Anuya Nisal, Founder & CEO of Serigen Mediproducts, says that deep tech investors are now more open to backing women-led ventures. In an interview, she shared her journey as a woman entrepreneur in the biomedical industry. Nisal says that female founders are often held to higher standards and need to show stronger metrics and resilience.
However, those who break through often build more sustainable businesses because they are used to overcoming challenges. The key is persistence and finding investors who believe in long-term impact without other biases. Compared to five years ago, things have improved for women founders.
There is more conversation against gender bias, and investors are actively looking to back women-led startups. More mentorship programs and funds are dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs, which is a positive change. But challenges remain, and biases have not disappeared—they have just become more subtle.
Nisal says that being a woman-led startup has sometimes become an advantage. Investors are recognizing the need for diversity in leadership and are actively seeking to back women-led ventures, which is a positive shift. Serigen Mediproducts secured a pre-Series A funding round of Rs 10 crore (approximately $1.2 million) led by IAN Alpha Fund and Colossa Ventures in August last year.
Women-led ventures gain investor interest
Nisal says that fundraising was the biggest challenge in the journey since medtech has a long gestation period needing long-term investment, and many investors prefer quick returns. Nisal and her co-founders, Dr.
Swati Shukla and Dr. Premnath Venugopalan, created silk-based tissue engineering products that are high-performing and affordable. Their mission was to make advanced healthcare accessible and improve patient outcomes.
Nisal says that building a deep-tech biomedical company is inherently difficult, regardless of the founder’s gender. Balancing multiple roles—R&D, regulatory approvals, and business strategy—was challenging, but it taught her resilience. Nisal says that in the early years, one key mistake was underestimating the time needed to bring a medtech product to market.
This taught her the importance of patience and the need for a solid runway to sustain product development. Another learning moment was realizing the importance of building the right team with cultural fit and shared vision. Nisal believes that women bring unique qualities to leadership, like empathy and active listening.
These traits help build strong, cohesive teams and foster a culture of collaboration. In a high-stakes industry like medtech, this creates an environment where people feel valued and motivated to innovate.
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