Empowering Women in Tech
Today's featured startup is paving the way for more women engineers to enter the workforce.
Project Overview
The New Club is a community built around the motto: “Welcome to a new way of belonging”. But belonging to what exactly?
The startup has created a space for women working in traditionally male-dominated engineering roles. In the U.S., “engineering” extends beyond classic engineering fields to include a wide range of tech professionals—software engineers, IT specialists, and other computing experts.
The New Club primarily focuses on women in tech, whether they work for large tech companies or early-stage startups.
The community operates both online and offline. In-person events include hackathons, meetups, and networking gatherings. Online, members can participate in virtual events and discussions through a private Slack group.
At its core, The New Club is designed to help women grow their careers. Beyond general networking, the community offers:
• A mentorship program where experienced members support newcomers in the field.
• One-on-one coaching sessions with invited experts.
• Direct connections to other members who can introduce them to startup founders and career opportunities.
Despite being founded in 2023, the community has already attracted professionals from top companies, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, OpenAI, Nvidia, Stripe, and Airtable.
While membership is expected to be paid in the future, the startup is currently onboarding its first founding members with free access—though premium services like coaching and special events still require payment.
A key part of The New Club’s strategy is appealing not just to individual members but also to entire companies. Employers may see value in supporting their female employees’ career growth through the community’s offerings.
The startup recently secured $3.1 million in initial funding.
What’s the Gist?
Career-focused women’s communities are gaining traction.
One of the best-known examples is Chief, a network for women in executive roles. It raised $140 million at a $1 billion valuation. Another, Athena Alliance, brings together both established business leaders and those climbing the corporate ladder. Membership fees range from $2,500 to $9,000 per year, and the startup has raised $3 million.
Code First Girls initially focused on coding courses for women but has since evolved into a full-fledged community offering mentorship, coaching, and events. It has raised £4.5 million.
Women remain underrepresented in tech, particularly in programming roles. While women make up 23% of the overall U.S. tech workforce, the number drops to just 5.17% among software developers.
This decline isn’t due to a lack of interest in STEM—fields like medicine, law, and physics continue to see growing numbers of women. However, computer science has been the exception, with female representation decreasing since the early 1980s.
Key Takeaways
The New Club sits at the intersection of two major trends:
1. A rising focus on women’s career advancement. More women are actively pursuing leadership roles rather than defaulting to traditional caregiving responsibilities.
2. A growing shortage of programmers and technical professionals. In the U.S., demand for developers is increasing twice as fast as for other jobs, and there aren’t enough trained professionals to fill the gap.
To address this talent shortage, some startups are training developers from emerging markets like Africa and Latin America for remote jobs in the U.S. and Europe. Another approach? Encouraging more women to enter the field.
This is where The New Club sees an opportunity. Companies need tech talent, and women in tech want career support. By bringing both together, the startup is positioning itself as a valuable bridge between employers and underrepresented talent.
Their push to recruit corporate members makes sense—companies get access to a pool of skilled professionals, while The New Club gains a sustainable revenue stream.
For anyone considering launching a career-focused community, this model is worth noting. The combination of mentorship, networking, and corporate partnerships has strong potential—especially when it aligns with pressing market needs.
Company info:
The New Club
Website: thenewclub.fyi
Last funding round:$3.1 million, 13.03.2024
Total funds raised: $3.1 million over 1 round