"Utah's investment ecosystem produces extraordinary data, but most of it lives in expensive databases or academic papers that never reach the founders and investors who need it most. We built this research series to change that."
Published Reports
01
The Opportunity
The thesis behind the data. Two sides of one funding gap, the women founders and the women investors Utah already has, and the collective model built to connect them.
129,429 women-owned businesses
~120K accredited women
78¢ vs 31¢ revenue per dollar
$10.9T women's wealth
02
Utah Funding 2025: From 169 to 1
A vertical infographic tracking how Utah's $1.86B startup capital flowed in 2025. From 169 funded startups to a single publicly identified female CEO, with the capital share that explains the cliff and the math behind the lever.
169 deals · $1.86B deployed
~5% female founder share
< 1% of capital to women
1 publicly identified female CEO
~$509.6M early-stage pool · ~6% to women
03
Accredited Women Investors in Utah
How many women in Utah meet the SEC's accredited investor threshold, and what does that mean for the potential size of a women's angel collective? An original analysis using IRS income data, Census household data, and Utah labor statistics.
~92K to 103K accredited women
~120K working estimate
5% activation = 1,000+ investors
Wasatch Front focus
04
The Women's Funding Landscape
An interactive map and directory of 177 angel groups, syndicates, venture funds, education programs, and micro-funds supporting women founders across all 50 states. The most comprehensive public resource mapping women's investment infrastructure in the US.
177 organizations
50 states covered
7 categories
Interactive choropleth map
05
The Networks
A comparative analysis of nine women-led angel collectives, from Golden Seeds to the JumpFund. The proof the model works across the country, and where Silver & Salt Capital fits among them.
9 collectives profiled
$200M+ deployed
1,500+ women angels
Golden Seeds to JumpFund
06
Recommendations
A curated start-here guide: the organizations, programs, books, and podcasts we recommend for women investors, founders, and the ecosystem.
Curated resources
Investors · founders · ecosystem
Books & podcasts
Where to start
Our Methodology
Silver & Salt Capital uses AI tools, primarily Claude (Anthropic), to assist with research synthesis and analysis. AI is a starting point for the work. Every significant claim is then verified against primary sources before publication. We name the tools we use. We publish our source lists. We flag estimates as estimates.
Show the work
Methodology is documented in every report. You can see exactly how we got here.
Credit the tools
AI tools are named and described. No pretending this is traditional research.
Link the sources
Every primary source is cited in our full references page, open to anyone.
Invite the challenge
Found an error? Have better data? We want to know. This is a living document.
Have data we should know about?
We're actively seeking better Utah-specific data on angel investing, women founder outcomes, and accredited investor demographics. If you work in research, policy, or financial services, we'd love to hear from you.
Contribute DataEvery Source We Cite
Every fact and data point on this site traces back to a numbered source below. Filter by topic, follow any link to the original, and check the tag on each card to see where it appears on the site. Found an error or have newer data? Email tori@silverandsaltcapital.com and we'll update it.
Utah Gender & Economic Stats 5 sources
S01
Best & Worst States to Start a Business
2025
WalletHub · Cited in UWLP Brief No. 66
- Utah ranked #3 best state to start a business
HomeData
S02
Best & Worst States for Women's Equality
2025
WalletHub · Cited in UWLP Brief No. 68
- Utah ranked #50 for women's equality, 11 consecutive years
Data
S03
Utah Gender Pay Gap: A 2025 Update
2025
UWLP, Utah State University
- Full-time working women earn 73 cents per dollar men earn, worst in U.S.
