An 18 Year Old Female Founder’s Response to “The Real Reason Female Entrepreneurs Get Less Funding”
I was recently sent and watched Dana Kanze’s TEDx Talk, and what I heard upset me but did not surprise me.
If you haven’t already, I’d reccomend watching the talk here.
If you haven’t read Trill’s blog before, my name is Georgia. I’m 18 years old. I’m from Los Angeles, California. My pronouns are she/her/hers. And I have owned my own business for over half a year now…
But things weren’t always like this.
A year ago I didn’t even know what Slack was let alone the difference between pre and post money valuations. Now, if you don’t know what those things are right now, don’t worry. But in my world of startups, it’s critical for founders to become literate in a whole new language of VC math, KPIs, and marketing jargon. Unfortunately, like most vocabularies, the entrepreneurial space is full not just of gendered words but also of harmful actions, centered around gender or sexual identity based harassment, discrimination, and bias.
I may only have been in the business for a short amount of time, yet I already am familiar with an illuminating truth:
Women own 38% of American companies, but we only receive 2% of the venture funding.
And for women of color, like myself, this piece of the pie is even smaller.
Kanze opened up her TEDx Talk with a childhood memory of her falling and getting stuck in a frozen pool. She utilized this story to illustrate “how dangerous things [can be] when they are just beneath the surface,” [transcript time stamp: 00:17].
For me, gender bias in startups has manifested itself subtlety. For example, like the time a female mentor advised me to always pretend like I have a boyfriend when interacting with male colleagues in the workplace. She told me that this was the easiest way to avoid all the unwanted flirting and touching I was “bound” to receive from peers and superiors alike. Once a boy in my school dining hall even went on to assume my co-founder must be a male and that all I could ever do is manage Trill’s Instagram page. Another time I attended a meeting for the venture club at school and looked around to find a room full only of men.
On the surface, none of these interactions or experiences are outright sexist. They could be labeled as a piece of advice, a misunderstanding, or just a coincidence. However, when piled on top of each other and under the weight of decades of misogyny, female founders are (in a return to Kanze’s metaphor) trapped beneath the ice so to speak.
I am not writing this piece to shame or criticize any given person or group. In fact, I do deeply believe that some micro aggressions could be mistakes, rooted in circumstance, ignorance, or miscommunication. I also believe that we, as a society, are not going to get better- unless we have uncomfortable conversations like this one.
After all, the facts about the inequity in venture funding are simply that: facts. And it’s like Kanze said those who are “aware of the problem […] at least have a chance to do something about it,” [transcript time stamp: 01:27].
It does not discourage me knowing the realities of the business. All I feel is a burning motivation and zeal to unapologetically pursue my endeavor. These feelings are coupled with tremendous gratitude. I feel lucky to be learning these lessons early in my career, and I hope to share my message…
- To investors- Kanze summed it up best: “By flashing the same light on every start-up’s potential for gains and losses, you enable all deserving start-ups to shine and you maximize returns in the process,” [transcript time stamp: 01:27]. Change can start with just one person.
- To fellow founders- Recognize the questions investors are asking you. Present your business how you want to, on your terms, and with your style. No one has an idea quite like yours. Own it, and be relentless in following your dreams. Also, don’t forget to take care of yourself and of each other.
- To my family, friends, peers, mentors, advisors, professors, and users- From the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting me. While gender bias in startup funding certainly exists, my experience as a young, female entrepreneur has been so positive and worth it. And it’s all because of you!
