India’s start-up ecosystem is the third-largest globally, trailing only the United States and China. However, a pronounced gender gap persists in business ownership and funding. A mere 11% of Indian start-ups have women founders, and their access to funding is limited, with companies co-founded by women receiving just 6% of total funding. For start-ups solely founded by women, this percentage drops to a mere 1.5%. Such low funding rates for women founders contribute to long-term sustainability challenges. Women often establish businesses that address the needs of women and minority voices. The creation of enterprises that help the cause of a larger population helps make society more sustainable and resilient. This study investigates the impediment posed by investor biases in the gender-based disparity in funding. While prior research has focused on women’s attitudes and personalities as explanations for the gender imbalance, little attention has been paid to investor perceptions and prejudices that may limit women’s participation in start-up funding. This research examines the biases present among venture capitalists, angel funds, and private equity players within the start-up domain. It utilises an observational, field-based approach, to study the language used by investors in their interactions with male and female founders. Sentiment analysis, specifically employing Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22), was used to analyse 42 investor and start-up founder conversations. These analyses reveal significant disparities in the expression of positive and negative emotions when engaging with male and female founders. Negative language reflects gender-based stereotypes and biases held by investors. Our chapter enhances the literature that lies at the intersection of venture funding and gender and contributes to a conceptual understanding of how gender bias at the individual investor level influences venture outcomes for women founders. The study underscores the importance of acknowledging and addressing these subtle biases and signals the necessity for investor training to recognise and manage the emotions that arise during interactions with women founders. Thus, taking a step towards the creation of a more responsible venture financing ecosystem which in turn would help provide more opportunities for women entrepreneurs and foster a more inclusive entrepreneurial landscape.