Bolidea – Giving Rise to Stellar Companies

by Magda Rocki

At each technology, entrepreneur-heavy event, someone consistently comments on the number (and customarily the lack of) women present. Having marginally attended some of these tech happenings, it’s true that the female presence –whether in the role of a founder, entrepreneur or even participant –figures in the minority.

A few years back, Business Week showcased the best young entrepreneurs in tech, all aged 30 and under and considered ” on the cutting edge” of the tech world. Of the 45 entrepreneurs presented, only 3 were women. Dismal numbers some might say.

Yet, according to the National Association for the Self-Employed , women are strongly represented among entrepreneurs, as women-owned businesses outnumbered new men-owned businesses by nearly a 2-1 ratio in 2003.

Instead of delving into the causes behind this noticeable absence, this series will focus on the beneficial reasons why women should consider jumping into a tech startup environment. Part One of the two-part series will explore the natural abilities that women possess which make them a valuable asset in a startup while Part Two will focus on outlining potential career paths in the startup space and an overview of the resources and support groups geared towards women in the tech landscape.

Basing myself on conversations with both male and female startup junkies and on the meritocracy-based culture of startups, there seems to be no clear reason why there shouldn’t be more women in tech startups.

In fact, here are some of the reasons why women should consider joining their ranks:

Startups require some of those womanly attributes

Digging into the cognitive differences between men and women, there are certain gender-specific characteristics that women possess which mirror a startup’s requirements. Notably,

• the innate characteristic of planning: research from the female business network Everywomen underlined that 55% of female entrepreneurs work with a business plan, compared with only 34% of male entrepreneurs. Thinking in advance of essential steps such as the startup’s roadmap, the development of critical key milestones , time and resource allocation, or deciding on the future strategic growth all fall under the crucial success fundamentals of a startup. As the co-founder and director of Everywoman Karen Gill says: ” In order to grow, you need to have good planning in place, and as the survey shows, it us the female entrepreneurs who are more likely to be doing that”.
• the ease in wielding transformational leadership: women’s past socialization may have given them the competence to lead by teaching–through developing and nurturing worker’s abilities and inspiring them to be exceptional contributors. Studies have shown that transformational leadership comes naturally to women. In an early stage startup, adopting a transformational leadership mentality, which emphasizes empowering workers, encouraging innovation, and challenging traditional assumptions, is the strategy to building a passionate and committed team. In contrast, other kind of leaders include transactional leaders, who lead by rewarding and punishing , and laissez-faire leaders, who take a hands-off approach.  In a startup, both styles would be deterrents to mobilizing your employees in creating the next big tech discovery.
• a long-term dedication to the business: the process of transforming a remarkable idea into an actual product/ service with a business model is quite an ardous task and not for the faint of heart. There is a strong element of risk and uncertainty joined with an opportunity to create. As Austin Hill describes in his post Emotional Rollercoster are only fun when riding with friends: ” Sometimes the coveted road to riches stetches out infinitely and contains many contravening valleys and exhilarating peaks that entpreneurs need to navigate deteminately”. Thankfully, women are more committed to sticking to their startups than men, even if more attractive opportunities came along. According to a NASE study, over 26% of women surveyed would not consider closing their businesses even if a desirable job appeared. Only 17% percent of men they would remain so committed.
• an emotional receptiveness to ups and downs: ” there’s a difference in how women respond and handle the emotional roller coaster of lauching a business”, says the co-author of Birthing an Elephant, Karin Abarbanel, in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She states that women might be better equiped to recognize the fear, stress and anxiety that comes along with a new venture and to seek help in handling those feelings. Beneficial? Absolutely–considering that how a startup entrepreneur/employee deals with stress directly correlated to the success of the venture.

Of course a women’s natural instinct and common sense are given abilities that that they could leverage in a startup environment. Add education, mentoring and a motivated personality and you have all the key ingredients for women to bloom in a startup environment.

This concludes the first part of a two- part series on women in the tech landscape in which we pinpointed the natural abilities women could leverage in a startup. Join us next week for an overview of job positions in the startup environment as well as a guide of support groups and resources for women in the tech space. As always, we would love to hear your point of view in the comment section below.

Ada Lovelace. Image sourced from Wikipedia.