Women Entrepreneurs Embrace Bootstrapping Amid Funding Challenges

Many women entrepreneurs are choosing to bootstrap their businesses, often out of necessity, as they face significant barriers in accessing financing. This approach allows for greater control but can lead to challenges in financial planning and payroll management.

Kelly Ng is one such entrepreneur who funded her venture, Main Stage Rehearsal Studios, by selling investment properties in Toronto. Together with her husband, she purchased a large warehouse in Hamilton, leveraging their combined skills—Ng as an accountant and her husband with experience in building music studios. Their business, which offers recording, rehearsal, and podcast production spaces, has found a niche in a market populated by clients with limited budgets.

The studios are designed to meet specific client needs, with rental prices ranging from $25 to $30 per hour. Ng emphasizes the importance of client feedback in shaping the services they provide, stating, “I try to deliver exactly what the customer needs, with no waste.” They have focused on using recycled and discount materials, gradually expanding their offerings while reinvesting profits into the business. Ng and her husband remain committed to self-funding, choosing not to bring in partners or investors to retain control over their operations.

Another entrepreneur, Maple Rose Furigay, founded her business, Inplico Design Solutions, after losing her job at a permitting company just before the pandemic began in 2020. Utilizing her expertise as an architectural technologist, Furigay quickly tapped into a sector deemed “essential.”

“I was busy right away and have continued to be insanely busy since day one,” Furigay explains. Within two years, her company grew to a team of six, all funded through government grants and reinvested project revenues. She avoided debt and external investors, which she found challenging to secure for service-based businesses. However, this choice created fluctuations in cash flow, complicating payroll management. “I was an invoice and accounting hustler,” Furigay remarked.

After reassessing her business structure, Furigay reduced her team to two, including herself, and now relies on contractors for additional work. Despite the challenges, she has recently co-founded an artificial intelligence company, Athyna Insight Inc., focusing on building code compliance and permitting. For this venture, she plans to seek investors, acknowledging that her previous experience in bootstrapping has bolstered her confidence in making quick decisions.

The 2025 State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada report, produced by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, highlights the struggles women face in securing funding for their businesses. The report found that businesses owned by men receive 2.5 times more financing than those run by women, who are also 1.5 times more likely to depend on government funding. The survey indicates that women entrepreneurs often exhibit a preference for self-funding, relying on personal savings and credit cards, due to a lack of alignment between their values and those of traditional funding sources.

Conor Phillips, founder and CEO of Roamlii, has raised approximately $640,000 through grants and credits from small-business programs. Her company offers a searchable map for travelers, promoting smaller-scale tourism activities in competition with larger attractions. Phillips has found success in navigating the grant application process, noting that tools like ChatGPT have been invaluable for completing applications.

Despite her achievements, she acknowledges the challenge of maintaining control while planning for future growth. “I didn’t want to seek investors,” she says, adding that she has several grant applications pending. “You have to just believe you’ll find the money because the programs take so long.”

The Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada conducted a survey in 2022, revealing that self-funding remains the default option for many women entrepreneurs. The report suggests that while this approach fosters independence, it can also lead to cash flow instability, making long-term planning and hiring more difficult.

As women entrepreneurs continue to navigate the complexities of bootstrapping, they exemplify resilience and innovation. While the path is fraught with challenges, their experiences highlight the importance of support systems, both governmental and communal, in fostering sustainable growth in their businesses.