After I began fundraising in 2017, girls have been getting simply over 2% of enterprise capital. Six years later, girls proceed to get simply 2% of enterprise capital. For myself and plenty of different girls tech founders, the funding hole is private. We have learn sufficient headlines and gotten sufficient rejections to know that the methods governing grants, debt, and fairness are usually not arrange for us to succeed. So, what are we going to do about it?

With beneficiant help from Tiger World Affect Ventures, my firm got down to analysis the very best, most possible actions that resolve (or at the very least shrink) the funding gaps for girls tech founders. This effort concerned surveying practically 20,000 girls entrepreneurs and conducting 19 in-depth professional interviews with founders and discipline specialists.

The ensuing report, titled “Standing within the Gaps: A Roadmap to Redesign the Capital Continuum for Girls Tech Founders,” presents an motion plan for entrepreneurs, establishments and buyers to work collectively and unlock the complete potential of girls tech founders.

Primarily based on the report, listed below are three entrepreneur-focused steps to assist girls safe the funding they should develop their startups. It is our motion plan to make sure the info six years from at this time appears completely different.

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1. End up a co-founder

Take it from somebody who’s been a solo founder herself: Your journey will at all times be smoother (and extra gratifying) with a trusty copilot. The analysis agrees with me on this one, discovering that co-founders supply further expertise, help and even improved fundraising prospects. One evaluation discovered that 85% of enterprise and angel funding {dollars} go to firms with two or extra founders.

It isn’t at all times simple discovering a co-founder you possibly can belief, respect, and study from, however it’s one thing I consider each entrepreneur ought to search out. Listed below are just a few strategies recognized in our report:

• Be part of native coworking areas and networking teams: Meet the movers and shakers in your native startup group, share lunch with somebody new and unfold the phrase about what you are constructing. Even in the event you do not meet your co-founder, you may make useful connections that might repay.
• Use free co-founder matching platforms: Our report recommends a number of choices, together with YC Co-Founder Matching, CoFounders Lab, DigitalWell Ventures and StartHawk
• Attend conferences and trade occasions: These occasions are nice locations to fulfill people with technical backgrounds or deep expertise in your discipline.

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2. Reap the benefits of each monetary wellness and fundraising training useful resource you possibly can

As soon as the novelty of beginning what you are promoting wears off, you shortly study that there’s fairly a studying curve in relation to working what you are promoting. To not point out the immense price that it takes to maintain it afloat, particularly in these early proof-of-concept days. Systemic obstacles make it tougher for girls and different underrepresented teams to entry the capital we’d like, too, so it is important to know your stuff to impress bankers and potential buyers.

The first step is ensuring what you are promoting financials are in fine condition. You do not want a enterprise diploma, however there are some classes each entrepreneur must study to keep away from costly errors. Listed below are some good locations to study finest practices:

For these additional down the highway and trying to fundraise, our report provides one other batch of sources. The next instruments might help you grasp widespread fundraising matters and put together for conversations with VCs and angels:

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3. Strategy alternatives by means of the lens of cost-benefit evaluation

If girls tech founders soak up nothing else from this report, I hope they pay attention to 1 easy but highly effective reminder: It is OK to do much less.

Entrepreneurs have excessive calls for on their time as we’re overrun with alternatives and decisions to make. With regards to funding, there’s at all times one other grant program to use for, one other investor to e mail, or a brand new credit score alternative to measurement up.

View each alternative by means of the lens of cost-benefit evaluation by asking your self whether or not the time, power, and willpower align with the potential final result for the enterprise. Be sincere! If sure, transfer ahead. But when not, be type to your self and transfer on.

Funding may be the lifeblood of a enterprise, however you are the beating coronary heart retaining the dream alive. Handle your self, and the remainder has a means of caring for itself.