Susie Almaneih describes why women have what it takes (and more) to be leading figures in the world of startup businesses and technology.

1. W H Y W O M E N A R E A B E T T E R
B E T I N T H E S TA RT U P W O R L D
C R E A T E D B Y S U S I E A L M A N E I H

2. • Endless factors go into the final decision on whether or not to
invest seed money in new tech companies.
• After all, we are talking about millions of dollars and that’s just the
beginning, hopefully.

3. • With the market moving at a breakneck pace, it’s more important than
ever that investment capital finds worthwhile ideas and organizations.
• But one consideration has been largely overlooked – the untapped
human investment is women.

4. • It is clear from the results of
numerous studies that
women-led startups have a
higher predictability of
success, yet they only
represent a narrow slice of
the tech industry when it
comes to founders, CEOs
and executives.
• Let’s take a look at the
numbers…

5. • In preparation for the “Women Startup Challenge”
happening in New York City on November 1, 2015,
Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist who is co-
sponsoring the event said:
• “Only seven percent of all investor money goes to
women-led startups. Yet, studies show that women-
led ventures deliver a 35 percent higher return on
investment and generate 12 percent more revenue
than male-run startups.”

6. • Another study at Gallup states that women are better
bosses than men for a few reasons: women bosses’
level of engagement was higher, and of the people
queried, those who worked with female bosses
overwhelmingly felt like their development was a
priority for their female bosses.
• This same study indicated that women bosses show
their appreciation with feedback way more
consistently than men.

7. • First Round Capital released a report on July 30, 2015
and found that among 300 portfolios examined,
companies with at least one female founder did a
whopping 63% better than all-male teams.
• The data also showed that women are present in the
top ranks of their ten most valuable companies.

8. • So - why do women-led
companies tend to perform
better than all-male companies?

9. E N G A G E M E N T
• Women tend to work with their employees’ strengths to facilitate
growth, and that is a clear illustration of usefulness that motivates
a team.
• They naturally excel at seeing the big picture and enabling all the
moving parts to function optimally.

10. C A L C U L AT E D R I S K
• When it comes to taking risks, “women have the edge:
87% see themselves as financial risk takers, compared to
73% of men, while 80% of women say they are likely to see
opportunities where others see risk, compared to 67% of
men,” says David Prosser of Forbes.

11. A M B I T I O N
• Like any underdog, women feel the need to prove themselves in the market.
• This means many of them eventually envision striking out on their own
rather than remaining an employee.
• They also tend to face adversity with more determination and resilience.

12. P L AY I N G T H E
L O N G G A M E
• Where men are more prone to make immediate and often short-
term decisions, women, according to studies, are more likely to
arrange their goals around the long term.
• They prioritize for slow, stable growth rather than a boom and bust
mentality.

13. C O M PA S S I O N
• If you look at some of the most
successful launches in recent
years conducted by women, they
are often geared toward solving
an immediate and high priority
problem.
• Take Jessie Baker of InPress who
is developing a device that can
stop post-partum hemorrhaging,
or Tessa Lau, Co-Founder of
Chief Robot Whisperer, who
designs user-focused systems
around the study of human
machine interactivity.
• These companies have
contributed valuable innovation
and generated considerable
profits, in part because they have
larger social goals.

14. S E L F I N T E R E S T V S .
R E I N V E S T M E N T
• Sarah Fink at the Centre of
Entrepreneurs says “Women
entrepreneurs are more likely
to work toward controlled,
profitable growth with
relatively little interest in
merely positioning
themselves for lucrative exit.
• They often prefer to re-invest
business profits over equity
investment to scale
sustainably.”

15. • Venture capitalists really miss an opportunity for sustainable profitability if they do not
actively seek out female entrepreneurs and developers.
• Organizations that stress collaboration, creativity and communication are often
unsurprisingly better performers, and women are contributing to this social shift in the
workplace.

16. • Women, it turns out,
are good for
business, and
thankfully, more
recognition and
support are
generating
opportunities for the
intelligence,
innovation and hard
work that women
have to offer.