This fund could rewrite the rules of venture capital for women and diverse founders

May 25, 2025

"We just reinvented venture capital and obliterated the barriers to entry." — Adeo Ressi, Decile Group

Historically, launching a VC fund has been expensive, opaque and prohibitive -especially for women, people of colour, and other underrepresented fund managers without generational wealth or elite networks.

The Start Fund, launched by Adeo Ressi and Decile Group, changes that.

It allows anyone who completes the VC Lab accelerator to launch a fully operational, institutional-grade venture fund in less than a day - with no upfront legal costs, full back-office support, and LP commitments as low as $10k.

“Smaller is better in VC. With our new Start Fund, you can launch a $100k VC fund in less than a day with $10k LP commitments — something that was never possible before. The opportunities are endless.” - Adeo Ressi

This is a structural breakthrough - not just in venture mechanics, but in who gets to lead.

It’s especially important for emerging female and diverse fund managers, who often back the overlooked founders and communities ignored by traditional VC. Start Fund is a catalyst for those ready to fund the future through a more inclusive lens.

Note: Start Fund is currently available only to graduates of the VC Lab accelerator and not yet accessible to fund managers based in Europe. Still, its direction is clear - the model is shifting, and we think it’s only a matter of time before it becomes global.

Smaller funds, bigger impact

This breaks the myth that you need $5m or $10m to launch a credible VC fund. Now, you can start with $100k, raise from LPs contributing as little as $10k, and still operate with full institutional infrastructure.

This is a game-changer for:

First-time female and diverse GPs building their first track record
Angel investors stepping into fund management
Capital collaboratives and syndicates run by women or underrepresented professionals

It also makes room for female and diverse LPs - those traditionally excluded from VC - to invest smaller checks and participate in ownership and upside. This is how we begin to close the gender and racial wealth gap from both sides of the table.

No legal, banking, or structural drama

Launching a fund used to mean hiring lawyers, navigating endless paperwork, and opening complicated financial structures. Start Fund cuts out the noise and focuses on what matters: investing.

This matters deeply because structural friction and bias in traditional finance often keep women and underrepresented groups out. Start Fund removes those blockers and creates space for real activity, not just intention.

Institutional-grade track records from day one

Credibility and access are tightly linked in venture capital. Without a clear track record, it’s almost impossible to raise larger funds or attract institutional LPs.

Start Fund solves this by providing:

Transparent, institutional-grade fund structure
Clean 2/20 economics with no hidden fees
- (Standard fee structure: 2% management fee & 20% of fund profits)
Built-in reporting and governance

This creates a pipeline of high-performing, diverse fund managers who can scale up over time -building real credibility, visibility, and access to deeper pools of capital.

Collaboration over competition

Start Fund is designed for collaboration. It allows diverse teams - not just solo GPs, to come together and launch quickly, without wrangling over legal structures and negotiations.

That means:

Co-leadership becomes easier
Shared decision-making is built in
Trust-based collaboration becomes the new standard.

This aligns with how many women and underrepresented professionals naturally prefer to lead - with integrity, partnership, and a long-term view.

The Purse perspective

At The Purse, we’re watching this with great interest - because it’s not just a new fund structure. It’s a new paradigm for venture capital.

When women and diverse investors allocate capital, they:

Back different founders
Deploy capital into underserved markets
Operate with values that shape more inclusive outcomes
Create ripple effects across industries and communities

Start Fund is a powerful signal. Capital is becoming more inclusive - fund by fund. While it’s not yet available in Europe, we’re hopeful and excited about where this is going.

Because this is not only how we reshape finance, it’s how we can close the gender equity gap. And it’s exactly the kind of innovation we’re here for.

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and janicka. We do no provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

The Purse