silicon-valley
For a brief moment, ‘Silicon Valley’ had a woman on the Pied Piper team. (Photo via HBO).

Edgy, innovative, and littered with Nerf guns, startups challenge all things stale and corporate. While we scoff at antiquated concepts like the “good old boys’ club,” the founders circle of the startup world is not actually so different – we’ve just traded neckties for hoodies and scotch for microbrews.

Women are a rarity in startups, especially as leaders. Seattle – known for its progressive politics — is no exception. In fact, according to CrunchBase, we’re ranked No. 14 in American cities with female founders, with women on the leadership team in only 17 percent of startups.

Five years ago, I got my first taste of startups when I co-founded a company as I finished my MBA program. Being outnumbered by men in business school didn’t even come close to preparing me for how outnumbered I was as a female founder in the tech startup space. I was surrounded by almost entirely men – many whose mentorship I’m still incredibly grateful for — but the imbalance was striking. Since then, I have become a guest lecturer for entrepreneurship classes. In the past five years, I’ve seen a lot to celebrate in terms of growing gender diversity in classrooms. But the gender ratio outside of classrooms is alarming.

Entrepreneur Valerie Trask.
Entrepreneur Valerie Trask.

We need women in startups

As any seasoned entrepreneur can attest, new ventures are designed to solve a problem; thoroughly understanding that problem and who you’re solving it for is make or break. With women representing 80 percent of consumer buying decisions, excluding them from involvement in early product decisions is business suicide, especially in companies too small to build elaborate market testing teams (which is every startup).

But more importantly, entrepreneurship is a form of rebellion. It’s a deep belief that whatever is already out there can be made better, faster, stronger, smarter – and while wearing flip flops. Our whole society benefits from entrepreneurs challenging status quo. If half of our population isn’t well-positioned to lead their own revolution, should they be inclined, then our larger community misses out in ways that we can’t even imagine.

We’ve fallen into some negative cycles

First, young entrepreneurial women don’t see other women they can look to as role models in startups, much less female founders from who they can find mentorship. As a result, they miss entrepreneurial opportunities and we lose women who will become role models themselves.

Second, according to CrunchBase, more than 92 percent of partners at venture capital firms are male, making it no huge surprise that only 10 percent of venture funds have been extended to companies with female founders. However, according to Inc., startups led by women are twice as likely to be funded when there are female partners at the VC firm.

What can be done?

Here are a few easy ways to make positive improvements:

  • Talk about it. Rather than just thinking of “women in tech” as a hashtag at technology conferences, actually cultivate a community. Include women in panel talks or presentations, and face the fear of uncomfortable conversations about what’s broken so that we can start fixing it.
  • Show off. Women who see women doing well in startups will be inspired to do the same. If you are a female founder, or your company is a diverse team of rock stars, show it off. Start a mentorship program; get involved in local schools – if only for an afternoon; take somebody out to coffee and share your story. Don’t underestimate how much those small efforts can have big impacts on a community over time.
  • Expand your network. Being inclusive can start at a smaller scale than you think. Startups notoriously begin with brainstorming sessions among friends. Encouraging diversity in those groups ultimately increases your awareness of opportunities, brings perspective that will generate a more well-rounded view of problems, and is actually a lot of fun. Nerf gun fights aren’t just for boys.

If anyone can be agile and pivot to make fast improvements, it is leaders in the startup world. There are plenty of obstacles in starting a new venture, but gender should not be one of them.

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