The Josephine Collective

Overview

The Josephine Collective is a women-led angel investment group co-investing small amounts in early-stage startups across the United States. They aim to make angel investing accessible for all, with a particular focus on helping women and people of color diversify their investment strategies. Their unique structure allows them to invest in high-potential startups with a low fee structure. Unlike traditional angel syndicates or venture funds, investors in The Josephine Collective do not provide funding to the group. Instead, they meet founders, learn about their visions and market opportunities, and present them to the group. Individual investors then decide whether to participate in an investment. When enough interest is gathered to meet the minimum check size, they invest in the startup as a single line on the cap table. This approach enables The Josephine Collective to access promising deals that individual investors might not reach on their own, protect founders from having too many investors on their cap tables, and keep operating costs low by avoiding the need for special purpose vehicles for each deal. They invest anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the collective's interest, and prefer early-stage tech-enabled businesses that are for-profit, U.S.-domiciled, and have the potential to become large-scale enterprises. The collective was named after Josephine Garis Cochrane, the inventor of the first commercial dishwasher in 1886. Her invention alleviated hours of back-breaking work for women around the world and won the highest prize for innovation at the 1893 Chicago World's Expo. The founders of The Josephine Collective draw inspiration from her creativity and courage, aiming to support visionary founders in a similar spirit.

Investment Focus

• For-profit
• U.S.-domiciled
• Potential for large-scale growth