What Most Founders Learn Too Late About Startup Funding with Philipp Omenitsch | Ep. 138

2026-02-05

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In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Philipp Omenitsch, co-founder of Sequel, creator of PitchLeague.ai and The Founder Files, and former startup CTO, about what actually gets funded in venture capital.Philipp has analyzed 17,000+ pitch decks through the Founder Files. This conversation cuts through fundraising advice and looks at patterns in the data.You'll learn:- Why prior startup experience is such a strong funding signal.- How investors think about risk, scale, and returns.- What...

Philipp has analyzed 17,000+ pitch decks through the Founder Files. This conversation cuts through fundraising advice and looks at patterns in the data.

You'll learn:

- Why prior startup experience is such a strong funding signal.

- How investors think about risk, scale, and returns.

- What pitch decks really need to do at early stages.

- How technical ownership and team signals build trust.

- Why pay gaps also affect who gets to invest.

We also explore Philipp's work at Sequel, where professional athletes invest in startups, and what that reveals about pay gaps, investing power, and who gets to allocate capital in venture capital.

Whether you're raising your first round or building toward it, this episode helps you understand the funding system you're stepping into with data, not just advice.

Chapters:

01:52 – Introduction to Philipp Omenitsch and Sequel

04:31 – Democratizing access to venture capital

07:09 – Barriers to accessing venture capital

10:09 – The Founder Files and pitch deck analysis

12:45 – Gender disparities in startup funding

15:36 – The importance of prior experience

18:09 – Investment decisions in venture capital

20:30 – The impact of diverse founding teams

23:08 – The importance of diversity in startups

26:01 – Leveraging data for female founders

28:47 – The role of technical co-founders