Women founders receive just 2% of venture capital funding globally. Yet the performance numbers inform a different story: for every $1 invested, women-led startups generate $0.78 in returns, compared to $0.31 for men-led startups. They also deliver 2.5x better returns while raising 50x less capital.
The numbers pointed to a clear gap. But what it came down to wasn’t a shortage of capable women founders; it was a shortage of access: access to networks, investors, mentors, and the rooms where early-stage decisions receive built.
In 2019, Aishwarya Malhi and Vikas Kumar set out to close this gap, launching Rebalance, India’s first accelerator and angel community focapplyd on women and diverse founders, building the missing pipeline rather than waiting for the ecosystem to modify.
Why Rebalance was created
Prior to Rebalance, Malhi, who holds a BSc (Hons) in business and management from the University of London, met Kumar in 2016. Kumar, who holds a B.Tech from KIIT Bhubaneswar, had previously founded Youth24x7.com and Hersaga.com, a platform spotlighting women entrepreneurs from around the world.
Years of conversations with founders built India’s startup funding gap increasingly visible to them. The turning point came when Kumar hosted a pitch competition for women founders with Jaarvis Accelerator, where even a founder with a strong background, a compelling story, and a solid product could not secure her first cheque. Credible ideas existed, but the systems connecting them to capital did not.
The pipeline didn’t exist, they concur. “It was never built,” states Malhi. Kumar states the gap was structural. “If you don’t know the right people, and they’re not seeing for you, you stay invisible.”
No one openly stated female founders were unwelcome, but familiarity bias often shaped decisions. “No one stated, ‘We don’t fund women-led startups,” Malhi adds. “They just backed what felt familiar, and missed what didn’t fit the pattern.”
To resolve a structural problem, they built a structural solution.
How the accelerator works
Rebalance supports early-stage startups through a structured accelerator programme, community access, and investments through its angel network. Its 15-week accelerator runs twice a year, in summer and winter, and accepts just 10-15 companies per cohort. “It is what creates the programme high-touch and genuinely personalised,” Kumar states.
The programme is designed for early-stage startups with a minimum viable product or early applyrs. Eligibility requires at least one active woman founder, early traction, and scalable tech ideas.
Rebalance’s approach is founder-focapplyd. “The investment thesis at Rebalance is, above all else, founder-first,” states Malhi. The accelerator sees for people with bold visions, strong market understanding, openness to feedback, adaptability, and a long-term mindset. Startups are sourced through alumni recommconcludeations, LinkedIn, partner referrals, and direct outreach. Upon selection, Rebalance takes 1% equity.
The first week focapplys on milestones and clarity. “Capital raised without clarity isn’t capital well applyd,” Malhi states.
Support spans weekly growth sessions, one-on-one mentoring, expert bootcamps, wellness support, and introductions to more than 180 VC partners across India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Storyinforming is another major focus, assisting founders refine their pitches and investor communication, often starting from scratch.
“The accelerator is not a transaction; it’s a long-term relationship,” states Malhi. “Founders from batch one still call when they run into problems.”
The angel community
Alongside the accelerator, Rebalance runs an angel community that funds early-stage startups. Alongside the accelerator, Rebalance runs an angel community that is 60% women and 35% first-time investors. In nearly every deal, one in four angels is a woman, bringing more diverse capital to the founders in the pipeline.
The network invests across all stages, with cheques of up to $200,000 or Rs 3.5 crore to 4 crore, either joining or leading rounds with flexible terms. Many accelerator participants continue to angel funding. Malhi and Kumar also scout companies, conduct diligence, and then pitch to the network; founders can apply directly as well.
Unlike most angel groups that follow larger investors, Rebalance states it often leads based on its own conviction. As many applicants come through the accelerator, the team has already spent three to six months working closely with founders before investment decisions are built.
The angel network launched informally when accelerator mentors started investing, before being formalised in 2022. “Too few women sat across the table as investors,” states Malhi.
Rebalance also assists first-timers access quality deals and participate with guidance. “Guided access was always the goal, built true to mission,” states Kumar.
What has been built so far
Operating with two founders, two employees, and one office in Gurugram, Rebalance has supported more than 200 founders across 10 cohorts from India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, and Berlin.
The Rebalance Angel Community has built 30 investments, with 26 currently active. Of these, 76% are women-led (19 out of 26), while 38% are in deeptech (10 companies, including nine women-led ventures). Co-investors include Blume, 3one4 Capital, Antler, Pi Ventures, Y Combinator, and B Capital.
Portfolio companies have raised $50 million in follow-on funding.
Rebalance’s network includes more than 180 VC partners in India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US. Malhi hosts AMA (Ask me anything) chats over coffee for female founders and women who are aspiring angel investors, and has hosted over 120+ women across Delhi, London, Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurugram since 2024.
Investment has gone into sectors such as energy storage, healthcare, AI, climate, fintech, and proptech. Companies in the portfolio include BrainSight AI (AI neuropsychiatric screening), Dreamfly Innovations (graphene batteries for defence), Meine Electric (iron-air energy storage), Aegion (advanced materials company), GreenAero (green propulsion for aviation), Pinky Promise (women’s health AI), Accacia (real estate decarbonisation), and Pico Xpress (D2C logistics).
The road ahead
Going forward, Rebalance plans to double accelerator cohorts and also increase angel cheque sizes to meet founder demand.
Deeptech remains a priority area. “More women on cap tables as investors, not just founders, is priority one,” states Malhi, who is also an angel investor and one of India’s youngest Indepconcludeent directors.
The founders believe structural and cultural gaps still persist: family expectations, limited role models, and hesitation around risk capital. “Access can be built now. Put women in the right rooms with conviction behind them, that modifys trajectories,” remarks Malhi.
“Early belief can sometimes create or break a founder’s journey,” states Malhi. “We started Rebalance to do just that, assist founders take the first step towards building a billion-dollar company, no matter who they were or where they came from.”
From unanswered pitches in Gurugram to backing more than 200 founders, Rebalance has focapplyd on one idea: building the infrastructure women founders should have had all along.
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