Women fight for funding in man’s world of tech startups

Startups
Monday, 01 Mar 2021
1:30 PM MYT

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Gilliam worked overseas with financial institutions for the US State Department before creating social banking startup Invest Sou Sou. Gilliam took the idea of village savings circles she had seen thrive in places such as Africa and built it into a free mobile app, adding artificial intelligence and partnering with financial institutions. — AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Lauren Foundos has excelled at just about everything she has put her mind to, from college sports and Wall Street trading to her Forte startup that takes workouts online.

Being a woman in the overwhelmingly male world of venture capital was still a barrier – but, like many other female entrepreneurs, she only worked harder to succeed.

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Gilliam worked overseas with financial institutions for the US State Department before creating social banking startup Invest Sou Sou. Gilliam took the idea of village savings circles she had seen thrive in places such as Africa and built it into a free mobile app, adding artificial intelligence and partnering with financial institutions. — AFP

Gilliam displays a prototype of her Sou Sou app during an interview in Washington, DC. — AFP

Kapin works on her computer in Washington, DC. A paltry few percent of venture capital money goes to women startups in the US, with the lion’s share going to men, according to Kapin. — AFP

Being sexually propositioned in return for funding, or an introduction to venture capitalists, is common for women founders of startups, according to a recent survey by Kapin’s WWT. — AFP

Some 44% of women founders surveyed told of harassment such as sexual slurs or unwanted physical contact while seeking funding, according to Kapin’s WWT. — AFP

A woman walks near Wall Street in New York on Feb 8, 2021. Money invested in startups in their earliest days, perhaps when they are no more than ideas or prototypes, is called ‘seed’ funding. When it comes to getting backing for a startup it is about trust, and that seems to be lacking when it comes to women entrepreneurs, according to women interviewed by AFP. — AFP

People walk on Wall Street in New York on Feb 8, 2021. Women-led startups tend to be on the outside of the ‘pipeline’ that unofficially funnels entrepreneurs to venture capitalists, according to Kapin and others. — AFP

General view of Wall Street in New York. Investors competing for gems in the frothy tech startup scrum are missing out on a wealth of returns, and stability, to be had by investing in neglected women founders, according to Lewis. — AFP

People walk on Wall Street in New York. While last year set a record for venture capital funding, backing for women-led startups plunged despite data that such companies actually deliver better return-on-investment, according to Kapin. — AFP

‘We always have to over-perform and overcompensate,’ Gilliam said. ‘Where startups run by men would get believed, we’d have to prove it ten times over.’ — AFP

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Startups Technology Women Mobile apps Fintech

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Women fight for funding in man’s world of tech startups