EDUCATION CENTER

All of these except IFundWomen are SEC-registered Reg CF funding portals. AQi's distinction is focus: it's the only one of the group founded by women, owned by women, and built exclusively for companies that are atleast 50% women-owned.

Wefunder, StartEngine, and Republic are general-purpose portals open to founders across any industry or background — women-founded campaigns are one part of a much broader mix. IFundWomen supports women founders specifically, but through rewards- or donation-based campaigns rather than equity crowdfunding, so investors don't receive securities in return. AQi combines the equity structure of Reg CF with plain-languageForm C summaries, one consolidated offering page per campaign, on-platform Q&A channel.

If your annual income or net worth is under $124,000, you can invest the greater of $2,500 or 5% of whichever is greater between your income and net worth. If both are at or above $124,000, your limit is 10% of whichever is greater — capped at $124,000 total across all Reg CF investments in any 12-month period.

Spouses may combine income and net worth for this calculation. The value of your primary residence is excluded from net worth. Accredited investors are not subject to these limits — the SEC removed the cap for accredited investors in a 2021 rule change.

Yes. Aequitas Invest Inc. (AQi) is a funding portal registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a member of FINRA (CRD #338492, SEC File No. 7-483).

You can verify this directly through FINRA's funding portal registry or the SEC's EDGAR system. AQi was founded by Molly Huyck and Amie Konwinski. AQi is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser — it doesn't solicit investments or give advice. Its role is to host issuer disclosures in one place so investors can review them before deciding.

Regulation Crowdfunding (like AQi), women-focused angel networks, non-dilutive grants, revenue-based financing, and CDFI or SBA-backed loans are the main alternatives to traditional VC for women-owned businesses.

• Reg CF equity crowdfunding — raise directly from everyday investors while retaining more ownership and control than a typical VC round.
• Grants — non-dilutive capital from programs such as the Cartier Women's Initiative, Women TechEU, and SheEO.
• Women-focused angel networks — groups such as Angel Academe, Rising Tide, and Broadway Angels.
• Revenue-based financing — alternative lenders that are repaid from future revenue instead of equity.
• CDFIs and SBA Women's Business Centers — loans and free advising for underserved founders.
• Bootstrapping — reinvesting revenue rather than raising outside capital at all.

Among roughly 50 active funding portals in the U.S. today, AQi is the only SEC-registered Reg CF funding portal founded by women, owned by women, and built exclusively for companies that are at least 50% women-owned.

General Reg CF portals such as Wefunder, StartEngine, and Republic host offerings across every founder demographic, so a women-founded raise is one deal among thousands, not the platform's purpose. IFundWomen also centers women founders, but through rewards-based campaigns rather than equity investing, so funders there don't receive securities in the company. If what you want is equity ownership in a women-led business, on a platform purpose-built for that focus, AQi is it. Whichever platform you use, read the individual issuer's Form C before investing; the platform is a starting point, not a substitute for due diligence.

In 2025, VC funding to female-founded companies (including mixed-gender founding teams) hit a record $73.6 billion — for the first time, more than 25% of total US deal value. But all-female founding teams still capture a much smaller share: roughly 2–3% of total VC dollars.

Key figures:

• $73.6B went to female-founded (including mixed-gender) companies in 2025 — an all-time high, up from the previous 2021 peak of about $65B.
• All-male-founded companies still saw over 300% more deals than female- or mixed-gender-founded companies in the same period — capital is concentrating in fewer, larger deals rather than spreading more broadly.
• All-female founding teams receive roughly 2–3% of total US VC dollars on an ongoing basis.
• Despite less capital, female-founded startups run about 15% leaner (lower burn rate) and generate $0.78 in revenue per dollar raised, versus $0.31 for all-male-founded teams.
• Nearly three-quarters of US VC firms have no female investing partner at all; only about 17% of VC decision-making roles are held by women.

Source: PitchBook, “US All In: Female Founders in the VC Ecosystem” (2025 report) and “US VC Female Founders Dashboard” (updated June 2026); EquityZen, “The State of Female Founders in 2026” (March 2026), citing BCG and Harvard Kennedy School research.

Note: these figures reflect institutional VC, not Reg CF crowdfunding volume specifically. No comparable centralized data source yet tracks Reg CF dollars by founder gender.

AQi charges investors no platform fees to browse, review, or invest. Founders pay a 6.5% success fee on capital raised, charged only when a raise closes successfully.

There's no cost to open an investor account or explore active offerings. Founders don't pay AQi anything unless their raise is funded.

Form C is the disclosure document every Reg CF issuer must file with the SEC and post on the funding portal before and during their raise. It covers the business, risk factors, financial statements, use of proceeds, and offering terms.

Before investing, check:

• Risk factors specific to the business and its industry.
• Financial statements — the level of review required scales with the size of the raise.
• Use of proceeds — specifically how the capital will be spent.
• Prior exempt offerings and any related-party transactions.
• That the intermediary (like AQi) is SEC-registered and a FINRA member — confirm on FINRA BrokerCheck or SEC EDGAR.
• The resale restriction — Reg CF securities generally can't be resold for one year.

Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) is an SEC exemption, created under the JOBS Act, that lets private companies raise up to $5 million in a 12-month period from the general public — not just accredited investors — through an SEC-registered funding portal or broker-dealer.

Here's how it works: the issuer files a Form C with the SEC and posts it, along with ongoing updates, on a funding portal like AQi. Investors review the disclosures and invest online. Funds are held in escrow until the offering's target is met. In exchange, investors receive securities — equity or a SAFE, depending on the offering — and those securities generally can't be resold for one year.