W H Y W O M E N A R E A B E T T E R B E T I N T H E S TA RT U P W O R L D

C R E A T E D B Y S U S I E A L M A N E I H

• Endless factors go into the final decision on whether or not to invest seed money in new tech companies.

• After all, we are talking about millions of dollars and that’s just the beginning, hopefully.

• With the market moving at a breakneck pace, it’s more important than ever that investment capital finds worthwhile ideas and organizations.

• But one consideration has been largely overlooked – the untapped human investment is women.

• It is clear from the results of numerous studies that women-led startups have a higher predictability of success, yet they only represent a narrow slice of the tech industry when it comes to founders, CEOs and executives.

• Let’s take a look at the numbers…

• In preparation for the “Women Startup Challenge” happening in New York City on November 1, 2015, Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist who is co-sponsoring the event said:

• “Only seven percent of all investor money goes to women-led startups. Yet, studies show that women-led ventures deliver a 35 percent higher return on investment and generate 12 percent more revenue than male-run startups.”

• Another study at Gallup states that women are better bosses than men for a few reasons: women bosses’ level of engagement was higher, and of the people queried, those who worked with female bosses overwhelmingly felt like their development was a priority for their female bosses.

• This same study indicated that women bosses show their appreciation with feedback way more consistently than men.

• First Round Capital released a report on July 30, 2015 and found that among 300 portfolios examined, companies with at least one female founder did a whopping 63% better than all-male teams.

• The data also showed that women are present in the top ranks of their ten most valuable companies.

• So - why do women-led companies tend to perform better than all-male companies?

E N G A G E M E N T

• Women tend to work with their employees’ strengths to facilitate growth, and that is a clear illustration of usefulness that motivates a team.

• They naturally excel at seeing the big picture and enabling all the moving parts to function optimally.

C A L C U L AT E D R I S K

• When it comes to taking risks, “women have the edge: 87% see themselves as financial risk takers, compared to 73% of men, while 80% of women say they are likely to see opportunities where others see risk, compared to 67% of men,” says David Prosser of Forbes.

A M B I T I O N

• Like any underdog, women feel the need to prove themselves in the market.

• This means many of them eventually envision striking out on their own rather than remaining an employee.

• They also tend to face adversity with more determination and resilience.

P L AY I N G T H E L O N G G A M E

• Where men are more prone to make immediate and often short-term decisions, women, according to studies, are more likely to arrange their goals around the long term.

• They prioritize for slow, stable growth rather than a boom and bust mentality.

C O M PA S S I O N • If you look at some of the most successful launches in recent years conducted by women, they are often geared toward solving an immediate and high priority problem.

• Take Jessie Baker of InPress who is developing a device that can stop post-partum hemorrhaging, or Tessa Lau, Co-Founder of Chief Robot Whisperer, who designs user-focused systems around the study of human machine interactivity.

• These companies have contributed valuable innovation and generated considerable profits, in part because they have larger social goals.

S E L F I N T E R E S T V S . R E I N V E S T M E N T

• Sarah Fink at the Centre of Entrepreneurs says “Women entrepreneurs are more likely to work toward controlled, profitable growth with relatively little interest in merely positioning themselves for lucrative exit.

• They often prefer to re-invest business profits over equity investment to scale sustainably.”

• Venture capitalists really miss an opportunity for sustainable profitability if they do not actively seek out female entrepreneurs and developers.

• Organizations that stress collaboration, creativity and communication are often unsurprisingly better performers, and women are contributing to this social shift in the workplace.

• Women, it turns out, are good for business, and thankfully, more recognition and support are generating opportunities for the intelligence, innovation and hard work that women have to offer.