As you’ve probably seen in recent news, according to US Census Bureau data, the number of women-owned small businesses in the US grew at a rate of 27% between 2007 and 2012. This is exciting because overall, the number of small businesses in the US grew at a rate of only 2% during that time. So women are getting out and starting businesses in greater numbers than men. That’s great news, but we all know the startup community can be a male dominated space. So what are these entrepreneurial women finding when they enter the startup community?
To provide some perspective, consider that, according to the Compass 2015 Global Startup Ecosystem Study, in Boston, 29% of startup founders are women. This is a greater number than in Silicon Valley, where female founders make up 24% of the population, and far better than the North American average of 20%. On the other hand, startup teams in Boston are less likely to have women on them than those in Silicon Valley or North America generally, whose numbers are 29% and 26%, respectively. Despite this latter number, Boston was able to earn the proud honor of being the world’s second best city for female entrepreneurs, being topped only slightly by Chicago. This infographic from Forbes is a nice visual of Boston right near the top of the group.
Unfortunately, as we’ve reported previously, the startup world can be a tough place for women. When Babson College released the Diana Project Report in September 2014, entitled “Bridging the Gap in Venture Capital,” it found that women entrepreneurs are only getting about 15% of venture capital investments. In other words, 85% of venture capital-funded companies have no women on their executive teams. That problem is in part due to the fact that there are very few women venture capitalists, and that that number dropped from 10% to 6% between 1999 and 2014. For all those women founders in Boston, the stark reality remains that access to capital and the resources that come with it can be limited.
So how do we change these numbers for the better and celebrate Boston’s good standing so far? We think the following groups and the events they host are a great start. If you’re eager to provide support to women entrepreneurs here in Boston, take a look at some of these, and hopefully we’ll see you soon at an event or two!
- SheStarts – A group aimed at supporting women founders in Boston through networking, coaching and events. Founded by my colleague Nancy Cremins and Liz O’Donnell.
- Women in MassChallenge – The accelerator has been hosting breakfasts and its annual Women in MassChallenge showcase to bring visibility to its women-led teams, which this year was a highest ever 39% of finalists.
- She Geeks Out – You may have known this group as Geek Girl Dinners, and under the direction of Rachel Murray and Felicia Jadczak, the group has renamed itself and grown quite a bit.
- Women in Entrepreneurship Breakfasts – This is a joint effort from Gesmer Updegrove, SheStarts, TechHub and Just Jump Marketing. Look for these casual networking events at rotating locations around Boston and Cambridge on the last Wednesday of the month.
In addition, take a look at the great recommendations my colleague Nancy Cremins made after the Diana Project Report came out. Hopefully these groups and efforts will enable us to keep Boston at or near the top of the rankings for best cities for women-run companies.