- Lifetime earnings gap: $755,120 over a 40-year career
Data
S04
Status of Women and Entrepreneurship in Utah
2025
Townsend & Madsen, UWLP Brief No. 66
- Utah ranked 45th for female-owned businesses (15.8%)
- SLC ranked dead last among 50 most populous metros for female-owned businesses (14.8%)
- Utah ranked 6th in economic clout for women-owned businesses despite ranking 35th in share
DataOpportunity
S05
UWLP Childcare Research
2023
UWLP, Utah State University
- Licensed childcare meets 21% of demand in Utah
- 68%+ of working Utah mothers have children under 6
Opportunity
Women-Owned Business Growth 2 sources
S06
2025 Small Business Profile: Utah
2025
U.S. SBA, Office of Advocacy
- 129,429 women-owned businesses in Utah
- Women are 44.5% of all small business owners (up from 31% in 2020)
HomeOpportunityData
S07
The 2025 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses
2025
Wells Fargo / WIPP
- 14.5 million women-owned firms nationally
- Employment grew 37.2% to 12.9 million workers
- Revenue surged 73.7% to $3.3 trillion
- Revenue growth 3× the rate of male-owned firms
OpportunityData
Funding Gap 3 sources
S08
Women in VC and Startup Funding Statistics
2025
Founders Forum Group
- All-female teams received 2.3% of global VC ($6.7B of $289B)
Data
S09
2024 All In: Female Founders in the VC Ecosystem
2025
PitchBook
- All-female teams: 1% of U.S. VC in 2024, down from 2% in 2023
- Record 24.3% of exit count in 2024
- 13 new unicorns (43 total female-founded)
- Median female-founded unicorn reached status in 4.2 years
- Active female angel investors at decade low
- VC deal count for female founders declined 3rd straight year to lowest since 2018
HomeData
S10
Project DEEP: Utah VC Dataset
2024
Sorenson Impact Institute / University of Utah
- Utah VC to female founders: $21M of $1.1B (1.92%)
DataJoin
Women-Founded Performance Data 5 sources
S11
Why Women-Owned Startups Are a Better Bet
2018
BCG / MassChallenge (Abouzahr et al.)
- Women-founded: 78¢ revenue per $1 invested vs. 31¢ for male-founded
- 2.5× more revenue per dollar invested
- Women raised $935K avg vs. $2.1M for men
- 10% more cumulative revenue over 5 years
HomeData
S12
10 Year Project
2015
First Round Capital
- Companies with female founder performed 63% better
- 3 of top 10 investments by value had at least one female founder
- Analysis of 300 investments, ~600 founders
Data
S13
Women-Led Private Tech: ROI Study
2013
Kauffman Foundation / Stanford Law (Wadhwa & Mitchell)
- Women-led private tech companies: 35% higher ROI
- 12% higher revenue when VC-backed
Data
S14
2025 Review of Funding for Female Founders
2025
Female Founders Fund
- 15% less capital burned consistently, even in bull markets
- Burn rate: $270K/mo vs. $320K avg
- 7× jump in female-led IPOs 2014 to 2024
Data
S15
Diversity Matters Even More
2023
McKinsey & Company
- Top quartile gender diversity: 39% more likely to outperform (up from 15% in 2015)
- Note: correlation, not causation
Data
Utah Ecosystem 2 sources
S16
Deal Dispatch: Utah Raised Billions in 2025
2025
Utah Business
- Pelion: $500M Fund VIII
- Sorenson Capital: $150M Fund III
- Epic Ventures: $200M
Opportunity
S17
Women-Owned Businesses in Utah (Survey)
2022
Madsen & Townsend, UWLP White Paper
- Survey of 251 Utah women owners
- 65.7% used personal savings to start
- 52.8% in business 5 years or less
- Most common industries: services, consulting, IT, food services
Opportunity
Mentoring & Business Support 2 sources
S18
Mentoring: The Missing Link to Small Business Growth and Survival
2019
U.S. Small Business Administration
- Business failure drops from 25% to 13% with mentoring
How It Works
S19
What Women's Networks and Groups Can Do
2018
UWLP, WCID Series No. 4
- Research supporting the value of organized women's investment and business networks
How It Works
Utah Support Organizations 2 sources
S20
Women's Business Center of Utah
2025
WBCUtah
- 3,300+ listings in the women-owned business directory
- Named 2025 SBA Women's Business Center of Excellence
Opportunity
S21
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs (Utah Financial Institutions)
2024
Sorenson Impact Institute
- Utah policy leadership aimed at increasing employer-scale women-owned firms
Opportunity
Angel Networks: Comparable Models 9 sources
S22
Golden Seeds Angel Network
2004 to 2025
Golden Seeds
- Founded 2004. 1,100+ investors over 20 years
- Currently ~290 members across 9 chapters in 28 states
- Invested $190M+ in 260+ women-led companies
- Investments catalyzed $2B+ in follow-on funding
- Knowledge Institute: 9-course investor education curriculum
- Investors spending 40+ hours on due diligence: 7.1× returns vs. 1.1× for <20 hours
Data
S23
The JumpFund
2013 to 2025
The JumpFund, Chattanooga TN
- Founded 2013 in Chattanooga. $7.7M under management
- Invested in 30 women-led companies across the Southeast
- Engaged capital of 100+ women investors (83% female)
- Investments leveraged 19× additional capital from co-investors
- First checks: $100K to $250K
- Book: "Jump In" by Kristina Montague chronicles the model
Data
S24
37 Angels
2012 to 2025
37 Angels, New York
- 80+ women angel investors
- Portfolio IRR above 20%, top decile for early-stage investors
Data
S25
Pipeline Angels
2011 to 2025
Pipeline Angels (acquired by IFEL)
- 200+ members trained through "Angels-in-the-Making" bootcamp
- $4M+ invested in 40+ companies
- Serves as "friends and family" funding round for founders without wealthy networks
Data
S26
Portfolia
2014 to 2025
Portfolia
- "Learn-by-investing" model, the closest match for the member-investor experience Silver & Salt Capital is building
- Thematic funds: FemTech, Active Aging, Consumer, Rising America. Women investors choose themes they know.
