article placeholder

Succeeding as a Single Mother and Tech Startup Founder & CEO

Editor

By Bridget Thornton (Co-Founder & CEO, TrackIgnite) There has been a lot of buzz about women, particularly mothers, having a disadvantage as tech entrepreneurs. Women in tech find themselves alone in a sea of men at conferences or get passed over for funding by venture capitalists.

I hear the same argument all the time -- mothers can't dedicate 20 hours per day to their startup. Moms are the first line of response when the kids get sick and take on the majority of the household responsibilities. Therefore, there is no time

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

4 Female Founders of Tech Startups at 2011 Health 2.0 Conference

Editor

By Sonali Nigam (Graduate Student, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health) Health Innovation Week was September 17-27, 2011 in San Francisco. Whether you are a health technologist or a tech geek you would have loved the great conversations about "user generated health" at the Health 2.0 Conference, a well-known forum for knowledge sharing about web and mobile solutions in healthcare. For the aspiring entrepreneurs at Women 2.0, it may be heartening to note that many of the product demos and booths at Health 2.0 were hosted by companies with female founders.

Here are four female founded digital health companies

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

Survey Says: Startups Offer Better Environment for Women

Editor

By Freada Kapor Klein (Partner, Kapor Capital & Founder, Level Playing Field Institute) & Allison Scott (Director of Research, Level Playing Field Institute) Women are vastly underrepresented in technical roles -– we only account for 20% of all computer software engineer and computer programmer positions nationwide. And as the Level Playing Field Institute just revealed in a new report, these women encounter negative experiences such as bullying at rates significantly higher than their male colleagues, are less satisfied with their jobs, and are more likely to want to leave their jobs in the coming year.

Our report, The Tilted Playing Field, found intriguing data showing a vast difference between women at large companies and those at startups with a critical mass of women in

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

Five Equity Tips for a Successful Startup

Editor

By Claire Kalia (Founding Managing Partner, Kalia Law Group) Equity issues are critical to most startups because equity determines central questions such as ownership, control and compensation.

At the early stages of a company, it’s especially important to make sure that equity is issued in a way that meets the company’s current needs and future plans.

Here are some tips for smart things to do (and things to avoid doing) with your company’s equity.

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

Negotiation for Women: Learning To Ask For What You Want

Editor

By Jamie Lee (Operations Manager, Tipping Point Partners) Initiating the conversation about salary negotiation with the successful women in our network is the first step to acquiring a negotiation muscle.

I saw how tapping one's network can positively impact a woman's career after making an introduction to two female friends.

One was an executive with great deal of professional experience, and the other was just about to start her professional career and seeking career advice. Let's call the first friend

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

Support Women Running Growth Businesses

Editor

By Karen E. Klein (Contributing Writer, Businessweek) Women represent only 35 percent of startup owners in the U.S., even though 50 percent of college students and 46 percent of the U.S. workforce is female.

Women’s startup businesses also “tend to experience less growth and prosperity than do firms started by men,” according to a paper released this week by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. “Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers” notes that increasing numbers of highly qualified women work in science and technology, industries that frequently

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

Doing It for Themselves: The Self-Made Woman

Editor

By Colleen Leahey (Reporter, CNN) Chelsea Handler, comedian and television personality, is a known quantity. But allow us to introduce you to Chelsea Handler, businesswoman.

In 2009, Handler co-founded Borderline Amazing Productions with Tom Brunelle, the head writer of Handler's late-night show. The company has produced four shows.

Celebrities with production companies are as common as starlets with fluffy, teacup-sized dogs.

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

If I Had More Time… (Part 2)

Editor

By Raissa Nebie (Co-Founder & CEO, Spoondate) A few months ago, I wrote a post enumerating a few things I would do if I had more time. Back then, I was 100% focused on work and launching a startup.

Six months later, I’ve learned that maintaining balance is critical to happiness. Work and success are great, but a life without fun, family, friends, etc. sucks.

I started to make room for simple pleasures, starting with taking a full day off per week, and it made a huge difference.

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

A Field Guide To: Version 2.0

Editor

By Sara Holoubek (Founder & CEO, Luminary Labs) In the fall of 2010, A Field Guide to Female Founders, Influencers and Dealmakers went live. It was a rapid affair to create a resource we could point in response to the refrain "where are the women?"

To put it bluntly, we hit a nerve.

Over the past year, a number of people have dedicated time to solving the "let's get more women in here" problem. This is a good nut to crack, as it is about quantity, or achieiving scale, if you will. The more women in the room, the more normal it will seem,

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

Y Combinator’s Paul Graham & Great Startup Quotes (Good Reads)

Editor

By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0) A few weeks ago, Sue Khim (Founder & CEO of Alltuition) quipped in an interview with Women 2.0:

My recommendation if you are to read any startup literature, Paul Graham influenced me the most and I liked to read what he had to say about startups. Action first. And if you have to read anyone, read Paul Graham.

Today, co-founder & CEO Raissa Nebie of Spoondate blogs this gem from StartupQuote:

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

The Case Against the All-Male Startup

Editor

By Eric Markowitz (Contributing Writer, Inc.) Is your startup starting to feel like a frat house? New research suggests that having more women at your company, and increasing diversity in general, can improve your chances of success.

"I thought I saw a growing disparity between the growth in the number of venture-backable women, and the actual dollars that were going into companies that had women on the founding team," Cindy Padnos says. "And I was confused by that."

To address her hypothesis, Padnos, along with

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read
article placeholder

A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating (Tips & Tricks)

Editor

By Melissa Fudor (Program Manager, Women in Wireless) The Women in Wireless Educational Series officially launched last Thursday with a workshop on negotiation skills, taught by Professor Lee Miller (author of “A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating”) in New York City. The workshops aim to teach professional women valuable skills that are essential for career advancement and feature special guest speakers who are experts on subjects like negotiating, public speaking, and sales tactics.

Professor Lee Miller began his talk with this little visualization exercise:

... Read More...
Uncategorized0 min read