Fundraising While Female
I wrote the original version of this blog post back in 2015. It was a whole different world back then. Before #metoo. Before Trump got voted in over Hillary. The world’s way of reinforcing that when it comes to two imperfect candidates, the man will always win.
This week, I have returned to thinking about the subtle and not-so-subtle sexism that pervades Silicon Valley. While Elizabeth Holmes’ infamy grows, Parker Conrad, who was fined for half a million dollars by the SEC for misleading investors and committing insurance fraud at his last startup, just announced a $45 million dollar Series A round for his newest venture.
Few would doubt that Holmes’ fraud, which put people’s lives at risk, was more severe. But I do wonder, if their genders were swapped, if Conrad would have been given a second chance in Silicon Valley. Or if Holmes’ fraud — along with her hair, her clothing, and her voice — would have been scrutinized as intensely.
Y Combinator funded both of Conrad’s startups — Zenefits, which was sued by the SEC in 2016, and his new startup, Rippling. I took part in Y Combinator in 2014 while running my startup, Dating Ring. I started this post after participating in Y Combinator’s Demo Day, a frenzied mess of an afternoon that is spent running around and schmoozing with old, white men, trying to convince them to believe in you and wire you money.
