The ROI of Women Investing in Women
(Room Venetian Ballroom I)
10 Oct 17
10:30 AM
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11:15 AM
Tracks:
Women in Tech Breakout Session
In venture capital-financed, high-growth technology startups, only 9% of entrepreneurs are women, yet women are majority owners in 36% of small businesses overall. And, according to a Harvard Business Review study, venture capital firms with female partners are better able to evaluate and/or advise female-led startups to the point that there’s no performance gap between startups led by women and those led by men. However, if female entrepreneurs get their funding from VCs solely led by men, their startups will be far less likely to be acquired or make it to an IPO than companies led by men. This panel will discuss research that has shown diverse management teams bring higher returns on investments, talk with female CEOs backed by women-led funding, and discuss what can be done to increase the number of technology startups led by women. Research shows that, in computer science and math-related jobs, 27% of the U.S. workforce is female; so how can more of these women get involved in leadership roles at startups? Finally, these female entrepreneurs will share their journeys to becoming CEOs of technology companies, fundraising war stories, finding a good investor match, as well as advice they would give to aspiring entrepreneurs and investors.