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WILLCOCKS’ WORLD: The female unit

By Roger Willcocks
April 2002
From Real Business Magazine

Do women entrepreneurs have a more difficult time than the men?

I invited three female entrepreneurs to share the secrets of their success with the audience of a recent Digital People and High Tech women event. The panellists were Sonia Lo, CEO of eZoka; Sherry Coutu, who founded Interactive Investor; and Lucy Marcus, CEO of Marcus Venture Consulting, and founder of HighTech Women. I wondered if their experiences would differ from my own. All entrepreneurs, regardless of gender, want to make a lateral move or make lifestyle choices; see something, then pursue it stubbornly and overcome whatever hurdles get in their way. I managed to note down some of the messages.

intuition:

“If it feels wrong it probably is”

Focus on keeping the burn rate down; operate on a shoestring; and spend all your time selling. Each woman agreed on these points. But you still have to be confident of your values and vision over the longterm. Don’t be put off by the “current climate.” There are still plenty of great ideas out there – the internet is still at the same stage as the railroads were in 1830.

All three women spoke passionately of the need to say “no.” Say no to the wrong money, to contracts that don’t feel right, to directors who might have a different agenda. Intuition is key: “If it feels wrong, it probably is.” Follow your heart and run the business your way. Some women start businesses because they recognise they have what others regard as a “quirky” way of doing things.

Choosing the right customers is critical. Get it right and, as well as showing the path to profit, it can lead you to phenomenal excitement if your product becomes critical to the customer. Don’t be afraid to walk away from those products in your portfolio that won’t turn a profit – a difficult lesson for over-enthusiastic founders who love it all to bits.

Each panellist advocated attention to detail. Force yourself to get three quotes for everything. Resist the temptation to just go for it and get it fast. Network or surround yourself with friends, advisers and directors who have the relevant experience and mastery of the detail to coach you. It’s lonely out there; you should know that you’re not alone. Don’t hire friends; that will often end in disaster, but it’s okay to make friends in the workplace.

Raising money was the next big subject. Here’s our trio’s advice on matters financial: if you want growth, you must maintain your access to capital. And yes, it is tough raising money. VCs are exhausted, preferring to invest in MBOs for manufacturers in the Midlands. Some VCs appear archly conservative. Even today it can be difficult for women to establish rapport and open communication with old-fashioned males. But if you’re small, ignore the VCs, go to angels – VCs will only be interested when you have the customers, the track record and the management team.

customers:

“Don’t be afraid to walk away from products that won’t turn a profit”

Another lesson: some VCs are simply not knowledgeable. They have limited time to get an in-depth understanding of your sector. You will always be knowledgeable about your business, but you must recognise what you don’t know. Never bluff, you will always be found out. Angels often have a wealth of commercial experience to assist the entrepreneur. Trade investors can easily go pear-shaped – people move on and the new person on the block has an entirely different agenda. Oh, and whatever you do, don’t do ratchets – they’re just a clever way of ducking the price issue via a personal bet that can come back to haunt you. Finally, when you take on seed finance, have a plan at the outset for third-round finance.

So how tough are female entrepreneurs? I get the impression these women could hold their own. One admitted to being “so type A” that she used yoga to chill out, and to keep up the physical strength for thousands of hours of travel a year. They were ballsy enough to say that they had made mistakes and prepared to act swiftly where necessary. All three are from overseas and had strong exposure to US business culture. The “US thing” drives aggression; but the women confessed that they were probably pussycats compared to some of their US peers.

Women are often subject to the accusation of being “emotional.” If a woman stands her corner, men write her off as being hysterical. But they are still expected to be more caring than their male counterparts. One woman told the story of a man who, when questioned about his unsatisfactory performance, pleaded with his (female) CEO to be “more nurturing.” He was met with the response “why should I? I’m your boss.”

finance:

“If you want growth, maintain your access to capital”

The toughest thing is the overlap with the family years. The time when you could be having a family is also the best time for building a business. That is a tough decision, and even tougher to live it once you’ve made it. Very few men have to make that decision.

I enjoyed the evening – lots of pithy lessons, distilled from the experience of women who’d done it the hard way and are now happy to share it with others wishing to follow similar paths. Not too dissimilar from my own experiences, just different.

By Roger Willcocks
Roger is on the advisory panel of Digital People. Digital People Network is the support organisation for entrepreneurs committed to commercialising innovative technology. To find out more about its events, workshops and services visit www.digitalpeople.org

 Reprinted from Real Business http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/ 

HighTech Women Press Clips

Financial News, "US survey shows gender gap" 25 February quotes HighTech Women founder Lucy Marcus extensively. Read it here.

Globes, Enable Column, "Not Just for Women" 25 December 2001. Gender-specifics aside, High Tech Women.com is timely, practical and useful to anyone in business, covering topics that are hard to find anywhere else. Read the article here.

Read about HighTech Women in Lucy Marcus's Diary, Management Today Magazine, June 2000.

Read "Add Weight to Your Board"
Computer Weekly News, 25 May 2000

"Who Says Women in Technology Don't Mix?" Read about HighTech Women in The Times, 6 April 2000

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