Trish Costello is on a mission to harness the financial power of women. As the founder and CEO of Portfolia, a women-focused investment platform, she is fueling health care innovations aimed at improving women’s lives. Portfolia has 14 funds investing in companies targeting a largely female market.
Categories range from active aging to longevity and femtech. Ninety percent of its investors are women. The firm has made 185 investments valued at more than $65 million in 118 companies.
Nearly 70 percent of these are women-led ventures. Costello has been an entrepreneur since childhood. Growing up in rural Kansas, she and her siblings were taught to reframe needs as opportunities.
Costello empowers female health ventures
“There isn’t a time I can remember when I didn’t believe that if I came up with a good idea, I could make it happen,” she said. Costello’s interest in startup investment, especially in women’s health companies, stems from her belief in money as fuel for innovation.
She saw the market for women’s health emerging when no one else seemed to notice the opportunity. “I remember I took two deals to VCs, companies focused on menopause. One guy said, ‘There’s no way my partners are going to do a menopause deal,'” Costello recalled.
“Back then, talking about anything related to women’s health wasn’t done. But I saw a lot of potential in these markets where women were the key customers, influencers, and entrepreneurs.”
Costello and Portfolia continue to break new ground. They are making significant strides in sectors previously overlooked by traditional venture capital firms.
By harnessing the financial power of women, they are driving change and creating opportunities for female entrepreneurs and investors alike.
Photo by; National Cancer Institute on Unsplash