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Pushing a Boulder up a Hill

Sweat Equity

My sister sent me this article today after I brought up the difficulty I’ve had in raising money.

It begins like this:

“Women have it tough. Business propositions — whether presented in a boardroom, coffee shop or pitch contest — are discounted as soon as women open their mouths.

We’re not just saying that. There’s proof: Gender has a more significant impact on decision-makers than the presenter’s experience or the topic she’s discussing, according to a new study conducted by professors from Harvard, MIT and Wharton.

Researchers have uncovered “a profound and persistent preference for entrepreneurial ventures pitched by men.”

I’ve been meeting with potential investors for about a year now on and off. And while I rarely encountered sexism in my corporate career, lately I’ve been wondering how different things would be if I were a guy. (I almost called this post: “If I had a penis.”) There’s no question that tech is male dominated. Although the same can be said for the hospitality, entertainment, media and beer industries but in those cases I was brought in to strategize and execute. To make shit happen. Quite often, to turn things around.

This is a different ballgame. I’m asking investors to trust me with their money and make it grow. Exponentially. Just like the men they meet with. And the problem according to the research:

“The reason is simple: People connect with others like them and suffer from a self-selection bias. With so few women in tech, a woman standing before a group of men pitching her idea is about as foreign as they come.”

Will this deter me from my goal? Absolutely not. I believe that there are investors (of both genders) who will get the idea, the opportunity and see my passion and want to get behind it. I’m ready for “yes.”

Great Expectations

Great Expectations

I set the bar pretty high. For others but mostly for myself. When I promise to do something, I do it. When I say I’ll show up, there I am. If I’m your friend (a real friend vs. LA friend) then I will be there for you. No matter what. Even in horrible LA traffic.

I’m not good at asking for help. I’m not talking the kind Siri can help with. I mean showing vulnerability and asking someone else for support, when you’re sick or just sad, or can’t do it all by yourself.

But raising money for a startup is all about the power of networks. So I’ve been asking. And what’s really interesting is how it’s people who are 2 or 3 degrees of separation who have actually come through, not so much my closest friends.

Is that because they don’t think it’s important? Or because they don’t realize the urgency? Or because they don’t believe in my vision? Hard to tell and impossible to discuss.

So I choose to focus on the believers. The folks I’ve met who not only get it and get me but are willing to reach out to their networks and open doors. I’ve learned to accept help no matter where it comes from. And to be less judgmental. After all, I’m the one setting the bar.

Fitting in

I’ve been to over 2 dozen tech conferences and countless meetups since I’ve been on this journey. Not being a geek means that I’m in the minority wherever I go. Being a woman over 40 makes me stand out. Especially if I’m wearing a dress. I’ve often been mistaken for a VC.

While planning for my latest trip to the bay area, I read about a conference that had 2 speakers I’d never seen live – Steve Blank and Mitch Kapor. I immediately signed up not paying attention to the other details.

I arrived at the Orrick building in San Francisco bright and early and saw a table in the lobby with a “Black Founders” sign. Oops, there’s a detail I missed. I hoped I was in the right place. Turns out I was and they couldn’t have been nicer. Even though I stuck out among the crowd.

It was sometimes hard to relate to the speakers who talked about what it was like to be a visible minority. They weren’t complaining, just relating their personal experiences.

As a woman, I’ve never thought of myself as a minority. Maybe because I’m used to being the only woman senior executive in boardrooms full of men. Whether in the beer industry, hotel business or even in Hollywood. I never let it get in the way. I always hoped I’d be judged on my performance and results.

They say that the stats for women in tech are low. We all know about the superstars – Marissa, Sheryl, Meg but where are the founders of billion dollar companies? Well, they’re just not here. Yet.

In the meantime, we have some women running cool startups: Leah Busque at Taskrabbit, Gina Bianchini at Mightybell, Alexa Andrzejewski of Foodspotting, among others. Time will tell as to how big these companies will get. But it’s great to see more women jumping in and creating companies.

I don’t believe that your gender, skin color or age should matter, but let’s face it; investors (angels and VCs) are predominantly male. And they like to bet on people who look like them. There are SO many ideas out there that they have the luxury of choosing the ones that appeal to them. The famous William Goldman line: “nobody knows anything” rings as true in Silicon Valley as it does in Hollywood. It’s a crapshoot where the best you can do is make educated guesses.

So to black founders, women founders and others who don’t come with a pedigree from Stanford, Google or Facebook, just keep at it. If you have a great idea and know how to execute it (by yourself or with a great team) then focus on 2 things: get people to use your product or better yet, get them to pay for it. It turns out that traction trumps connections. Just look at Pinterest.

And stop worrying about fitting in.