3 Ways for Women to Close the VC Gender Gap

Foster high-growth women-led startups.

Only 7 percent of U.S. venture capital deals go to women founders and CEOs. To increase their odds of joining those ranks, Sherry Lombardi and Kerry Bowbliss turned to Astia, an accelerator program and investor network that fosters high-growth women-led startups.

Unfortunately, accelerators and funds for female founders remain few and far between. So don't limit yourself to just chasing after women-centric groups. Nor should you woo only female financiers. "I wouldn't go after an investor because of his or her gender," says Alexandra Meis, a New York-based tech startup founder who has raised $130,000 since 2012 through incubators, business-plan competitions, a foundation and a grant, none of them women-focused. "I would go after an investor who's interested in the space that you're working in."

Go co-ed. Fundraising is a long, arduous process that cuts into time you could otherwise spend growing your business. For that reason, "it is absolutely essential that you start meeting as many people as you can immediately," Lombardi says. "You cannot afford to do it slowly."

Get aggressive with your pitch. Given that as many as 95 percent of partners at VC firms are men, it helps to know what they expect from an investment pitch. Many women fall short of making powerful presentations, according to Kitt McCurdy, co-founder of Women In Tech Network, a Los Angeles organization that helps groom 'treps for fundraising. "Women tend to speak less directly and more with a connotation of asking a question," McCurdy says.

Seek out others. Meis and her co-founder, Miriam Altman, are used to being the only women in the room. "Any meetup, any meeting or any pitch I go to, it's all men," says Meis of Kinvolved, which strives to improve K-12 student attendance by engaging families. To bridge the gender divide, "we constantly seek out mentorship from women," she adds. This means going out of their way to introduce themselves to female entrepreneurs and executives and attending women-centric business events and conferences.

Read the full article at: entrepreneur.com

Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.

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