We know the statistics about women founders and venture capital.
It’s been widely documented that women entrepreneurs are vital to our national economic growth and prosperity, yet in 2021, companies founded solely by women garnered 2.4% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the US. For black female founders the statistics are even more underwhelming. On the capital side of the equation, a mere 8% of partners at the biggest venture capital firms are women. The data depicts an unbalanced situation on a critical issue. It also suggests a glaring missed opportunity for investors.
Women-led companies outperform their male counterparts.
Women created businesses at a greater rate than men. Period. Successful women entrepreneurs are not only matching their male counterparts, they’re outperforming them. Companies helmed by women entrepreneurs had 13% higher growth than those run by men and finished with revenues 9% above the average for all entrepreneurs. On average, women founders grow faster and use less outside capital to drive their success.
There is a big capital gap. Venture Atlanta is acting to fill it.
It’s past time to level the playing field for women entrepreneurs. Venture Atlanta is committed to encouraging the flow of capital to talented women founders. They want more women founders to apply for funding and more women led start-ups to get the spotlight they deserve. Venture Atlanta is partnering with launchpad2x, a sophisticated development program for women entrepreneurs, in order to attract high potential women founders and connect them to valuable capital. We welcome the partnership and the opportunity to highlight amazing women founders who graduate from launchpad2x boot camps and attend ongoing master classes helping them make the critical transition from founder to CEO.
Starting where the relationship naturally starts.
All founders who want to raise capital start by getting meetings with potential investors. It’s an initial meeting that is the nexus for relationship building. Similarly, investors and venture capitalists looking for great opportunities take meetings with founders. That’s where it all starts. It stands to reason that VC firms being exposed to and accepting more meetings with women founders would begin to recognize their potential. Simply by getting more women founders on stage, in the showcases and at supporting events, investors will be offered the opportunity to see, hear and meet with women founders. With the launchpad2x partnership, Venture Atlanta offers investors more connections to women founders than any other venture event.
Finding opportunities where others can’t or don’t.
At the core of VC investing is the search and discovery of investment opportunities. Venture Atlanta provides an unmatched forum for efficiently reviewing hundreds of opportunities in only 2 days. By adding a partnership with launchpad2x, Venture Atlanta is increasing the value of the event for both investors and women entrepreneurs. With so many opportunities, Venture Capitalists will increase their odds of success by meeting at least one or two of the impressive women founders that will be there. It is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. It is a critical step forward in fixing an opportunity gap.
Bernie Dixon is the founder and CEO of launchpad2X. Bernie’s interest in increasing investment capital for women-managed businesses and her passion for providing women CEOs of emerging businesses tools and connections to drive growth led her to develop launchpad2X, one of the most innovative and successful women-focused business boot camps in the U.S. Bernie most recently served as the Chairman and President of the Atlanta Technology Angels. Previously, she was Vice President, HP Services Americas, and held Chief Information Officer positions with Raytheon Corporation, Carrier Corporation and UTC Hamilton Sundstrand, and Booz Allen & Hamilton, where she supported telecom and security strategy at the White House and State Department. Bernie Dixon was commissioned in the US Army as one of the first women commissioned officers and served in the US Army Signal Corps.
