Megan Ananian

Business adviser, Finance professional, Investor, Social entrepreneur, Startup, Technologist, World traveler

As a General Partner at The Helm, Megan is raising a $25M+ fund to invest in early-stage female founders. To date, we have invested in industries ranging from AgTech and High-Speed Transportation to Women’s Healthcare—including Tia, which just closed a $100M Series B. Despite an abundance of seed-stage deals, only 2.3% of VC goes to female founders. This lack of funding, our emphasis on the underserved sectors outside consumer, the strong desire for more women on cap tables, and the performance of our first fund have only furthered our ability to secure allocations in coveted deals. Prior to joining the team, Megan invested in early-stage startups at Seedinvest, a New York City-based broker-dealer, acquired by Circle Pay, a leader in the crypto payments space. She is licensed by FINRA (Series 63 and 82). Previously, Megan structured over $1 billion in debt private placements over 6 years in investment banking at Wells Fargo Securities. She managed the P&L for the Northeast which included winning 25 new client relationships generating $3.4 million in annual revenue. Her work included sales to Fortune 500 CFOs and nonprofits, pricing and structuring interest rates and derivatives, negotiating term sheets, and managing three-month closings across 21 states. Megan has strategy consulting experience with clients across three continents including a learning management platform with over six million users in Kenya, a State Department of Education, and the premier angel investing network in Indonesia. Additionally, Megan implemented the white-labeled SaaS solution for online learning at 23 graduate schools as a Product Manager at 2U. There, she managed the Live Sessions feature, communicating with university stakeholders, conducting market research, and analyzing strategic vendor relationships. Megan earned her MBA from Yale School of Management, where she led the Responsible Investing Club, served as Admissions Ambassador, captained the Ice Hockey team, and tutored over 70 undergraduates in Accounting and Valuation. In addition, Megan graduated Magna Cum Laude in Accounting from the University of South Carolina, where she received both the Caroliniana & Outstanding Senior awards in recognition of service and leadership to the community.

Financing innovation in womens healthcare, climate/ sustainability, aging/ caregiving, and fintech.

Lowering the barriers to entry for women to invest in venture capital as an asset class

equity, finance, venture capital