A Changing Tide for Female Founders
On February 4th, The Information hosted a breakout session on what’s next for female founders at our Future of Startups event. The conversation, hosted in partnership with BCG, included several dozen female founders and investors. Funding for female founders was a main topic of conversation.
Investments in female-founded startups on average were less than half of those made to a company with a male founder, according to a 2018 BCG study. Despite the fact female-founded companies generated 10% more revenue.
Female founders at the breakout session felt the tide was changing. There was optimism that the disparity of investments made to female vs. male founded companies was improving.
There is also concern of the impact of COVID-19 on funding to female founders, and that improvement seen over the last few years may be reversing.
To combat this, the female founders underscored the importance of networking. Investors are more likely they felt, especially during COVID-19, to make investments in companies and people they already know. Building a strong network is a key to success for female founders.
The BCG report on “Why Women-Owned Startups Are a Better Bet” can be found here.