Female-led venture capital firm Capital F has announced the final close of its $17 million inaugural fund, targeting early-stage businesses operating within the “female economy”—markets where women serve as the primary consumer decision-makers.
Co-founded by seasoned retail executives Margaret Coblentz and Dawn Dobras, the firm focuses its capital across three primary sectors: women’s health, digital commerce, and artificial intelligence applications. Dobras noted that AI technology is becoming particularly vital for their investment thesis.
“Women are disproportionately the victims of trust and safety violations,” Dobras stated when discussing the firm’s focus on digital security tools.
Coblentz and Dobras bring three decades of combined executive leadership experience to the fund. Dobras previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Credo Beauty following leadership roles at Gap and Charlotte Russe. Coblentz, who also held executive positions at Charlotte Russe, later founded and successfully sold a luxury knitwear brand.
Coblentz explained that she and Dobras decided to partner after reaching executive leadership levels and observing the lack of diversity at the top, noting that “there weren’t a lot of women there.”
“If you had asked me maybe 15 years ago, ‘Are you going to go into venture?’ I don’t know that I would have said yes,” Coblentz remarked when reflecting on her transition from corporate management into fund leadership. “Who writes the check and who owns the company matters quite a bit.”
Regarding the firm’s name, Dobras explained that the letter stands for their favorite shared values.
“Things like future, fund, fantastic, and, you know, fill in the blank,” Dobras said.
The fund was raised largely through a series of national salon events designed to introduce female executives to institutional investing. As a result, female investors account for nearly 80% of the firm’s limited partners (LPs). High-profile backers include Rothy’s CEO and former Old Navy head Jenny Ming, former Pottery Barn CEO Marta Benson, and Linnea Roberts of Gingerbread Capital.
“We realized that many times women aren’t invited into the rooms to invest in funds,” Dobras commented regarding their community-focused fundraising approach. “Really, the people who supported us and wrote those checks came out of those salons.”
Capital F requires prospective portfolio founders to engage with at least two limited partners during the due diligence process. Dobras highlighted how these interactions create long-term strategic value for portfolio companies.
“We’ve seen those relationships move into advisor, into board members, into additional investments, and most importantly, lots and lots of sales introductions,” Dobras said.
To date, the firm has deployed capital into 13 early-stage companies, writing initial cheques ranging between $250,000 and $1 million. Its current portfolio includes healthcare platforms Hey Jane and Malama, menstrual health app Stardust, and e-commerce platform Big Sur AI, which was acquired by Google.
“That was a fun LP letter to write because we hadn’t even closed the fund and we’ve already had an exit,” Dobras stated regarding the early acquisition.
The firm expects to complete the full deployment of its inaugural fund by the end of 2027.
