A Founder Channeled Her Cat in an Investor Meeting. Within 10 Minutes, She Got Her First Yes
Four VC-backed entrepreneurs share how they raised capital at a Funded Female Founders event.
Twill CEO and founder Michelle Vollberg. Photo: Vero Perez
The statistics might seem bleak: female-founded startups captured 1 percent of venture capital invested in 2025, down from 1.9 percent in 2024, a PitchBook report found. Still, female founders are finding ways to move forward.
Women own 15.7 million businesses—40.6 percent of all U.S. businesses—as of 2025 an increase from 14.5 million and 39.2 percent in 2024. Mixed gender teams accounted for 36.6 percent of VC funding in 2025, a leap from 22 percent in 2024
In conversation hosted by Inc., Superconnected, and Startup Grind at Ramp’s New York City headquarters, four VC-backed founders share how they succeeded in their fundraising efforts.
Show up like a cat
Michelle Volberg, founder and CEO of referral-based recruiting
Michelle Volberg, founder and CEO of referral-based recruiting platform Twill, bootstrapped her first company without any VC connections. In some of her first investor meetings, she says she exuded puppy-like energy.
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“I was so excited to be there. I was like, ‘You are God. You hold the power of everything,’” she says. “I don’t think investors like that. They could smell the energy.”
Inspired by the behavior of her cat, who she says expects the reverence of a god, Volberg decided to channel his energy instead—leaning back in her chair and asking investors what questions they had for her, projecting more nonchalance. Within ten minutes, she got her first yes.
“I wish I learned this earlier because that would have really saved me a lot of time and tears,” she says.
Source: www.inc.com
