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Female founders are here to secure the bag – and they’re not stopping until they get it! They are flooding the tech space with their witty ideas and relentless drive ready to impact the world in a greater way.
Are you a female founder or aspiring entrepreneur? After reading stories about Blavity’s founder, Morgan Debaum, who raised over $6 million in funding, you might be inspired to take the leap and bring your product or service to fruition.
Don’t be misled by all the “glamorous” success stories. Being a female founder isn’t easy. According to data from PitchBook, women received only $1.9 billion of the $85 billion total invested by venture capitalists in 2017. That means women only received 2.2 percent of venture capital funding. Yikes!
During a founders chat at the AfroTech Conference in San Francisco, entrepreneurs shared their stories and insights with other aspiring entrepreneurs. Sevetri Wilson, Founder of ExemptMeNow, is the first black woman in New Orleans to raise over $2 million for her startup. She talks about the importance of having a strategy. “We were very strategic about what investors we reached out to. I went on LinkedIn to see who could make an introduction to the people I wanted to connect with. It was about getting in front of the investor which was one of the hardest parts.”
The road to success may be difficult for women but it’s not impossible. All you need is the right mix of ingredients in your portfolio to get you closer to your funding goals.
Are you ready to become a bad@$$ female founder? Here are 5 tips to get you started.
Know Your Narrative
What’s your story? Be prepared to tell your story like no one else can. Your story should be so compelling that it helps to reveal the why behind what you do. Explain your story in the simplest terms. Make it so relatable and understandable that a 10-year old can understand your reason for creating your product or service.
Know Your Numbers
What’s your financial model? Make sure you are able to tell investors how you make money. That’s what they really want to know. Angel investors and venture capitalists also want to grow their money so you should be ready to show them how you can scale your business. Be prepared to talk about your financial metrics to date and where you plan to go in the future.
Know Your Customers
What’s your customer acquisition strategy? In other words, who is your target audience and how do you plan to appeal to them? Complete a customer profile and identify demographics, activities, habits, education, and other characteristics that will allow you to reach them where they are at.
Know Your Competition
Who are your top 3 competitors in the space you are in? What is their market share? How are you different from others in the market? Show potential investors that you’ve done your market research by fully understanding your competition’s advantage, weakness, and future potential.
Know Your Strengths
What are your top strengths as a leader? Write it down. Then ensure that you spend at least 80% of your time capitalizing on your strengths so your business can reach its’ full potential. You also want to be aware of your areas of opportunities so you can surround yourself with other people who are gifted in those areas. Building a strong team or “board of directors” can take you places that you wouldn’t have been able to go on your own.
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