In the business world today, the number of women entrepreneurs is growing rapidly with more and more female-founded entrepreneurial ventures being established on a daily basis. In fact, as of 2016 there were more than 9 million women entrepreneurs in the United States. Since 2001, the growth rate of women-owned firms has been 1.5 times higher than other small businesses. Overall, firms led by women account for about 5 million U.S. jobs.
Businesses built by women founders are starting to thrive even in male-dominated sectors such as the tech industry. This is a great development since women-led businesses have a unique perspective. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake anymore. Women founders have repeatedly proven themselves to be on equal footing with men.
As more people realize the incredible economic and social contributions of female-led startups and businesses, we can hope to see more of these programs and opportunities in the near future. Read on to discover funding options and insightful tips to get past gender biases.
If you are a founder looking to increase the likelihood that your startup will get investment capital and be financially successful for the long-term, increasing the gender diversity of your founding team is one of the smartest moves you can make.
According to the Kauffman Fellows Research Center, startups with at least one female founder raised 21% more in venture capital funding than companies with all male teams.
Gender diverse founding teams are also more innovative and can create asymmetrically positive returns in comparison to more traditionally male-dominated teams.
Ten Venture Capital Funds For Female Entrepreneurs
Are you a female founder thinking of launching a startup but are afraid investors will unfairly give you a hard time just because you are a woman? Here are some of the top venture capital firms that prioritize providing funding for female entrepreneurs.
Gender Bias In Startup Funding: How To Fight It And Win
For a lot of budding female entrepreneurs looking to establish their own businesses or launch a startup, securing capital or funding is a challenging and sometimes very unfair activity as there is still a lot of gender bias from investors.
Important Industry Happenings
- Successful Women Entrepreneurs of Color Share Their Advice (Via Fundera)
- National Resources for Female Entrepreneurs (via Funding Circle)
- Programs, Initiatives and Resources for Women Entrepreneurs (via smallbizdaily)