Cultivating a Universal Mindset
Cultivating any community takes thoughtful processes and dedicated people. Cultivating an entrepreneurial community requires people who are focused on a mindset to turn problems into solutions. A mindset that, I believe, can be learned.
In April of 2018 I had the opportunity to take advantage of the YLAI reserve exchange, a program sponsored by the US State Department and Meridian International. It was an opportunity to build a bridge between my organization: HQ Raleigh in Raleigh, North Carolina, and my fellow (Lucila’s) organization: Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although we were located on opposite sides of the world, there was a common thread between our two organizations that wove itself into the mission of each company. We both had an active focus on growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Successful startup communities have strong partnerships, excellent programming, access to great universities, engaged corporations and serial entrepreneurs, just to name a few key aspects. I have seen this combination of assets play out over and over in the Triangle, a burgeoning entrepreneurial area. As Lucila and I reflected on who were the motivated champions in the Universidad de San Andrés’ ecosystem and who needed to have a seat at the table, we talked about how we could make sure women had a strong voice in the creation of these communities.
Why focus on women?
We know that women perform 66% of the world’s work but earn only 10% of the world’s income. (1)
Women own 30% of privately-held companies, but these businesses only make up 11% of sales and 13% of employment among privately-held companies. (2)
We know that only 4.94% of all venture capital deals went to women-led companies in 2016, the highest percentage in a decade, but still 16 times less funding than male-founded companies. (3)
And finally, studies have shown that professional development and education for entrepreneurs help women business owners succeed. (4)
With this in mind, how could we help women engage in the entrepreneurial ecosystem?
We kept coming back to the initial mindset. We wanted to deliver a set of tools that women could integrate back into their own company or implement into the corporation they worked for. Through two three-day design thinking workshops, we delivered just that.
Forty-three women from across Buenos Aires spent two weeks developing solutions for how the non-profit, San Fernando en Red, could bring the 152 organizations on its platform together to create stronger internal connections. The energy, comradery, and focus of these women was inspiring.
As one woman remarked, “Keep it up! It is really encouraging to participate in these kinds of events and get to know women that are going through similar situations. [It was a] good networking opportunity.”
Having worked with female entrepreneurs in the United States and now in Argentina, I see that we may all come from different backgrounds, but the mindset and passion to solve problems and make change is universal.
Liz Tracy, YLAI Fellowship Host, North Carolina, United States
2. http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/women-owned-businesses.pdf
3. http://fortune.com/2017/03/13/female-founders-venture-capital/
4. (Kyrgidou & Petridou, 2013; Riebe, 2012)
