Special Considerations For (Women) Navigating the Venture Industry

Special Considerations For (Women) Navigating the Venture Industry

• Intro to Portland Ten

• Disclaimer

• Venture Industry Basics

• Performance Standards & Tips for Success

• Special Issues for Women

Intro: Portland Ten

Entrepreneur development organization with the mission to get 10 Portland companies to $1MM within 18 months.

40 alumni, 6 cycles of 2 bootcamps (Portland Ten, Six Week Sprint), 25 Community Partners & Sponsors , 5 advisors, 5 staff, 10 volunteers, started Feb 2009. Profile client: ShopIgniter, $3MM of venture capital within 6 months of graduating, exceeded $1MM in revenue within 12 months. Initial team of 3, now 18+. 2 additional companies on track to hit $1MM within 6 months. Partners with PDC, NedSpace, OEN, Voyager Capital, Willamette University, Mercy Corps NW, Perkins & Company, Davis, Wright Tremaine, Silicon Valley Bank, Startup Weekend, Civic Apps, FundingUniverse, and many more. Grant by Portland Development Commission: $35,000, May 2010.

Intro: Carolynn Duncan

Founded Portland Ten to create 10 high-growth startups in the state of Oregon, the first of which just reached $1M in revenue (ShopIgniter). Managed 40+ Portland startups in the past 18 months, met & advised more than 300 startups in the tech, startup, & angel/venture capital networks in Seattle, Portland, southeast Idaho, and Salt Lake City region in the past 5 years. Launched, co-launched, or assisted in 5 early stage venture development projects: FundingUniverse Northwest, EPIC Venture Fund-- a Draper Fischer Jurvetsen affiliate fund, Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory, Hundred Dollar Business, Provo Labs Seed Fund.

1 entrepreneur, 3 MBAs, 1 angel, 2 VCs, and 2 economic dev specialists

Our Team

What We Do

We find and develop high performance entrepreneurs and startup teams in the $0 to $1,000,000 revenue range.

• High growth ventures: (have potential to raise angel or venture capital, hit $20MM-$100MM)

• Lifestyle businesses: ($300,000-$5,000,000 annually)

• Sole proprietorship/small businesses: $40,000-$300,000

When TEDx Portland asked me to speak about working in the “male-dominated venture industry”, I thought…

Is the work I do really male dominated?

So when I was going through photos of Portland Ten for this presentation, here’s what I found—

Disclaimer

So from the photos, you can see that I am an “expert” at being a woman working in a high profile, male-oriented industry… That said, for this presentation-- I’m not a feminist, I don’t have an agenda that prefers women’s rights over men’s or vice versa, and I may say things that are not politically sensitive, but are true from my experiences in VC and norms within the industry, whether right or wrong.

Disclaimer- part 2

I also “speak man”, which means that I understand some of the driving characteristics and culture of men, and can communicate with them effectively, as well as translate “man” for women, and hope to shed some light on those dynamics within this industry.

As a whole, the venture industry is:

Hierarchical Status-Oriented Power & Control

Performance & Metrics Competition & Achievement

Success & Failure Drive & Ego

Here are three examples…

Venture Ecosystem Hierarchy

Limited Partners

VC Firm

Entrepreneurs

Customers

VC Firm Internal Hierarchy

Partners

Principals

Analysts/Associates

Admin

Startup Hierarchy

High Growth

Growth

Lifestyle

Sole Prop

Performance Standards for Venture-Fundable Startups

• Be in the top 2-5% of startups

• $500K-$2MM in revenue

• Strong team of 3-8

• 1-2 year operating history

• Stable client base

• Prior experience in industry, startup

• Brand name clients, MBA/engineering schools, high-profile projects

Qualifications for Investment Professionals

• Be in the top 2-5% of professionals • Prior experience building startup teams • Strong reputation, network, credibility • 5-10 years industry experience in tech, life

science, clean teach • Significant operational or financial experience • Have been mentored, socialized, and introduced

into the investment community by a respected VC firm or professional

Ultimately, no matter what your gender is, if you want to be successful, you must be able to navigate through those hierarchies.

The best way to do this, is to focus on your own performance as a professional, and convert your potential into value add for the organizations you work at, and the industry overall.

Tips for Success • Find a respected mentor who will open doors for

you in the industry.

• Focus on your performance, network, and increasing your credibility, not the baggage or negative cultural dynamics within the industry.

• Be a high performer and compete based on intellect, professionalism, and accomplishments.

Special Considerations for Women That said, there are some issues specific to women:

• Male-female relationship dynamics • Asserting your credibility & gaining respect • Perception of gender-specific roles • Appearance • Attraction in the workplace • Management of stress & emotions • Treating yourself & others as equals– letting go of any

issues with men or women

The Dark Side

• Being asked, “How old are you?” “Are you old enough to be doing the work you’re doing?”

• Being asked, “Do you want to get drinks?” “Do you have a boyfriend?” “Why would any startup work with you?”

• Public humiliation, exclusion from social circles if/when you accidentally offend someone’s ego

• Categorization into secretarial roles

• Authority figures automatically speaking to men at the table first

• Not knowing what to wear sometimes, not know how to blend in-- standing out…. always. Constant scrutinization of your appearance, performance, right to be in the room.

Advantages of Being A Woman

• Automatic standing out in the industry

• The ability to perceive & persuade, relationship strengths

• A unique perspective on the industry

• Detachment from ego, power, hierarchy– ability to go around it

• Nurturing from other women leaders in the industry, support from men who want to see women gain traction in the industry

• Learning to assert yourself across genders, power structures

• Opportunities to influence policy and open doors for women in the future

• Extra benefits & respect for being a minority and still “making it”

My hope for today is that you’ll have a better understanding of some underlying dynamics in the venture industry, which may be generated by it being a largely male-oriented workplace, or may be attributable to other reasons, such as it being an environment that brokers in power and status.

And ultimately, that if you are interested in working in or securing venture capital, that you will be empowered to be successful in the industry by focusing on your performance, not the issues.

For more information, contact

Carolynn Duncan Director, Portland Ten

cduncan@portlandten.com www.portlandten.com

www.twitter.com/portlandten