Invest in the gap.*
EDITION 16: INVEST ON PURPOSE
*Spoiler alert: Not talking about the clothing store.
As I’ve been following the news on “government waste” and spending cuts, I found myself doing what I always do—diving deep into research to understand what’s happening and why.
That led me to a podcast episode of Money With Katie with host Katie Gatti Tassin featuring Donald Cohen, where they discussed the history of privatization, the gaps it’s created, and its impact on society. And I couldn’t help but see a connection to women entrepreneurs.
Women have always been society's gap-fillers. We step in when systems fail to support care work (childcare, eldercare, etc). We absorb the unpaid emotional labor at home and in workplaces. We build businesses when neither government nor big corporations meet critical needs.
But here's where I want to challenge this narrative: What if filling these gaps isn't just labor we've been saddled with. But what if we flipped the script to make it actually our greatest source of power?
The overlooked middle ground.
Our economic conversations often revolve around a false binary of this or that:
Government organizations (public goods & services)
ORLarge corporations (privatized goods and services)
But between these binaries exists a vibrant and essential middle ground. One that is primarily built and maintained by women.
This isn't the middle where we silently carry extra burdens. It's the middle where we're actively creating better models that neither bureaucracy nor profit-maximization could achieve alone, by creating and investing in businesses that solve real needs.
Gap-filling as power.
I definitely acknowledge there's a profound exhaustion that comes with continuously filling society's gaps. When we recognize gap-filling as power, though, everything shifts.
We claim authority over the spaces we create. We design solutions from lived experience. We build financial models that reflect our values. We make visible what’s been overlooked.
This is what happens when women start businesses and when women invest with intention. We're not just filling gaps—we're claiming the power to shape how those gaps get filled.
The data behind the middle.
Women's businesses aren't just filling random spaces. They're strategically addressing critical community needs:
Women entrepreneurs are more likely to start businesses in healthcare, education, and social assistance
90% of women business owners contribute financially to their local communities
Women-owned businesses employ 12.2 million people in the US alone
Women-led companies tend to have more diverse workforces and more equitable policies
Yet despite this impact, women face persistent barriers to traditional financing.
Investing on purpose: BeeCene’s approach.
At BeeCene, we’re not just facilitating investments. We’re making visible what’s been systematically overlooked. We’re turning silent gap-filling into intentional power-wielding.
When women invest in women:
We see the full value of these businesses—not just their profit margins
We transform exhaustion into agency
We create financial systems that sustain the middle ground we've always held together
What does this look like in practice?
The childcare center that can expand its facilities to support more families in the neighborhood
The healthcare practice focused on women's health issues that traditional medicine has under researched and underserved
The food business addressing nutrition in communities where fresh options are limited
The technology company solving problems that male-dominated venture capital overlooked because they didn't experience them
These aren't just businesses. They're reclamations of power. They're declarations that we will not fill gaps silently anymore, but design solutions intentionally and on our own terms.
Our pilot: making the middle visible.
Right now, we’re launching our pilot: 20 women investors funding three women-owned businesses through microloans. We’re currently vetting businesses and will be writing our first check by the end of the month.
If you want to be part of shaping this middle ground—not just filling the gaps, but building something better—join our waitlist to explore how investing through BeeCene works.
Join the waitlist: https://form.typeform.com/to/G1JHPS6X
Let’s turn silent gap filling into intentional power.
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The information provided is current as of the date of this writing and for informational purposes only. It should not be relied upon as investment advice or recommendations, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities, and should not be considered specific legal, investment or tax advice.
Investing entails risk, including the possible loss of principal, and past performance is not predictive of future results.
Sources:
https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Small-Business-Facts-Women-Owned-Businesses.pdf
https://www.mycnote.com/blog/the-case-for-investing-in-women-led-businesses/
https://stories.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IWOB-2024-report_JD-V9_a11y.pdf
