And while female business owners are totally crushing it in the open market right now, we believe there should be a heck of a lot more of them. So what\u2019s holding so many women back from starting businesses? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Big Hurdle for Women in Business<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting money. Yup, it\u2019s that simple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Printing business cards, renting office space, hiring a website developer, and especially<\/em> keeping the company mini fridge stocked with La Croix, all cost money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Right when an entrepreneur, male or female, comes up with their BIG IDEA, they have to start thinking of ways to fund it. One of the most common ways for a startup to gain capital (aka $) is through Venture Capitalists (aka people or businesses who invest lots of $ in startups). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea is: You walk into a boardroom filled with very important Venture Capitalists, begin your slide deck, bravely pitch your startup, field all their questions, and then wait to see if they\u2019ll hand you a big check. But there\u2019s a catch. (At least for half the population.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n On average, women receive less than 3% of all venture capital funding. And when a business that is founded or co-founded by a woman does<\/em> receive VC, it\u2019s less than half<\/a> the amount that businesses founded and co-founded by men receive on average\u2014compare $935,000 to $2.1 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n …It\u2019s okay if your blood is boiling a little bit right now. Ours is too, but let\u2019s dive a little deeper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why Do Women Receive Less Venture Capital Funding? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are 2 main reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first comes from a massive gender imbalance among the Venture Capitalists themselves: Over 92% of VCs at the top 100 firms are men! Alongside that, Amanda Pressner Kreuser, the co-founder of Masthead Media and an award winning journalist, writes<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research shows that investors tend to back entrepreneurs who have <\/em>similar backgrounds<\/em><\/a> to their own, so if a female entrepreneur is pitching to a room of all-male VCs, she’s already working at a big disadvantage. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The second main reason comes from some smarties at Harvard Business Review<\/a>. Their research shows that female entrepreneurs are typically asked why it wouldn\u2019t work, while male entrepreneurs are asked how fast their product could scale. #Shook<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where Does AngeLink Come In?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our little blue angel icon may look cute and cuddly, but statistics like these get us fired up! <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, our founder, Gerry Poirier, personally witnessed investor bias during her career as a Venture Capitalist, which spanned two decades. Being the only woman in the boardroom most of the time inspired her to launch the first ever female-centric FinTech (Financial Technology) platform: AngeLink, the website you\u2019re on right now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to Help Solve the Problem You Just Read About? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n AngeLink also hosts an ongoing fundraising campaign that gives starter funds to brilliant, up and coming female entrepreneurs. Want to pitch in? Click here<\/a> to learn more and partner with us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Summation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Female entrepreneurs are completely disenfranchised. And we simply won\u2019t have it! Because when women rise, we all rise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/qa.angelink.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/keren-levand-pm-e64IOYHM-unsplash-1024x683.jpeg\")
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