What we still get wrong regarding women and venture capitalism
Wednesday I had the privilege of moderating a panel on gender in tech and venture at VivaTech. I was a little bit stressed, but It went well.
When the VivaTech team asked me to moderate a panel on gender in tech and venture, I hesitated for 24 hours. Not because I didn’t care about the topic — but because I wasn’t sure I was the right person. I didn’t want to be accused of woman-washing, of speaking over others or of taking up too much space. But I also knew: growth doesn’t come from silence. So I accepted — with one intention: to listen and to learn. This newsletter isn’t a recap of what I said. It’s a reflection on what I heard from two women who are building differently: Natacha Brami, VP at Sista Fund, and Danila De Stefano, founder and CEO of Unobravo, one of Europe’s leading mental health platforms.
Danila : From therapist to tech CEO — without permission
Danila didn’t follow a “startup playbook.” She wasn’t part of an incubator, didn’t raise from top-tier VCs, and didn’t know what a cap table was when she began. She was a psychologist in London, unable to find a therapist who spoke her language. So she created the solution herself.
“I couldn’t access the care I needed. So I started doing therapy online. It worked. Then I brought in other therapists. Then I built a platform. Suddenly, I had 300 employees.”
Today, Unobravo serves over 300,000 patients across three countries. But Danila still doesn’t see herself as a typical tech founder. That’s exactly what makes her story powerful.
Her experience also lays bare the unspoken realities of bias in fundraising.
“When I turned 30, no one asked me directly — but I could feel the silent question. Will she disappear for maternity leave? Will she slow down?”
Instead of dodging the topic, her team confronted it with maturity. Her HR lead said: “Let’s create a maternity plan. Not because we expect it — but because we normalize it.”
That’s not softness. It’s operational excellence.
Natacha: Rewiring how and where capital flows
Natacha joined Sista Fund at its inception — no brand, no logo, no momentum. Just a mission: back companies with at least one woman co-founder.
She built the thesis with Tatiana, sourced deals, and shaped one of Europe’s few funds designed around gender equity.
“I studied finance and law. Everyone told me to go corporate. But I wanted to build something from scratch — with purpose.”
She stayed in VC because of several points. Firstly, the diversity that you can find within the sector, whether it be diverse stories or solutions. Secondly, Natacha relished a challenge, constantly wanting to be pushed outside of her comfort zone. Finally, she had a clear mission in mind, to fund in a better way. Quality over quantity.
She shared key data that not only reveals the depth of the problem — but also points to a real opportunity for us as VCs :
Women-led startups generate 63% more value per euro invested
They exit faster and with better capital efficiency
“It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s a system design problem.”
We also heard from Adrien Chaltiel, founder of Eldorado, who is driven by a strong belief in ethical entrepreneurship, long-term value creation, and the power of well-structured governance to drive meaningful change. Adrien has been in the game for nearly 20 years.
What I learned :
Here are three real takeaways we believe are under-discussed:
1. Pattern recognition is often just pattern reproduction.
“Gut feel” often means “they remind me of someone I’ve backed before.” That’s not instinct. That’s bias.
2. Maternity isn’t a liability. It’s a reality.
It doesn’t make founders fragile. It makes them structured. Planning for life isn’t a weakness — it’s leadership.
3. Allyship isn’t applause. It’s allocation.
As Adrien said during our panel: “The money comes from men, flows through men, and goes to men. If you’re not challenging that flow, you’re reinforcing it.”
Adrien’s perspective reminded me that allyship in VC isn’t about cheering from the sidelines. It’s about stepping into the current — and redirecting it.
Why I care
I didn’t grow up with access. I was raised in a small town in southern France. My parents earned under €2,500 a month. No network. No guidebook. I studied at Sciences Po by day, DJed by night. Every euro I earned, I poured into building OVNI Capital — not because I had a plan, but because I wanted to reshape who gets funded. I’m also the dad of two kids — a five-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son. I want my daughter to grow up in a world where raising capital feels just as natural, just as accessible, as it does for her brother.
Today, at OVNI:
33% of our portfolio has at least one female cofounder
1 CEO is a woman
<10% of our LPs are women — but their average ticket size is larger than the men’s
We recently hired Marie Outtier, an AI startup founder who exited her company to Twitter before becoming an angel investor and now a General Partner at Ovni. She is someone who I believe can become a key role model for the next generation of European women in venture.
This isn’t virtue signaling, this is us trying to make a difference.
PS : Adrien, shared his perspective in a dedicated Linkedin post — so I won’t repeat it here