Growing women businesses & investors

We lend $30,000 to $100,000 to women-led businesses in Alabama. If you want to help make those loans possible, you can donate or invest.

Theory of change

Women-owned businesses have outsized impact.

In Alabama, 45% of businesses are owned by women¹ — and they lead with purpose, manage capital carefully, and reinvest in the communities they serve.

Community businesses account for one-half of GDP and the majority of new jobs²

68% of women-owned businesses have a formal plan to impact their environment or community³

At least 86% of women entrepreneurs are committed to hiring diverse talent and purchasing from diverse suppliers³

1. 2024 Small Business Economic Profile of Alabama 2. Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2022; Civic Economics, 2012 3. The 2024 “Exponential impact: a study on societal value of women-led businesses” report at ey.com

A group of women funded by Malone Unlimited, arms around each other

Malone Unlimited video placement

The solutions

Our Impact

In our first year, Malone Unlimited has gained traction with the support of our community in Birmingham, AL. We are proud to report that we’ve…

Conducted a nationally representative survey of women business owners
Designed a loan fund based on the feedback of women business owners
Brought nationally respected angel investor training program Pipeline Angels to the South for the first time, which brought $75,000 of investment into two Alabama startups

A woman speaking into a microphone at a Malone event

The facts

We asked women what they needed. Then we built it.

We surveyed women who own small businesses across the country about the technical support and financing they actually need to grow — then built the fund around the barriers they reported.

The design process

How the fund was designed.

2024

Complete Builders + Backers fellowship
15+ discovery conversations with national leaders in supportive financing

2025

National survey of 1,500+ female business owners
Financial projections for 16 businesses

2026

Launched revenue-based loan fund
Interview 50+ additional businesses, including 20+ tech startups

2027 and
beyond

Deploy $860k+ over 5 years
Add jobs, increase take-home for female entrepreneurs, reduce impact of MCAs

The full findings

See what the research told us.

Read the report

In the news

Where we are being talked about.

Press enquiries: [press email] Press enquiries Writing about Malone Unlimited? Either of us can help — ask for figures, photographs or an interview. claire@maloneunlimited.com avanti@maloneunlimited.com

Where we will be

Jun
25 Women’s House Prosper, Birmingham
Mar
31 Alabama Women in Business Orchard House, Birmingham
Mar
11 Women’s History Month Mixer House Eleven, Birmingham

See all events

About us

Claire Cole and Avanti Paul kept hearing the same thing from women business owners: they needed capital. So they built a loan fund around that need.

Avanti Paul Co-founder

Claire Cole Co-founder

Avanti has spent her career close to the numbers — underwriting, structuring and stress-testing the kind of capital that small businesses actually survive. She built Malone’s revenue-based model so repayment moves with what a business earns rather than against it.

avanti@maloneunlimited.com

How do you want to get involved?

Come to Malone for capital, or put your money to work. Not ready for either? Come to an event and get to know us.

Get capital

Apply for a loan

For women-led businesses earning $200,000 to $2 million.

Put capital to work

Invest in the fund

No minimum, no credit check. Or make a gift instead.

No commitment

Come to an event

Meet people and learn how the fund works.

How the fund works

The dollar keeps going

The money you put in becomes a loan. When that loan is paid back, the money goes out again to another woman running a business in Alabama.

01 02 03

You give or invest

A gift or an investment goes into the fund.

It becomes a loan

$30,000 to $100,000 to a woman-led business in Alabama.

She repays it

The money comes back to the fund, ready to lend.

Put money in, and it keeps lending.

Invest in the fund, or make a gift. Either way it becomes the next loan to a woman-owned business in Alabama.

What your money does

No minimum, no credit check, no accreditation required.

The portfolio

The businesses your money is already in.

Every loan the fund makes goes to a woman-led business in Alabama. The cards name the kind of business rather than the business, for now. Turn one over to hear it from the owner.

Businesses shown with their permission.

Investing in the fund

You don’t have to already know how this works.

Most people who invest with Malone had never thought of themselves as investors before. That is okay. We will explain where your money goes, how the fund works, what you can expect back, and what the risks are.

Questions about the fund

Asked plainly, answered plainly.

Is this a donation or an investment?

Either, and they are different. An investment is money you expect to come back to you. A gift is not repaid — it goes straight out as the next loan.

What does the fund do with my money?

It becomes a loan of $30,000 to $100,000 to a woman-led Alabama business. When that loan is repaid, the money goes out again to another one.

Do I have to be an “accredited investor”?

No. No accreditation, and no credit check either.

What is the smallest amount I could put in?

There is no minimum. Put in what makes sense for you.

Could I lose my money?

Yes. This is lending to small businesses, and a loan can go unpaid. We would rather you hear that from us than find it in a footnote.

A separate path

Investor education ·
with Pipeline Angels

Malone Unlimited brings Pipeline Angels’ Angels in the Making® bootcamp to Alabama — where people with no finance background learn to invest in women-led businesses, and make a real first investment before they finish.

