It’s doesn’t always pay to be a woman in the world of startups—literally.
According to research conducted by Boston Consulting Group, female business owners receive significantly less funding than their male counterparts when pitching their ideas to investors. But, those investors could be missing out. The research shows that women deliver more than twice as much revenue compared to men (1).
With that knowledge, what can female entrepreneurs do to shift the status quo and get the funding they need?
Here are a few tips to get you started:
Get certified For access to female-only financing opportunities, register your business as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE). This certification qualifies you for special loan programs and venture capital funding in addition with helping y
Find a mentor Whether it is someone who you know professionally or a successful local business owner, reaching out to people with experience being in your position is an important source of feedback. Don’t be shy about asking for help. You will gain valuable insight and begin to grow your network.
Consider venture capital financing You have many options to choose from when thinking about how you want to finance your business, but recently there has been an explosion of opportunities with venture capital firms in New York. For example, Empire State Development has recently introduced their $100 million Innovation Venture Capital Fund that invests in early stage businesses (3). Private equity firms—such as Rand Capital, Impact Capital, and D21 Partners—also fund promising startups. So, ig your venture is scalable, VC firms offer great opportunities you can harness.
We hope these tips inspire female entrepreneurs in the Buffalo area and beyond to grow their businesses.
— Scott, Friedman, Andrea Vossler, Eliza Friedman