- Collaborative decision-making among women investors
Data
S27
How Women Invest
2020 to 2025
How Women Invest / How Women Lead
- "New Table" campaign: goal to bring 10,000 new women into venture investing
- Leverages network of 25,000+ senior executive women from How Women Lead
- 100% women-led/founded portfolio
Data
S28
Next Wave Impact
2017 to 2025
Next Wave Impact
- Trained ~200 women angels through pilot programs
- Partnered with Portfolia, ACA, Kauffman Foundation
- Launched funds in both US and Europe
Data
S29
Citrine Angels
2015 to 2025
Citrine Angels, Mid-Atlantic
- Regional membership group for female investors. No minimum investment barrier, lowers the on-ramp
- Member of Angel Capital Association
- Prescreened deal flow + education model, similar approach to Silver & Salt Capital
Not yet used
S30
Angel Capital Association: Angel Returns Data
2007 to 2025
Angel Capital Association
- Largest professional org for accredited angel investors in North America
- Members deploy $650M+ annually in angel investments
- Average angel return: 2.5× in 4.5 years (Wiltbank/Boeker study)
Data
National Women's Business Data 4 sources
S31
2023 Annual Report
2023
National Women's Business Council (NWBC)
- ⚠️ Needs review: Pull key national stats on women-owned business growth, access to capital barriers, and policy recommendations. Cross-reference with S06 (SBA data) and S07 (Wells Fargo) for complementary stats.
Not yet used
S32
2022 Annual Report / By The Numbers
2022
National Women's Business Council (NWBC)
- ⚠️ Needs review: Baseline year-over-year comparison data. Use NWBC "By The Numbers" for quick-reference national stats.
Not yet used
S33
2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses Research
2024
WIPP Education Institute (WEI)
- ⚠️ Needs review: Updated version of the Wells Fargo/WIPP study (S07). Should contain latest revenue, employment, and growth rate data for women-owned firms nationally.
Not yet used
S34
Female Founder Statistics 2026: Funding, Growth & Key Trends
2026
Theanna
- ⚠️ Needs review: Most current aggregate stats on female founder funding, growth, and trends. Could update or replace older data points from S08, S09.
Not yet used
Investor Behavior & Research 5 sources
S35
The Female Alpha: Capitalizing on the Gender Funding Gap
2024
Unknown (likely research paper or report)
- ⚠️ Needs review: Title suggests alpha returns from investing in women-founded companies. Framing the funding gap as an investment opportunity, directly aligned with Silver & Salt Capital's "pricing error" thesis.
Not yet used
S36
How Women (and Men) Invest in Startups
2020
Ventureneer / SWITCH
- ⚠️ Needs review: Study on gender differences in angel/startup investing behavior. Likely contains data on women's investment motivations, check sizes, sector preferences, and risk tolerance; critical for positioning Silver & Salt Capital's model.
Not yet used
S37
Revelatory Research Identifies Roadmap to Unlock Women's Wealth by Motivating More Women to Invest in Startups
2020
Business Wire (press release for Ventureneer study)
- ⚠️ Needs review: Press release summarizing S36 findings. Likely contains the headline stats and quotable framing; "roadmap to unlock women's wealth" language could be useful for site copy.
Not yet used
S38
67% of Women Investors Plan New Venture Fund Commitments in 2026
2026
Unknown (likely industry report or survey)
- 67% of women investors plan new venture fund commitments in 2026
- ⚠️ Needs review: If verified, this is a powerful "timing is right" data point; demand exists NOW. Use on Join page and Opportunity page.
