yet funding clearly is. By investing in undervalued companies at early stages when they show incredible promise, The Helm provides capital to game-changing female-founded ventures while building a supportive ecosystem around them.

Stage Focus and Check Size

The Helm is a generalist early-stage seed fund investing in companies with at least one female founder. The firm focuses primarily on Pre-Seed and Seed stages, with occasional Series A participation in existing portfolio companies.

Check Size Range:

• Typical investment: $500,000 - $1,500,000 in seed rounds
• Pre-seed participation: $250,000 - $500,000
• Follow-on reserves: Significant reserves for Series A participation

Recent data suggests The Helm aims to be highly active across their investment thesis, participating in multiple rounds per month.

Investment Focus Areas

The Helm's Fund II portfolio demonstrates a diversified yet purposeful investment strategy across multiple sectors:

Healthcare & Biotech (Primary Focus):

• Women's health innovations (Tia, Mahmee, AOA, Testmate Health, WTHN, Leda Health)
• Digital maternal health solutions
• Reproductive health technologies
• Diagnostic innovations

Climate & Sustainability:

• Carbon removal and climate tech (Opna, Inaru)
• Sustainable materials (Simplifyber, c16 Biosciences, Sway)
• Electric mobility infrastructure (itselectric)
• Sustainable food systems (Rebellyous Foods, Ganaz, Chiyo)

Technology & Infrastructure:

• Supply chain and inventory management (Fuse)
• Agricultural technology (Biographica, Inaru)
• Fintech solutions (Opna for carbon finance)

Consumer & Lifestyle:

• Premium consumer goods (Miss Grass, Haute Hijab, Aplos)
• Community platforms (OneRoof, The Riveter, Kinema)
• Pet care (Dogdrop)
• Food services (Breeze)

Education & Wellness:

• Gen-Z financial literacy (Realworld)
• Traditional Chinese medicine accessibility (WTHN)
• Holistic healthcare (BoobyBiome)

Lead Tendency

The Helm demonstrates a lead tendency in their investments. As a dedicated seed fund, they frequently structure themselves as lead investors in seed rounds, utilizing their deep network and operational support to add value beyond capital. The firm's hands-on approach, combined with their portfolio support infrastructure, indicates they actively lead rounds and maintain follow-on participation rights.

Team & Decision Process

Leadership Team:

Lindsey Taylor Wood - Founder & General Partner A proven operator and investor with a decade of experience building and running companies, including The Helm's operating company and its first two funds. Lindsey has led some of the country's best women-led investments, including Tia (which raised a $100M Series B). She is a recognized thought leader in gender-lens investing with an extensive network. Prior experience includes founding LTW (an impact studio), Catapult (a crowdfunding platform for women), and roles at Women Deliver and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Named one of the 20 Young Champions for Women by The White Ribbon Alliance.

Julie Weber - COO & General Partner With 15 years of experience in global media, advocacy, and operations, Julie brings deep expertise in fund administration and operational scaling. As interim CFO of Fund II, she coordinates all fund administration, accounting, financial reporting, and legal activities. Her background includes roles at UNFPA, Catapult, and work on the UN's H4+ initiative. Holds a Masters in Gender, Development, and Globalisation from LSE.

Olivia Fleming - Partner Bringing a decade+ of journalism and editorial experience with deep expertise in Climate & Sustainability Solutions. Previously Features Director at Harper's BAZAAR, where she grew online readership from 11M to 25M. Launched Hearst's first podcast "Dare I Say" and developed the "Women Who Dare" franchise. Strong relationships across media, PR, and creative industries. Born in New Zealand with deep commitment to female storytelling.

Decision Process: Given the three-person partnership structure and their collaborative approach, The Helm likely operates with a partnership decision model where key investments require consensus or majority agreement. With distinct expertise areas (Lindsey in strategy/operations, Julie in fund operations, Olivia in sustainability/deal sourcing), they distribute decision-making across their specialized domains.

