Dearest Gentle GIVC reader 📜 ,

It appears that the torch of Lady GIVC has been passed on, and yours truly has chosen to make her debut in the most fitting way she knows: with flair. This week's theme, as any well-read member of the town has already presumed, is Bridgerton: the beloved Netflix drama that reminds us all that ambition, confidence, and an independent mind have always been a woman's greatest assets.

New sections have been introduced. Old formats, reimagined. All which will be observed by the minds of society’s most observant – yourselves.

This writer hopes, above all else, for one thing in return: your honesty. Answer the polls and share your thoughts on the sections and format. Nothing, after all, escapes the notice of Lady GIVC, and she would rather know the truth than be flattered with silence.

Lastest Gossip of the Week

• [NEW] The Ws (Weekly Words of Wisdom)

• [NEW] VC Topic Explained in 1 Minute: The Denominator Effect

• The Social Calendar: Opportunities and Job Postings

• Community Feature: High School Chapter Announcement & TechCrunch Podcast

• Founder Feature: Sara Blakely (Founder of Spanx)

The Ws (Weekly Words of Wisdom)

The Weekly Words of Wisdom are little thoughts that this author finds herself inspired by throughout the week and is delighted to share with the crowd. This week’s edition is below:

The most coveted ballroom invitations are never handed out at the door; they are earned through proximity and poise. In venture capital, the best “deals” happen behind closed doors, and the sharpest investors know where to look before the rest of the ton arrives. While AI commands every whisper at every ballroom, this writer draws your attention to two sectors quietly stealing the season: 

• Defense technology: Funding has surged due to rising geopolitical tensions.

• Climate infrastructure: Capital is following climate policy at a faster pace.

To find the diamond of the season, one must look where others are too timid to tread. Opportunities only present themselves to those who are already searching.

Opportunities

For those still finding your footing: there is no single path to the VC ballroom, and the doors are always open to those who dare to venture through. 

Community Feature: High School Chapter Announcement & TechCrunch Podcast

As the ton knows, new information is meant to be gossiped about, and the current gossip in the street is the launch of our high school chapter network.

Apply below to be a Girls Into VC High School Chapter Leader!

What you’ll get:

• Learn the fundamentals of VC, startups, and how investors think through a 5-week chapter lead fellowship (April 27 – May 30, 8:00-9:30 PM ET on Tuesdays)

• Gain leadership experience as you launch and scale a chapter at your school

• Join a global community of 10K+ women in over 75 countries

Who should apply?

Female-identifying high school students who are curious, self-driven, and excited to explore VC while building something of their own.

Additionally, whispers of great importance regarding a certain podcast have reached this writer's ear. As Lady GIVC, it would be a disservice to keep such intelligence to oneself.

Below is an episode most worthy of your attention, in which Leah Solivan (Founder of TaskRabbit and partner at Precedent.VC) speaks on who truly holds the keys to venture capital, and why it matters. She reveals that the lack of diversity in VC shapes not just who gets funded, but who gets hired and which ideas are deemed worthy in the first place. 

🎙️ Listen below.

Audio (available on Spotify, Apple, Youtube, etc.)

Youtube Video

VC Topic Explained in 1 Minute: The Denominator Effect

When public markets take a tumble, the private equity and venture portions of an investor’s portfolio suddenly look much larger than intended. The reason for this is the denominator effect.

It sounds far more alarming than it truly is — much like Lady Danbury, who may seem intolerable at first impression but reveals a more sympathetic side once the pressure from her parents subsides. So let’s break it down:

Imagine you are a duchess with $100 in total wealth: $70 is in stocks and $30 is in jewels. Your jewels are 30% of your total wealth. Now imagine that the market crashes, and your $70 in stocks drops to $35. Suddenly, your $30 in jewels is $30/$65 = 46% of your total wealth, even though its value is still $30. The “bottom number” (total portfolio value) has shrunk from $100 to $65, which is exactly why this phenomenon is called the denominator effect.

Why is it redefining venture capital? Big institutions like pension funds and university endowments often serve as LPs, providing capital to VC firms. However, they are only allowed to invest a certain percentage of their money – say 10% – into risky assets like VC. When public markets fall drastically (i.e. the stock market crashes), overall portfolio values decline and these institutional investors’ private market investments suddenly go from 10% to 15% of the portfolio — not because they’ve grown, but because the total portfolio value (the denominator) has shrunk, making them appear disproportionately large.

In order for these LPs to get back to the 10% limit, they have to stop putting money into VC funds and potentially even sell existing holdings.

The ripple effect:

VC firms get less funding from LPs → they have less money → they write fewer checks to startups → startups struggle to get funding

Conclusion: A crash in the public markets can quietly freeze funding for thousands of early-stage companies. In Bridgerton lingo, one stumble in the stock market leaves thousands of promising young companies without a single suitor willing to sign the check.

Founder Feature: Sara Blakely (Founder of Spanx)

Not every diamond of the season arrives by carriage.

Sara Blakely arrived with $5k and a pair of scissors.

One day, she cut the feet off her pantyhose to wear a pair of white slacks without showing visible panty lines — and a revolutionary idea was born. Her concept was rejected countless times until she finally secured a manufacturer when the daughters of a North Carolina hosiery mill owner recognized the genius of her “minimum viable product.”

Spanx went on to become a billion-dollar empire, and Sara became the youngest self-made female billionaire in history, without a single investor, without a co-founder, and without waiting for anyone’s permission.

And so, dearest members of the ton, this writer must reluctantly set down her quill for the week. As always, the ballrooms of venture capital remain full of secrets waiting to be uncovered, but this writer shall not rest until every last one has been brought to light.

Yours truly,

Lady GIVC 👗