Not yet used
S39
Banu Ozkazanc-Pan: Research on Gender & Entrepreneurship
2020 to 2025
Brown University
- ⚠️ Needs review: Academic research on gender, entrepreneurship, and venture ecosystems. May provide peer-reviewed backing for claims about structural barriers and funding inequality.
Not yet used
Utah Women's Leadership 2 sources
S40
Status of Women Leaders in Utah Business 2024
2024
UWLP, Utah State University, Brief No. 61
- ⚠️ Needs review: Data on women in C-suite, board seats, and leadership positions at Utah companies. Strengthens the "infrastructure exists but women are locked out" argument on the Opportunity page.
Not yet used
S41
2024 Economic Blueprint
2024
Unknown (likely Utah-specific economic report)
- ⚠️ Needs review: Likely contains Utah economic growth data, industry composition, and workforce stats. Context for the "why Utah, why now" story.
Not yet used
Angel Investing Education & Playbooks 4 sources
S42
Golden Seeds Marks 20 Years of Investing in Female Entrepreneurs
2024
Dallas Innovates
- ⚠️ Needs review: 20-year retrospective on Golden Seeds. Likely contains updated investment totals, member growth, lessons learned, and return data beyond what's in S22. Quote: "We think the returns are better."
Not yet used
S43
Angel Investing Playbook: Insights from 45+ Investments
2025
VITALIZE Venture Capital
- ⚠️ Needs review: Practical guide from a working investor. 45+ investments analyzed. Could inform Silver & Salt Capital's investor education curriculum and due diligence framework.
Not yet used
S44
Is Angel Investing for Beginners Actually Possible in 2026?
2026
Hustle Fund
- ⚠️ Needs review: Beginner-accessible framing of angel investing. May contain data on minimum check sizes, platforms, and trends that support Silver & Salt Capital's accessible entry point ($10K+ commitment).
Not yet used
S45
Impact Finance Center: Investor Accelerators & Clubs
2026
Impact Finance Center
- ⚠️ Needs review: Programs training new impact investors. 2026 Learning Lineup includes structured investor education. Could be a model for Silver & Salt Capital's member education programming or a direct partnership.
Not yet used
Landscape & Industry Reports 2 sources
S46
Complete List of Women-Led Venture Funds Raised in 2025
2025
Unknown aggregator
- ⚠️ Needs review: Full roster of women-led funds. Useful for competitive landscape analysis and for showing momentum; "X new women-led funds launched in 2025 alone."
Not yet used
S47
IFC Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Young Women Entrepreneurs Across Africa
2025
International Finance Corporation (World Bank)
- ⚠️ Needs review: Global context; even the World Bank is building infrastructure for women entrepreneurs. Shows Silver & Salt Capital is part of a worldwide movement, with global precedent.
Not yet used
Utah Angel Funding Research: Original Analysis 8 sources
S48
Utah 2025 Venture Deal Data: Pre-Seed/Seed Stage Share
2025
Utah Business / PitchBook (data pull Nov 25, 2025)
- Total Utah deal value 2025: $1.86B (169 transactions)
- Pre-seed + seed share: 27.4% of invested capital (lowest since 2017)
- Implied Utah pre-seed/seed pool: ~$509.6M
- December typically busiest deal month, so $509.6M is likely a floor
- Many more rounds were unannounced or below $1M threshold
DataOpportunity
S49
Faye: $2.5M Pre-Seed (Female Co-Founded)
2025
TechBuzz News / PR Newswire
- $2.5M pre-seed raised May 2025
- Co-founded by Emily King (CEO, Ogden, UT) and Kip Kaehler
- Led by Unusual Ventures (Sarah Leary, Nextdoor co-founder)
- AI-augmented human advisors for household management. Active in 20 cities, 12,000+ tasks completed
- 1 of only 2 female-co-founded Utah pre-seed/seed raises in 2025 sample
Data
S50
Trace AQ: $1.25M Seed (Female Co-Founded)
2025
Utah Business / Trace AQ / TechBuzz News
- $1.25M seed raised May 2025
- Co-founded by Dr. Heather Holmes (Assoc. Prof, Chemical Engineering, U of U)
- Led by Rusheen Capital Management (LA). Air quality forecasting from NSF-funded research
- Named 2025 "Startup of the Year" by U of U Technology Licensing Office
- 1 of only 2 female-co-founded Utah pre-seed/seed raises in 2025 sample
Data
S51
S&S Capital Original Analysis: 2025 Utah Angel-Stage Female Founder Estimate
