Who is The Female Founder?
A colleague and I met with local entrepreneur and powerhouse Julia Garcia yesterday, and we had an awesome (read: real) conversation about her experience as a female founder. Her insights as to how differently women founders have to conduct themselves when seeking funds or working with investors in a primarily male-dominated industry stung.
Julia is a passionate public speaker and the founder of The Rewrite Project. More about that here and here:
She is also a real, genuine, authentic person who lets the pain of her past be the rocket fuel in her current and future endeavors. She connects with young people and other women, particularly the young women she's trying to reach, on an unmatched level of depth.
She is also a role model for women entrepreneurs. She's currently in the process of raising funds for an app geared at young girls (currently in super stealth mode). As she talked about the fundraising process, it was obvious that she represents a contingent of female founders who are experiencing a lot of resistance.
"Being a woman presenting an idea targeting the issues of teen girls to a room full of men is always a challenge," Garcia said. "I have to go for that emotional tie, and remind them they have daughters, too."
Only about 7 percent of current investor funds go to female-backed ventures. But it's not just women backing women-centric ventures that are running into a wall. CEO of ad-tech platform Vivoom, Katherine Hays told Knowledge @ Wharton, “Sometimes I believe if I were a 21-year-old male in a hoodie, Vivoom would be even more appealing to VCs.”
It's obvious women could use a boost on the other side of the table.
That's where female investors (should) come in. Bud sadly, women investors aren't a prominent force in the VC world (yet).
Julia is a passionate public speaker and the founder of The Rewrite Project. More about that here and here:
She is also a real, genuine, authentic person who lets the pain of her past be the rocket fuel in her current and future endeavors. She connects with young people and other women, particularly the young women she's trying to reach, on an unmatched level of depth.
She is also a role model for women entrepreneurs. She's currently in the process of raising funds for an app geared at young girls (currently in super stealth mode). As she talked about the fundraising process, it was obvious that she represents a contingent of female founders who are experiencing a lot of resistance.
"Being a woman presenting an idea targeting the issues of teen girls to a room full of men is always a challenge," Garcia said. "I have to go for that emotional tie, and remind them they have daughters, too."
Only about 7 percent of current investor funds go to female-backed ventures. But it's not just women backing women-centric ventures that are running into a wall. CEO of ad-tech platform Vivoom, Katherine Hays told Knowledge @ Wharton, “Sometimes I believe if I were a 21-year-old male in a hoodie, Vivoom would be even more appealing to VCs.”
It's obvious women could use a boost on the other side of the table.
That's where female investors (should) come in. Bud sadly, women investors aren't a prominent force in the VC world (yet).
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