Portfolio Highlights

The Helm has invested in 35+ companies across Fund I and Fund II, with notable highlights including:

Funded Company Exits & Outcomes:

• Tia: Raised $100M Series B (female healthcare)
• SmartGift: Acquired (gifting platform)
• The Helm Shop: Acquired in 2021 (e-commerce platform for women-founded brands)

Fund II Notable Investments (2024-2026):

• Biographica (AI-powered gene discovery, latest Jan 2026)
• AOA (liquid biopsy for ovarian cancer detection)
• Tia (raised $100M Series B post-Helm seed)
• Mahmee (digital maternal health)
• Venus Aerospace (hypersonic transportation)
• itselectric (curbside EV charging)
• Oova (at-home biomarker testing)
• Opna (carbon removal fintech)
• Realworld (Gen-Z financial literacy)
• Rebellyous Foods (plant-based meat manufacturing)

Recent Activity: The Helm has been actively deploying Fund II as of January 2026, with Biographica as their latest investment announcement. The fund shows strong momentum with ongoing deal flow and regular announcements of new portfolio additions.

Founder & Company Philosophy

The Helm operates with a clear gender equity thesis:

Core Statistics:

• Only 2% of venture capital goes to female founders
• Female-founded startups deliver 2x return per dollar vs. all-male teams
• Only 7% of VC goes to white female entrepreneurs (much lower for women of color)

Founder Preferences: The Helm seeks female-founded companies with:

• At least one female founder (core requirement)
• Undervalued opportunity in seed stage
• Game-changing business models
• Strong defensibility and traction
• Ambition to build transformative companies

The firm actively supports founders through more than just capital—building an ecosystem including:

• 100+ woman angel syndicate
• Newsletter reaching 50K+ subscribers
• Content platform and community
• Operational support and mentorship
• Founder education resources

Geographic & Sector Focus

Geographic Presence:

• Headquartered: New York, New York
• Secondary office: London, United Kingdom (indicated in fund materials)
• Investment focus: US-centric with international participation
• Geographic diversity in portfolio reflects global expansion of female-founded companies

Sector Classification: While maintaining a "generalist" approach, clear sector emphases emerge:

• Primary: Women's health, healthcare digital, biotech/life sciences (40%+ of portfolio)
• Secondary: Climate/sustainability, clean energy (25%+ of portfolio)
• Tertiary: Food & beverage, consumer apps, technology infrastructure (35%+ of portfolio)

Fund Details

Fund Structure:

• Fund II: Primary active deployment vehicle
• Angel Syndicate: Membership-based with 100+ investors
• Total portfolio: 35+ companies across funds

Fund Size & Timeline: While AUM is not publicly disclosed, available sources indicate:

• Fund II is actively deploying (as of January 2026)
• Combined Fund I + II likely $25M-$100M+ based on sector data
• Growing fund raising indicates increasing LP confidence

Fund Status: Fund II is in actively deploying phase as of January 2026, with regular announcement cadence and ongoing investment activity.

Unique Positioning

The Helm differentiates itself through:

1. Pure gender thesis: 100% female-founded focus vs. mixed approaches of peer funds
2. Operational support: Beyond capital, providing ecosystem and infrastructure
3. Content leadership: Built a media and thought leadership platform
4. Community scale: 100+ angel syndicate members for expanded reach
5. LP diversity: Attracted both institutional and high-net-worth female investors
6. Mission alignment: Clear impact thesis combined with financial returns thesis

Investment Process

Based on public materials, The Helm's process appears to include:

1. Deal sourcing: Through community, networks, and the angel syndicate
2. Diligence: Partnership model allows for distributed evaluation across expertise areas
3. Portfolio support: Active involvement in portfolio companies post-investment
4. Follow-on engagement: Strong track record of Series A participation when founders execute

Market Context

The Helm operates in a strategic moment:

• Female founder funding at 2% despite outperformance data
• Growing LP interest in gender-lens investing
• Increasing number of female founders (COVID accelerated this trend)
• Portfolio companies like Tia proving thesis (Tia's $100M Series B validates The Helm's early assessment)

Conclusion

The Helm represents a specialized, mission-driven venture capital fund with clear thesis conviction around gender equity in entrepreneurship. Their portfolio diversity, team expertise, and institutional track record (evidenced by successful exits and follow-on funding in portfolio companies) position them as a leading female-focused seed investor. The firm combines financial returns ambition with explicit social impact goals, demonstrating that these objectives are not mutually exclusive.