2026
Silver & Salt Capital / ChatGPT Deep Research
- 18-round disclosed sample totaling $72.65M. Only $3.75M (5.2%) went to female-co-founded startups
- Best estimate: ~$31M of $509.6M Utah pre-seed/seed pool went to female-founded startups (range: $20M to $51M)
- Utah's 5.2% is roughly one-quarter to one-third of national benchmarks (Carta: 24.2%, SEC: 19%)
- Methodology: PitchBook denominator, publicly disclosed deal sample, founder gender verified through press releases and bios (not name inference)
DataHomeOpportunity
S52
SEC: Exploring Accredited Investors & Private Market Securities Ownership
2025
SEC Office of the Investor Advocate (OIAD Working Paper 2025 No. 1)
- 12.6% of U.S. adults qualify as accredited investors (~33.6 million people)
- If retirement accounts excluded from net worth: 9.4% (~25.1 million adults)
- Current ownership of private-market securities among accredited investors: only 4.3%
- Measured at individual level (not household); 7,500 surveyed Jan 2024
DataOpportunity
S53
Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute: Utah Population Estimates 2025
2025
Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, University of Utah
- Utah population: 3,551,150 as of July 1, 2025
- Added 44,351 residents since 2024. Growth rate slowed to 1.3%
- Natural change (births > deaths) now primary driver, first time this decade
Data
S54
Park City / Summit County Economic & Demographic Profile
2023 to 2025
Data USA / Census ACS / Census Reporter / World Population Review
- Park City population: ~8,300. Summit County: ~43,000
- Median household income: $140,875 (nearly 2× national). Average: $247,300. Top 5%: $1,294,042
- Median property value: $1.74M (5.73× national average)
- 57.3% of housing units vacant (second homes, seasonal residences). Owners not counted in resident population
- Per capita income in Summit County: $74,755 (nearly 2× Utah average)
DataOpportunity
S55
S&S Capital Research: Accredited Women Investors in Utah
2026
Silver & Salt Capital / Claude AI-Assisted Research
- Wasatch Front base estimate: ~88,000 accredited women (range: 55,000 to 120,000)
- Park City / Summit County: ~4,000 to 15,000 accredited women (residents + second-home owners)
- Combined estimate: ~92,000 to 103,000 accredited women in the S&S Capital market area
- The stated "100+" figure is deliberately conservative relative to the combined estimate
DataHomeOpportunityJoin
Angel Market Participation & Returns 5 sources
S56
Convergence of Median and Mean Fund Returns As a Function of Portfolio Size
2016
David Coats, Correlation Ventures
- Monte Carlo simulation of U.S. venture vintages 2001+: median returns converge toward mean at 50+ portfolio companies
- Investors with fewer than 5 deals had a median return of zero
- At 50+ deals, median return approached 14% IRR (asset class average)
Thesis
S57
Returns to Angel Investors in Groups
2007
Robert Wiltbank & Warren Boeker, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation / Angel Capital Education Foundation
- Group-affiliated angel investments produced average 2.6× return over 3.5 years
- Investments with 40+ hours of due diligence produced 7.1× multiple
Thesis
S58
The Angel Market in 2023: An Inflection Point for Women Angels
2023
Jeffrey E. Sohl, Center for Venture Research, University of New Hampshire
- Female participation in angel investing grew from 5.0% in 2004 to 46.7% in 2023
- Women-owned ventures accounted for 46.3% of entrepreneurs seeking angel capital in 2023
Thesis
S59
Angel Returns Beat All Asset Classes But Pose Greater Risk
2023
John Harbison, Angel Capital Association
- Central Texas Angel Network: 31% IRR across 115 outcomes (2006 to 2022)
- Tech Coast Angels: 25% IRR across 247 outcomes (1997 to 2022)
Thesis
S60
Exploring Accredited Investors
2025
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Economic and Risk Analysis
- Most U.S. accredited investors have not participated in private securities offerings.
Start
S61
Women's Wealth Is Growing. So What? Now What? And What If?
SheMoney (Jacki Zehner)
- Jacki Zehner: “Engaging more women in investing could unlock trillions in new capital and increase global wealth.”
Opportunity