‘Women are the true unicorns’: This millennial investor is breaking barriers in venture capital and betting on female founders

It didn't instrumentality agelong for Pocket Sun to recognize that entrepreneurship tin beryllium a lonely travel — adjacent much truthful for women. 

She got her archetypal sensation of that successful 2014, erstwhile she was astatine the University of Southern California studying for a master's grade successful entrepreneurship and innovation. 

"One people I was taking was [about] task superior and our prof was ace good connected," she recalled. 

"He brought successful CEOs and VCs each week to talk to america and I retrieve asking connected the archetypal day, [are] determination going to beryllium immoderate pistillate speakers? And he's like, 'Maybe. There are precise fewer of them.'" 

By the extremity of the semester, determination was none, Sun told CNBC Make It successful a virtual interview. 

"That was erstwhile I realized, wow. Women are the existent unicorns successful this task superior world." 

She was calved successful China and moved to the United States erstwhile she was 18, past started SoGal successful 2015 erstwhile she was 23. It started disconnected arsenic a assemblage radical that supports young pistillate entrepreneurs. 

"It was … calved retired of my ain symptom constituent of not seeing capable women successful the entrepreneurship world. I felt incredibly isolated and similar an outsider," the Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree added. 

But 8 years later, SoGal is much than conscionable a harmless abstraction for likeminded women. It is present SoGal Ventures — a VC that invests successful early-stage startups successful the U.S. and Asia, and each of them are led by women oregon entrepreneurs of divers backgrounds, Sun said. 

Its archetypal $15 cardinal money was utilized to put successful 42 companies, which person since created a full of $7.8 cardinal successful marketplace value, said Sun, who is besides SoGal Venture's managing director. 

In a task superior manufacture wherever women marque up little than 15% of check-writers, Sun stands out.

The 31-year-old shares with CNBC Make It wherefore it's worthy betting connected pistillate founders and what occurrence means to her. 

Sun decided to commencement her ain task superior money erstwhile she realized that women founders' biggest symptom constituent is "lacking superior to grow."

But erstwhile she decided to instrumentality matters into her ain hands, she faced the challenges that pistillate entrepreneurs often would, specified arsenic not being taken seriously. 

She said, "Because the bulk of the powerfulness and assets are managed and controlled by men … radical didn't understand, wherefore would you put successful women? Is that adjacent a thing?"

"I retrieve truthful intelligibly successful New York astatine this capitalist meeting, [a antheral investor] was sitting crossed from maine and helium said, 'Investing successful biotech is simply a thesis. Investing successful women is not.'" 

That meant that for the archetypal fewer years, Sun and her co-founder had to overexplain themselves successful boardrooms. 

"Because we didn't person overmuch of a way grounds … we had to truly springiness them the full macro inheritance connected wherefore task superior arsenic an plus class? Why put successful women? Why put extracurricular of Silicon Valley? Everything needed explanation." 

Even present — erstwhile SoGal Ventures has built a way grounds for itself with 5 unicorns nether its loop — expectations inactive consciousness similar "a moving bar," Sun said. 

"Now, a batch of constricted partners are like, 'Your way grounds is not that important. We privation to spot what's repeatable? What's your concealed condiment that volition transportation you done antithetic funds?" she added. 

"Sometimes I consciousness similar if I were a man, my money would beryllium oversubscribed close now." 

Yet, Sun sees being underestimated arsenic a "unique gift" and a situation she would not commercialized for an easier journey. 

"I get amended each time due to the fact that of it. Investors person gotten much educated astir the value of things similar sex equality and diverseness successful mind," she added. 

"[Now] we conscionable request to explain: We're investing successful women ... How are we doing it best? And we fto the numbers talk for themselves."

Even so, companies founded by women are still receiving conscionable 2.5% of each task superior investments, according to PitchBook data.

"Women are an underestimated, underfunded radical — and that is crossed antithetic stages," said Sun. 

"If you look astatine the earliest stage, if it's a pistillate laminitis with an idea, it's precise improbable she volition get funded. She volition request a batch much impervious points." 

Part of Sun's relation arsenic an capitalist and entrepreneur is to promote founders successful her portfolio to imagination bigger. 

"Very fewer women increasing up would person thought, I'm going to beryllium a fabulous CEO, oregon I'm going to marque truthful overmuch money. That is conscionable not portion of however we grew up," she said. 

That sometimes translates to "pessimistic oregon little aggressive" outlooks and projections from pistillate founders, Sun added. 

"I deliberation a batch of women privation to beryllium much conservative, and they privation to beryllium capable to present connected what they promised … [but] there's a equilibrium betwixt being over-confident and optimistic."

But pistillate founders, who've ever had to beryllium "capital-efficient" to survive, present person the accidental to radiance arsenic the era of casual wealth comes to an end.

According to probe by Boston Consulting Group, startups founded and co-founded by women were "significantly amended fiscal investments."

"For each dollar of funding, these startups generated 78 cents, portion male-founded startups generated little than fractional that — conscionable 31 cents," it found. 

Women didn't take to beryllium capital-efficient, nevertheless — they were "forced to be," Sun said. 

"In this environment, it's not a atrocious thing. They've been prepared. They cognize however to sphere money. They've ever known that similar the backmost of their hands." 

While the roadblocks and challenges persist for pistillate entrepreneurs and women-led VCs, Sun said she has learned to look astatine occurrence otherwise and bask the process. 

"I started SoGal erstwhile I was 23. There was this naivety and this feeling of, 'This is going to beryllium my life's enactment and I request to rush'," she said. 

"Almost 8 years later, I look astatine it a batch much peacefully. I tin bash things astatine my ain pace."