Women don't need to be told "go start a startup", the barrier to entry is knowing that it is a possibility in the first place.
I only knew this life path existed due to working at an early age in the family company. I know of 2 other women that went and set up their own businesses after working there too.
All female entrepreneurs will probably find they had some unusual serendipitous exposure at an early age into the world of business. A moment they can trace back to where their interest was sparked. A helpful mentor, boss, teacher, a particularly interesting class etc. Somewhere they were talked to about the beginnings of a business.
Miss out on this moment and there's little else for women as a point of reference to join the business world.
Young males tend to look at peers and see this route implied far more clearly. Many men choose the startup route without ever having first hand experience of it.
I'm a female running a startup, I wouldn't want to be invested in just because my gender is under-represented. I want it to be because my plan, idea and execution is intelligent and strong.
From my experience, women are more likely to bootstrap for longer and look to take on a lower level of investment.
Perhaps more offers of micro investments would naturally fit in with the types of businesses that women are already running.
There seems to be a big gap in investment, it's either fiercely fought incubator places offering around $15k or the traditional VC route of $100k+.
Where's the middle ground for those that don't like the "go big or go home" attitude but want to "start small, stay stable" - I think that's where the majority of female entrepreneurs sit.
I only knew this life path existed due to working at an early age in the family company. I know of 2 other women that went and set up their own businesses after working there too.
All female entrepreneurs will probably find they had some unusual serendipitous exposure at an early age into the world of business. A moment they can trace back to where their interest was sparked. A helpful mentor, boss, teacher, a particularly interesting class etc. Somewhere they were talked to about the beginnings of a business.
Miss out on this moment and there's little else for women as a point of reference to join the business world.
Young males tend to look at peers and see this route implied far more clearly. Many men choose the startup route without ever having first hand experience of it.
I'm a female running a startup, I wouldn't want to be invested in just because my gender is under-represented. I want it to be because my plan, idea and execution is intelligent and strong.
From my experience, women are more likely to bootstrap for longer and look to take on a lower level of investment.
Perhaps more offers of micro investments would naturally fit in with the types of businesses that women are already running.
There seems to be a big gap in investment, it's either fiercely fought incubator places offering around $15k or the traditional VC route of $100k+.
Where's the middle ground for those that don't like the "go big or go home" attitude but want to "start small, stay stable" - I think that's where the majority of female entrepreneurs sit.