Female Entrepreneurs You Should Know About

In Tech Cocktail:

Although there are noteworthy entrepreneurs across all genders, races, ethnicity, geography, etc., this post is dedicated to shining a spotlight on female entrepreneurs, as we at Tech Cocktail are proud proponents of the Change the Ratio movement.  And while it’s easy to applaud the Ariana Huffingtons, Marissa Mayers, Oprah Winfreys, Sara Blakelys, and Sheryl Sandbergs of the world, there are countless female entrepreneurs doing great things that you (likely) haven’t heard of.

Well worth a look.

And don't kid yourself, persistence and determination matters when starting a business.

15 Female Entrepreneurs You Should Know About (But Probably Don't)

Photo courtesy:  Dana Lockadoo

For Women Entrepreneurs, It Can Be a Messy World

We've come a long way.  Or have we?  On Oct. 25, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Women’s Business Ownership Act.  What did it do for women business owners?

The law, designated H.R. 5050 for the equality it set out to establish for female entrepreneurs, banned discrimination against women seeking business loans and improved access to educational and technical assistance. 

Fast forward to here and now:

Sarah Biller, 42, president of financial technology company Capital Market Exchange, cites perfectionism as a major challenge for women, including herself. “I wanted to come to market with a perfect solution,” she says. But “it’s a messy world.” That “tendency to play by the rules and dot every ‘i’ or cross every ‘t’ stands in the way of women all the time,” she says.

Read the entire article:  Is the Playing Field Even for Women Entrepreneurs 25 Years After H.R. 5050?

Photo courtesy:  Paul Downey

Young Female Entrepreneurs (YFE) Interviews Founders of Made Woman Magazine

Young Female Entrepreneurs - worth a look!
Made Woman Magazine - also worth a look!

To Play the Venture-Capital Game, Watch Sports

I've always lived my life by not playing by the rules but according to Fiona Murray's article below, you should do the opposite.  That is, to get in the venture-capital game, you must play by the rules.  Here are a couple of them:

1. WEAR A UNIFORM

2. USE A CONFIDENT VOICE AND ASSERTIVE LANGUAGE

3. NETWORK AS IF IT’S YOUR JOB

4. WATCH SPORTS

Counter-intuitive advice, eh?

Read more  How female entrepreneurs can get in the venture-capital game

Photo credit:  Ed Yourdon 

The Type of Business You Run Might Determine Your Growth

According to the Miami Herald, while women are launching businesses at a rapid pace — 1.5 times higher than the national average — their companies still remain small in scope, with only 4 percent reaching earnings of $500,000 and only 1.8 percent surpassing the million dollar mark, according to American Express small business research.

Why is that?

Speaking in Miami [at the national conference of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)], Anna Colton, Bank of America’s Small Business Banking national sales executive, said the reasons why women are struggling to land venture capital may be the type of businesses they run. Venture capital firms tend to invest in high tech and life sciences, but women tend to have professional services firms, she notes. Colton feels that could change when venture capital firms are made to understand the growth and success of women-owned businesses.

Read the entire article here.

Photo courtesy:  Moodboard