By Popular Demand: About Women Investors/ Entrepreneurs

BY: ANA BARJASIC

Women as investors and entrepreneurs – not only is one of the hottest topics in startup world, but also has the honor to be welcomed with a rarely seen dose of cynicism, coming from both genders. Maybe more from one gender.

There is always a lot of noise when status quo is challenged and things evolve or get disrupted, as you like. We live in funny times when USA visitors inquire about how “big” is #metoo in Europe, expressing their fears that maybe they have indeed “said something wrong” in the past. How about putting money where your mouth is? Quick fact – only 2 % women founders got venture capital funding in USA in 2017. Investors apparently invest in only good projects…

At one of the previous Web Summit conferences, I had the pleasure to host a round table with the topic “Women in Tech”. There were 30 women with amazing profiles from around the world, discussing what should be done to have more women in tech, better conditions, more self- confidence…and easily this topic slipped, as usual, into an almost psychotherapy session. I have seen this at startup events numerous times. Reality check came in the form of two Israeli girls informing the group that they completed their mandatory military service, and a privileged treatment is not what they were advocating.

In numerous events around the world, I have also seen that there are very few women in the pitching competitions, in investor panels, in jury, or even in the audience. Later I have found out that it is also a social fact. Not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur and not every entrepreneur is successful. Women in startup world face almost the same issues as their male counterparts, such as bootstrapping, lack of knowledge or self-confidence.

One thing is not same though, and that is the starting position. So here we are, 2018 years later, in a society becoming mature enough to give women a spotlight, and women being ready to take it.

Bridging the gap to having more (successful) women entrepreneurs and investors certainly lies in the sense of belonging as a fist step. There is many high net worth women out there who don’t see themselves as part of the group. Next step are success cases ready to share their stories and not only inspire other women to follow their path, but also to actively teach them how to do it. No privileged treatment can replace someone’s knowledge about a certain topic.