6. Get influential people on board
Get influential people on board your startup and begin to command the respect you deserve, attracting the funding you need. While there may be a whole lot of controversies around Theranos, founder Elisabeth Holmes gathered the crème de la crème of upscale America to take seats on board chairs.
Their influence brought in the investors which turned the company into a $9 billion valued overnight sensation in blood testing. Theranos was able to achieve this even when not getting its base technology right.
7. Apply for startup competitions
Female founders need to be bold enough to take the competitive route when the opportunity raises its head. This allows them to better craft their startup ideas each time, evaluating their growth with each opportunity.
From local to international competitions, founders can use these to gain an understanding of what investors may be looking out for if their startups could be invested in and align themselves accordingly. These could include accelerator and incubator programs like Y-combinator that have a financial benefit attached to it by just getting in.
[bctt tweet=”Female founders need to be bold enough to take the competitive route” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]
8. Do the unusual –be controversial
How bad do you want the funding you need? Can you creatively express your desire in a way an investor cannot resist? Can you play away the side effects of controversy and use this to your advantage to get attention for your startup?
Willing founder, Eliam Medina did exactly this when trying to secure investments for his startup. He was not afraid of being controversial and he sent out personalised cremation Urns to each of Y-combinator’s fourteen partners with their names on it.
His startup deals with after death legal issues, a controversial topic for most people but his point was clear – everyone will wound up dead someday. They picked him. How controversially creative can you get as a female founder to get the attention of moneybags in the big boys club?
9. Do your homework –don’t be sentimental
It is easy to be overtaken by all the hoopla on the lack of investors for girl-run start-ups but it is wise not to be sentimental about it. The right step to take as a female founder is to do your homework. How ready will you be when opportunity comes knocking? Will you be caught napping or will you create such a positive stare no investor can resist?
Your homework is in your numbers; since creating your startup what have you achieved? How many users have you acquired? What is your churn rate? What is your burn rate? how much of personal income have you ploughed in? Which other prospective investors have shown interests? What’s the proof growth is going to skyrocket on investment? Have you generated revenue?
A prospective investor can inundate you with these questions and if you can be up to date with real figures for your startup, you will most likely get funded.
[bctt tweet=”Find out what women founders need to do to get funded in a male-dominated tech startup ecosystem” via=”no”]
10. Fight for the survival of your startup
Venture capitalists love fighters. And it does not matter if you are male or female, you are the founder and your startup depends on your for its existence. What proof do you have as a female founder that you are willing to see your startup get to the top against all odds?
Investors laud Airbnb founders as the ultimate hustlers in getting their startup up and running; from launching their startup thrice to creating cereal boxes of the democratic and republican frontrunners in the 2008 elections where they raised $30,000 to continue pushing their start-ups. Female founders who can show their fighting spirit through steps they take to ensure their startups thrive are candidates for investments from venture capitalists.
No doubt, the definitive barrier to female entrepreneurs globally is access to capital to start or to expand their businesses. So while venture funding favour male-run startups, female founders can push barriers to up their game by ensuring their ideas and strategies to seeing their startups succeed rock as well or even better than those of their male counterparts making getting funded a house party and not a sulking exercise.