A packed theatre at a Pipeline Angels event

Education

Deal terms, cap tables, what a term sheet actually says — taught from zero, in plain language, with no assumed background.

Mentoring

You’re paired with someone who has already written a first check, for the length of the cohort. Not a webinar — a person.

Practice

Every member makes a real investment in a woman-led business by the end of the program. Not a simulation, not a case study.

Learn more about Pipeline Angels

Before you decide

Have questions first?

Come to a Make Your Money Work For You session and ask us anything, including the question you think you should already know the answer to.

Find an event

Community

Come learn. Meet people. Ask the basic questions.

There are plenty of ways to get involved with Malone before you are ready to borrow or invest. Read what we have learned, see who has been in the room, or come to an event.

A woman laughing with papers in her hand at a Malone event

Events

Upcoming events

All events

Women’s House

June 25 · Prosper

Part of Sloss Tech: a lunch-and-learn, a lounge to work from, a panel, a live podcast taping and a happy hour to finish.

Forge Summer Series

June 10, 9am

A networking breakfast with Claire Vaughn and Zoë Gowen on what it takes to lead a people-centred organisation.

Comedy for Capital

May 16, 6pm

A seriously fun night launching the women-led impact fund, with local comedians doing the launching.

A crowded reception with tables and conversation

Alabama Women in Business

March 31, 5pm · Orchard House

An evening with Malone Unlimited: how we help women grow their businesses, and how the financing works.

A woman holding up two bottles behind a market table

Women Building Creative Futures

March 19, 3:30pm

A workshop on funding a creative business, and time with the organisations already backing that work.

Five women standing together for a photograph

Women’s History Month Mixer

March 11, 5:30pm · House Eleven

An evening about leadership, connection and community — and the women doing all three in Birmingham.

Investing in Good

October 2025

A happy hour on impact investing: what it is, where the opportunities are, and how women are using them.

Investing in Women

June 2025

A tech breakfast connecting women-led startups with capital, and with the networks that come with it.

A woman speaking into a microphone on stage

Show Her The Money

April 2025

A screening of the documentary about the women investing in, and building, the companies nobody was funding.

See past events

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All events

The mailing list

Hear about the next one first.

900+

people already get the invitations, the workshop dates, and the occasional useful thing.

Events and occasional news. No more than a couple of emails a month, and you can leave whenever you like.

Gallery

The room, and the people in it.

Women’s House at Sloss Tech, Comedy for Capital, Show Her The Money, and the workshops in between.

Photography from Malone events across Alabama. Every face here belongs to someone who is already a borrower, an investor, or a neighbour.

The collection

Shop the Malone Unlimited Collection

Every piece is made by an Alabama woman-owned business, and proceeds go straight back into the fund — where they become the next loan.

Browse the store

Donate

Processed by Zeffy. One hundred percent of your gift reaches Malone.

Candles from the Malone Unlimited Collection on a shelf

Thank you

None of this happens on its own.

Our sponsors and partners underwrite the events, the workshops, and the work of getting capital to women who have been told no before.

Become a sponsor Become a sponsor to support us in our endeavor to uplift and support women-led and under-served businesses. claire@maloneunlimited.com avanti@maloneunlimited.com

How do you want to get involved?

Come to Malone for capital, or put your money to work. Not ready for either? Come to an event or join the mailing list and get to know us.

Get capital

Growing women businesses & investors

Women-owned businesses have outsized impact.

Our Impact

We asked women what they needed. Then we built it.

How the fund was designed.

See what the research told us.

Where we are being talked about.

About us

How do you want to get involved?

Apply for a loan

Invest in the fund

Come to an event

Get a supportive loan to grow your business

No Collateral

Flexible payments

$30K – $150K

Video 3

Make the money work for you

Is this for you?

This is for you if

This is not for you if

Know when to apply, and which loans to walk away from.

A diagnostics practice added a therapist and a job.

A consultancy refinanced out of $45,000 of high-interest debt.

A retailer bought her inventory outright, ahead of the season.

We are one of many doors.

Have questions first?

The dollar keeps going

You give or invest

It becomes a loan

She repays it

Put money in, and it keeps lending.

The businesses your money is already in.

You don’t have to already know how this works.

Questions about the fund

Is this a donation or an investment?

What does the fund do with my money?

Do I have to be an “accredited investor”?

What is the smallest amount I could put in?

Could I lose my money?

Investor education ·with Pipeline Angels

Education

Mentoring

Practice

Learn more about Pipeline Angels

The Innovate Alabama Tax Credit Program

Have questions first?

Come learn. Meet people. Ask the basic questions.

Women’s House — a recap

Upcoming events

Women’s House

Forge Summer Series

Comedy for Capital

Alabama Women in Business

Women Building Creative Futures

Women’s History Month Mixer

Investing in Good

Investing in Women

Show Her The Money

Hear about the next one first.

The room, and the people in it.

Shop the Malone Unlimited Collection

None of this happens on its own.

How do you want to get involved?

Apply for a loan

Invest in the fund

Join the mailing list

Investor education ·
with Pipeline Angels