Arizona Tribune - AMH Catalyst Center Just Gave Founders an Investor's Scorecard

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 8, 2026 / Amplifying Markets for Her (AMH) Catalyst Center today announced the launch of Capital Passport, a platform that shows founders how experienced investors are likely to evaluate their companies before they begin fundraising.

Jenny Flores spent more than 20 years in banking and impact investing, including managing a $420 million impact investment fund at Wells Fargo, evaluating companies and making capital allocation decisions. Over those years, she saw how access and relationships could influence which founders got in the room and how seriously their companies were considered.

To examine those barriers more closely, Flores commissioned a 2025 study with the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies that surveyed 1,002 small-business owners, including 501 women, and conducted eight focus groups with women entrepreneurs nationwide. Among women surveyed who had pursued venture capital, 63% reported encountering gender bias, while 74% struggled to find information about available funding sources.

"The moving of the goalposts is kind of one of my biggest hurdles to pitching. It creates a lack of confidence because I can never get just that one last piece," one founder told researchers during the study.

Flores built Capital Passport directly from those findings and her experience evaluating investments. Every pitch deck runs through the same 10 investment criteria, in the same order and using the same scoring thresholds, regardless of who a founder knows or how they made their way to the platform. The evaluation includes market size, business model, team, traction, go-to-market strategy, financial readiness and narrative clarity, drawing from the framework Flores used across two decades of vetting deals.

Companies that score seven or higher out of 10 move into AMH's investor review, where the team matches companies against investor theses and confirms genuine investor interest before making an introduction. Founders who score below seven receive a breakdown of where their evaluation fell short, along with recommendations for providers equipped to help close those gaps.

An early beta user put that process to the test. After running her pitch deck through Capital Passport, the founder revised her materials based on the platform's feedback and closed a $100,000 funding round within weeks.

The platform's scoring is continuously informed by feedback from investors and founders using the platform as well as current market data, helping founders prepare for how companies are being evaluated today.

"Founders shouldn't have to decode venture capital by collecting rejections," said Jenny Flores, Founder and CEO of AMH Catalyst Center. "We do founders a disservice when we pretend every fundraising journey starts from the same place. Bias and pattern recognition exist, and warm introductions matter. Capital Passport brings the criteria behind investment decisions into the open so founders can understand how they are being evaluated before they walk into the room."

Mastercard's Strive USA program was among the earliest funders to support AMH's work, including the Berkeley research and early development of Capital Passport.

Neither founders nor investors pay to use Capital Passport. The platform remains invitation-only as AMH expands its initial group of founders and investor partners before opening access more broadly. Founders and investors can learn more and request access at amhcatalyst.org.

About AMH Catalyst Center

Amplifying Markets for Her (AMH) Catalyst Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to expanding access to venture capital for women-led startups. Through its AI-powered Capital Passport platform, founders receive a standardized evaluation based on the same criteria experienced investors use to assess investment opportunities, helping entrepreneurs strengthen their fundraising strategy while connecting investors with companies aligned to their investment thesis. By bringing greater transparency and consistency to fundraising, AMH is helping more high-potential women-led companies compete for growth capital. Learn more at amhcatalyst.org.

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CONTACT: Ayanna Smith
[email protected]
202-664-0900

SOURCE: AMH Catalyst Center

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

A.O.Scott--AT