The System Wasn't Built for Us: Naseem Sayani on Moving Capital to Female Founders

Most venture capital was never built with women in mind. Naseem Sayani got tired of waiting for the system to change, so she decided to help change where the money goes. In this conversation with host Syama Bunten on Getting Rich Together, Naseem shares her journey into venture capital for female founders and what it takes to move more funding toward overlooked businesses. Before co-founding Emmeline Ventures, she built her career in consulting and digital innovation at firms including Booz & Company and Boston Consulting Group. Growing up in a traditional South Asian household in Los Angeles, she was taught to prioritize education, save money, and prepare for marriage. But she had different plans for her future. Naseem shares how she went from implementing major business decisions to wanting a seat at the table where those decisions were made. That ambition led her to business school and eventually into venture investing. She explains how watching female founders struggle to raise capital pushed her to start angel investing in women-led companies and later leave her consulting career to write bigger checks. She also discusses the lack of women in investment decision-making roles, how women's health investing has evolved since 2019, and why bringing more women into venture capital matters. And she explains why the differences in how male and female founders experience fundraising need to be discussed more openly. Listen now to hear how Naseem turned her experience in consulting into a mission to fund more female founders, why individual angel investments weren't enough for her, and what she believes needs to change to get more capital into women's hands. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Venture Capital Wasn't Built for Women 02:55 Growing Up in a Gendered Immigrant Household 07:58 Wanting to Be an ER Doctor Like Clooney 10:20 Choosing Campus Life Over the Marriage Track 16:52 Starting a Career Amid 9/11, Enron, and Acquisitions 23:26 Financing an MBA and a Paid Sabbatical 32:05 Building a Product Studio Inside Booz and BCG 39:08 Watching the Gender Gap in Startup Funding 43:07 Leaving a Partner Track to Go Full Venture 51:23 Building a Legacy for Female Founder Funding Connect with Naseem Sayani: Listen to The Capital Flex podcast Find more from Syama Bunten: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syama.co/ Join Syama's Substack: https://thewealthcatalystwithsyama.substack.com/ Website: https://wealthcatalyst.com Download Syama's Free Resources: https://wealthcatalyst.com/resources Speaking: https://syamabunten.com Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm