Capital moves through rooms

Female Founders Fest is an annual, invitation-only gathering in Berlin for women founders and the investors who back them. It is hosted by the Evangelistas and Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund. We bring founders and investors into the same room because the relationships behind an investment often begin long before anyone writes a cheque.

It started with a number: 101

In the decade leading up to 2024, only 101 female founders in Germany had raised a Series A or beyond. On International Women's Day 2024, the Evangelistas, Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund and HV Capital invited all of them to the Telegraphenamt in Berlin. We asked each founder to bring the investor who had mattered most on her journey.

In 2025, the second edition brought more than 350 founders, investors and ecosystem builders together at the Flink HQ. In 2026, the third edition took place on 23 September at MOKKA*MILCH in Berlin, a venue founded by serial entrepreneur Natacha Neumann.

Three editions later, the question behind that first invitation remains: what actually changes a cap table?

A room built for introductions

Reports show where capital is missing. At Female Founders Fest, we give people a chance to do something about it.

A founder meets an investor who understands her market. An angel shares what she knows about a startup team. Someone says, "You need to meet her," and makes the introduction while they are both still in the room. None of that guarantees an investment. It gives a promising conversation somewhere to begin.

We keep the speeches short so guests can spend the evening talking to one another. In 2026, the evening was opened by all three co-hosts Dr. Gesa Miczaika and Bettine Schmitz of Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund and me, with words from our venue host Natacha Neumann and from Dr. Gopika Suresh of Marble Imaging.

Who is in the room, and how they get there

Our guest list is curated. Many sit on cap tables. A founder raising her next round. An angel backing. A fund manager investing full time. At Female Founders Fest, they all meet as peers.

Female Founders Fest is free and invitation only. There is no ticket sale. The guest list grows through the community itself. Ahead of the 2026 edition, we asked founders which investor changed their journey, and investors which founder deserved to be far better known. More than 150 nominations came in. Ten nominated founders were invited: Ana Koller, Lisa Emme, Mandy Mangler, Francy Duarte, Charlotte Küppers, Fabiola Munguia, Jennifer Phan, Dr. Sara Brinkmann, Lili Vogelsang and Catalina Turlea. So were the people who nominated them, because a good introduction deserves one back.

In 2026, we also ran Matches of Startup Berlin together with Startup Berlin by Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH. The Evangelistas and Auxxo selected three founder duos to be celebrated and photographed on the night: Michelle Sophie Fleer (The Pickle Company) and Michelle Calios, Charlotte Küppers (Loosh) and Dr. Kati Ernst, and Ruth Bosse (Ark Climate) and Judith Dittmer.

What happens after the evening

This year, we raised a glass to our co-hosts Gesa Miczaika and Bettine Schmitz. Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund II closed at €33.3 million after three years of hard fundraising work. It was a milestone for the entire ecosystem and a reminder of the conviction it takes to keep moving capital towards founders.

Female Founders Fest is one evening. The Evangelistas Collective continues a related conversation throughout the year among women who actively invest their own capital. Members share opportunities and judgment; each makes her own investment decisions. Founders, angels and fund managers meet at the Fest. Some of the women who come as founders will become investors themselves. Some already have.

The next time someone says there are no women building in AI, deep tech, climate or finance, I hope they look closer. We know many of them. The work is to make sure more people do, and that more capital reaches them.

Cap tables don't diversify themselves. We do.

The evening, in full

Every frame from the night. Select any photograph to see it larger and move through the set.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Third edition in Berlin. Our signature night for the women building companies and the ones funding them, in 153 photographs. Use them, tag us, and credit Jacobia Dahm.

Key facts

• What: Female Founders Fest, an annual, invitation-only gathering in Berlin for women founders and the investors who back them.
• Hosts: the Evangelistas and Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund.
• Editions: 2024 Telegraphenamt · 2025 Flink HQ · 2026 MOKKA*MILCH, Berlin.
• Access: free and invitation only. Guests are nominated by the community.
• Partners 2026: Integral, Veuve Clicquot, Qonto, Scalable Capital, Hartz Regehr, season5.law, 0TO9 | Bank of Entrepreneurship, Startup Berlin by Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH.
• Next edition: 2027.

Frequently asked questions

What is Female Founders Fest?

An annual, invitation-only gathering in Berlin that brings women founders together with the angels and funds who back them, so that introductions, conversations and eventually investments can begin.

Who hosts Female Founders Fest?

The Evangelistas and Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund. The first edition in 2024 was co-hosted with HV Capital.

How do you get invited?

Female Founders Fest is invitation only. Guests are nominated by the community. You can nominate a founder or investor here: tally.so/r/b5aDQo

Are there tickets?

No. There is no ticket sale. The evening is free and the guest list is curated.

Who attends?

Women founders, many of them venture-backed, together with angel investors, VCs, and partners who help companies grow.

What is the Evangelistas Collective?

A circle of women who invest their own capital and share opportunities and judgment throughout the year. Each member makes her own investment decisions.

---

About the author: Julia Dous is the founder of the Evangelistas, the network of women shaping Europe's cap tables, and co-host of Female Founders Fest. LinkedIn

Female Founders Fest 2026 took place on 23 September at MOKKA*MILCH, Berlin. It was hosted by Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund and the Evangelistas, with the support of Integral, Veuve Clicquot, Qonto, Scalable Capital, Hartz Regehr, season5.law, 0TO9 | Bank of Entrepreneurship and Startup Berlin by Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH. Photos: Jacobia Dahm.