Meet the company paving the way for female founders and entrepreneurs
“Today, Gen Y women are definitely encouraged to be more ambitious, and the workplace has to be prepared for that,” explains Lu Li, CEO and founder of Blooming Founders, a company dedicated to progressing female entrepreneurs.
Blooming Founders was launched in 2015 in response to the current business landscape not meeting these women’s needs — 30% of whom say it is better set up for men. This means that women aren’t engaging with initiatives that can further their careers. For example, research shows that female founders who are involved in a business community are twice as likely to forecast growth. Yet 50% of such women are not part of any network, even though they recognize the benefits that this kind of membership might have to their businesses. There are a number of reasons why: whether they feel these networks are too male- dominated or inaccessible, and 30% of women said they were unsure of where to find one.
With a robust ecosystem of products, including events, an online network and a dedicated co-working space, Blooming Founders is looking to give female entrepreneurs the tools they need for success. “All of these programs, products and services are geared to help women along their startup journey, from the moment she has an idea to then building the company and growing it to generate more revenue,” say Li. It also offers a line of corporate services — connecting companies, investors and accelerators with female founders and helping them launch programs based on female entrepreneurship or diversity and inclusion. Considering that just 1% of corporate procurement spend goes to female-owned businesses, these are important to level the playing field.
“More inclusive spaces definitely contribute to creating that type of conversation. It helps people integrate, and can spur innovation by getting people who have different ways of thinking to work together.”
Blooming Founders workspace steps away from typical workplace environments, which can often be considered very masculine. The fact that many of these existing work spaces feel like they’re catered more to men, combined with the high prices to work there, has left 75% of self-employed female founders working entirely from home. The aim of Blooms is to create a space for both women and men to feel comfortable. “Not all men want to be in a very masculine-designed environment,” says Li. “More inclusive spaces definitely contribute to creating that type of conversation. It helps people integrate, and can spur innovation by getting people who have different ways of thinking to work together.”
“Involving men in the conversation is really important to further the goals of gender equality.”
This attitude towards design reflects one of Blooming Founders’ core values. Though its offerings are designed for women, it welcomes people of both genders to its events, networks and community. “Blooming Founders is female-centric, but not female-only, because I fully believe that we have to involve men in what we do,” says Li. “Involving men in the conversation is really important to further the goals of gender equality.” With 58% of women citing a fear of failure as the reason they’re not launching their own company, communities like Blooming Founders are vital to spurring on the move towards gender equality in leadership.
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