Allison Byers

I built a medical device company that hit every milestone founders are told will unlock capital. We raised $9.6 million, earned FDA registration, secured paying pharma and clinical customers, and published peer-reviewed evidence. We spun out of MIT. And still, I couldn't close our Series B.

Our board authorized an asset sale. The acquiring company, run by an all-male management team, went on to raise $55 million after purchasing our technology, IP, and customer relationships. The rest of the company was dissolved.

It was devastating. I'd spent years flying around the country while raising two young kids. I had tied my identity to the business. When it was gone, I thought I had personally failed.

I couldn't let it go. I dug into capital allocation data and pattern-matching research in venture capital. The bias wasn't just anecdotal; it was systemic. I hadn't failed. I just didn't know I was operating in a system designed to keep me on the outside. No amount of traction, revenue, or execution could overcome the structural bias I was walking into.

That realization changed everything. I talked to hundreds of founders who had experienced the same thing. I analyzed how capital really flows, and where it doesn't. And I went to work building something different.

Scroobious is a relationship-first platform where capital access starts with trust, not pattern matching. A place where overlooked founders can meet aligned investors and supporters. A community helping The Rest of Us build wealth, access, and opportunity together.

Along the way, I co-authored California's Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Act, the first law in the U.S. requiring venture capital firms to publicly report demographic data on the founders they fund. I serve on multiple boards and task forces, speak regularly on startup ecosystem redesign, and invest as an angel in founders who know what it means to build outside the playbook. My book, Fundraising for The Rest of Us, comes out April 14, 2026.

My work has been featured in Bloomberg, The Boston Globe, TechCrunch, and Business Insider. The Boston Globe once called me "Boston's answer to Elon Musk." A headline that caught me off guard, but hey, I'll proudly take it!

I'm not here to fix people or fix VC. I'm here to build a capital system designed to serve The Rest of Us.

I live near Boston with my family and plant a garden every summer, even though the critters always win.