Published: May 20, 2026 at 12:00 pm
North East entrepreneur Kelly M Whitfield has opened up about the reality of female founders trying to raise investment.
She recently joined a recent delegation of North East female founders to 11 Downing Street, which was organised by Sophie Milliken MBE.
Writing for BusinessCloud, Whitfield said: “I had my first child in 2004 and launched my first business in 2006 with a small loan.
“My second son arrived in 2008, the same year I was appointed regional director for a London-based UK trade body.
“Both businesses were profitable from year one and scaled organically.
“The reality is that I built around my children. I was hugely ambitious and wanted to go flat out, but instead I had to go steadily.
“I don’t think I’m alone as a woman in deliberately keeping my business smaller than I would ideally like because it fits around family life.
“I’ll turn 50 this year, and my youngest son turned seven in October.
“Only now, with the support of my husband, can I fully commit to my new venture, KLIK SaaS. The kind of raise I’ve secured simply would not have been possible in the previous decade.
“I didn’t build lifestyle businesses by choice or by accident. I put my boys first and have never regretted that decision for a moment. But I don’t think it is entirely fair that I had to make it.
“I’d like to see us dig deeper to understand why that 2 per cent statistic exists.
“Do women have the support they need to scale? Are we intentionally holding back so we can put our families first? I’m someone who believes women can have it all. I’ve done it all, and with very little support.
“But we need to understand what brilliant female founders and innovators truly need, and why only 2 per cent are securing funding.
“Only then can we create the solutions and support systems female founders need to level the playing field.”