Less than 10% of US venture-backed founding teams have included women since 2005. The same is true in the UK and other hubs of entrepreneurial activity. Studies have even shown that when women make the exact same sales pitch as an entrepreneur as men, they are taken less seriously in the boardroom. Forget the glass ceiling. For female entrepreneurs, it’s more like a concrete ceiling.
Times, however, are starting to change. Crowdfunding has helped to level the playing field. On some crowdfunding platforms, such as Syndicate Room, half of the business are either founded by a woman or have a woman as their lead investor. Women are not only more successful with crowdfunding, but they’re able to raise more money while they’re doing it.
That’s why crowdfunding is leading the surge of female entrepreneurs into the future. It levels the playing field.
Why Do Women Struggle So Much to Find Entrepreneurial Success?
It isn’t because women don’t have great ideas. It isn’t because they don’t have marketing savvy. It is because the business world is filled with people who have preconceived notions of what women can and cannot do. It may be 2015, but many attitudes are stuck in 1815.
Crowdfunding helps the female entrepreneur succeed because it eliminates the preconceived notion. There isn’t a gender identity associated with a crowdfunding campaign. There is just the idea being presented, a prototype providing proof of concept, and the sales pitch to bring backers on board.
There’s also a second advantage that women received with crowdfunding: the ability to network and help each other. Women are more likely to invest in campaigns that other women are running to provide each other with mutual success. With more than half of the wealth in the US controlled by women, this only helps to further promote the surge of female entrepreneurs in the modern market.
What has happened as a result? Women are getting more involved in the other investment circles of startups. Angel investment groups that feature women are steadily gaining in influence. Only time will tell how far this surge will go, but one fact is for certain: thanks to crowdfunding, it is only a matter of time before the ceiling disappears for good.
Strong proponent of individual liberty and free speech. My goal is to present information that expands our awareness of crucial issues and exposes the manufactured illusion of freedom that we are sold in America. Question everything because nothing is what it seems.
